Omss-Culture: Culturebox: A History of Stuttering in the Movies



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culturebox A History of Stuttering in the Movies It hasn't been pretty. By Barry Harbaugh Posted Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010, at 11:41 AM ET Stuttering is a condition that no one understands and no one has been able to cure, including God, who simply gave Moses a translator. It has long been the so-called "disorder of many theories," meaning that it has long been a disorder of no real theories at all. Those who stutter have for millenniums endured odd and sinister attempts at a cure. Our tongues have been burnt--first by Hippocrates' acid, to rid them of the "black bile" that rendered them heavy and clumsy, then with boiling wine to thaw a mysterious "refrigeration." When that didn't do the trick, they were cut out altogether, or snipped into irregular shapes. In the late 19^th century, we laid down on velvety Freudian couches until psychoanalysis gave up and we got lobotomies. We prattled on in gloomy speech-therapy wards and "fluency intensives" in the 20^th, and now, in the 21^st, come to the telephone fully loaded with cutting-edge hearing aids, anti-anxiety prescriptions, and iPhone apps. In the last decade, science has proven that stuttering is a "disconnection syndrome" and that at its root is a knot of psychological and neurological issues too tight and variant one case to the next to be generally unwound. In April, researchers discovered a genetic basis, which might eventually lead to a better understanding of what, exactly, is going on. But for the time being, stutterers are greeted with a therapeutic shrug of the shoulders: Go forth, endure, seek fluency and happiness--take a pill, if you want. No promises. To continue reading, click here. Barry Harbaugh is an assistant editor at Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Lithwick: The Supreme Court Tackles Arizona's Other Wacky Immigration Law Americans' Boneheaded Ideas for Improving the Economy The Incredibly Innovative Air Conditioners That Are Selling Like Hotcakes in Saudi Arabia	Advertisement
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Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
culturebox A History of Stuttering in the Movies It hasn't been pretty. By Barry Harbaugh Posted Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010, at 11:41 AM ET Stuttering is a condition that no one understands and no one has been able to cure, including God, who simply gave Moses a translator. It has long been the so-called "disorder of many theories," meaning that it has long been a disorder of no real theories at all. Those who stutter have for millenniums endured odd and sinister attempts at a cure. Our tongues have been burnt--first by Hippocrates' acid, to rid them of the "black bile" that rendered them heavy and clumsy, then with boiling wine to thaw a mysterious "refrigeration." When that didn't do the trick, they were cut out altogether, or snipped into irregular shapes. In the late 19^th century, we laid down on velvety Freudian couches until psychoanalysis gave up and we got lobotomies. We prattled on in gloomy speech-therapy wards and "fluency intensives" in the 20^th, and now, in the 21^st, come to the telephone fully loaded with cutting-edge hearing aids, anti-anxiety prescriptions, and iPhone apps. In the last decade, science has proven that stuttering is a "disconnection syndrome" and that at its root is a knot of psychological and neurological issues too tight and variant one case to the next to be generally unwound. In April, researchers discovered a genetic basis, which might eventually lead to a better understanding of what, exactly, is going on. But for the time being, stutterers are greeted with a therapeutic shrug of the shoulders: Go forth, endure, seek fluency and happiness--take a pill, if you want. No promises. To continue reading, click here. Barry Harbaugh is an assistant editor at Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Lithwick: The Supreme Court Tackles Arizona's Other Wacky Immigration Law Americans' Boneheaded Ideas for Improving the Economy The Incredibly Innovative Air Conditioners That Are Selling Like Hotcakes in Saudi Arabia	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters on Slate Unsubscribe \| Newsletter Center \| Advertising Information Please do not reply to this message since this is an unmonitored e-mail address. If you have questions about newsletters, please go here.
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to newsletters@slate.com. Copyright 2010 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC \| Privacy Policy Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1150 15th Street NW \| Washington, D.C. 20071

Culturebox: A History of Stuttering in the Movies

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