A Matter of Taste?

A century ago, traveling freak shows–wagon trains of of bizarre humans, creatures, and artifacts–traveled across the United States thrilling and disgusting audiences for a bargain price. Today they have all but disappeared, thanks mostly to the ethical discomfort associated with the exploitation of others’ misfortunes as well as an increasing public distaste for the gory and disgusting.

A few years ago, the profitable but questionable traveling gawk-fest business model was revived. It is called “Bodies the Exhibition ” and by now has visited most major U.S. cities.

The “exhibit,” as it bills itself, is a pseudo-scientific display of actual human bodies that have been skinned, filled with plastic, and assembled into lifelike poses. Eduction is the secondary goal, of course, with the primary goal being profit.

Why is this so disturbing? Well, there are two reasons. Firstly, the show is not really scientific. Yes, it has been featured in prominent science museums, but a visit reveals little explication of the incredible complexity of the human body. Of course, there are perfunctory snatches of science in the form of Latin names and descriptions that are probably surprisingly similar to the ones in some old anatomy textbook. Disgustingly, an equal amount of space is given to descriptions of the person. That’s right, many of the bodies have the story of the person’s life right there next to them. Where they lived, how old they were, how they died.

There is a fat woman cut up into slices. There is a man with part of his skull removed. And there is a warning at the front that cautions against bringing in young children.

As far as I’m concerned, this exhibit would be just as informative if plastic models were used instead. The bodies are so full of preservatives they don’t look “real” anyway. On the other hand, consider that such a “fake” exhibit would likely be unprofitable. If all the models were plastic, who would pay 20 dollars to see them? It’s not the science that makes this exhibit interesting, its the dead people on display.

Even if you’re not convinced that this whole extravaganza is just an old fashioned freak show glossed over with a healthy dose of what could be found in 10 minutes on Wikipedia, consider that ABC discovered, a few years ago, that several of the bodies belonged to Chinese political prisoners that the Chinese government, for one reason or another, wanted to dispose of. A win-win for the Bodies’ management: why pay for bodies when you can get them for free?

The exhibition opened in Saint Louis on October 2nd. It’s worth seeing for yourself.