He's Got A Halo. Is That OK?

We actually started to watch Jerry Springer - The Opera and even my wife said it didn't offend her that much. After a while the sheer weight of swearwords became boring for me and slightly upsetting for my wife though I am sure there are far more offensive things on TV that go completely un-complained about. On a procedural note I was expecting David Soul to sing and was wondering if he was no longer up to the job when the reason became clear. From the few times I have seen anything of the real Jerry Springer he has seemed to be the one bit of reality in all the strangeness. By having the guests and audiences sing they were shown as flawed and awful while Jerry Springer flits around teasing out the things which up the viewing figures. He's a bit like Loius Theroux - to the subjects of the show a concerned and friendly participant but to the watchers an artisan, the creator of the whole thing. Not sure what the Valkyrie was all about though. Should have watched the whole thing.

After a quick listing of all the books I have to read, I have been sidetracked by one I got at the library this weekend. It is Genie: A Scientific Tragedy, a book about a 13-year-old girl who had been kept harnessed to a potty or cot for her whole life, with little visual or aural stimulation. In 1970 she was brought to the attention of the authorities who allowed her to be tested in a similar manner to the King who ordered that two babies be kept in isolation without hearing speech to see which was the first or divine language. I did see a Horizon programme about Genie some years ago. It is clear that the girl was abused by the scientific community as well as her parents. And for all that, the two schools of thought on whether language is learned or innate still cannot agree.

This is a transcript of a PBS programme about Genie.