The Autopsy - who is watching and what do you think ?

[Tinker]

Got to say, not sure what all the fuss is about here. Yes, technicaly it's illegal but the guy donated his body, the audience want to see it so ....what?

TV coverage is lousy at the moment - just keep showing shots of audience hoping to get someone being obviously horrified or sniggering. Anyone else watching?

[lou33]

Well I was, until dh turned over deciding he wanted to watch celeb bb - grrrr!

[Croppy]

Why on earth would anyone want to watch a dead body being dissected? I think the whole exhibition and so on is completely sick.

[lou33]

Well probably for the same reason that all these reality tv programmes are so popular, people have a voyeuristic streak in them, and like the idea of seeing something they shouldn't really be included in. I'm not too sure about the art exhibition, but I thought the 10 minutes I saw of the tv programme was quite interesting, if only to show what a state we can get our bodies into through overindulgence.

It didn't seem any different from the anti drugs film I was shown at school in the early 80's, when they filmed an autopsy on someone who had died from a drugs overdose.

[roxie]

I agree in that its very distasteful (to put it mildly), but if people want to view that sort of thing, its their choice. I wouldnt go myself, my imagination is enough for me to cope with without seeing rotting corpses and their bits!!!
UUGHHHHHH!!!!

[Bobbins]

I think it's a bit sick televising it and doing it for profit. I suppose though, that the bloke did agree to this. I think fair enough, if these people agree to donate their corpses to this Hagens guy, but if my Dad agreed to do it for example, I would be very p*** off as it wouldn't be him that would have to be dealing with it emotionally after his death (presuming I and some other memebers of his family would perhaps outlive him).

[Azure]

I found the concept of the exhibition to be disgusting and completely disrespectful of human life (or rather, death). My gut reaction about televising an autopsy conducted seemingly for entertainment rather than science is that it is one step closer to sick tv. What next - the aftermath of car crashes? I acknowledge, however, that the guy donated his body and of course that different people have different views.

[Enid]

Didn't watch it, although dp watched a bit. But don't find it weird, after all, why shouldn't lay people see what goes on during an autopsy? No worse than seeing people have horrific plastic surgery operations on telly.

[Bobbins]

Although I see what you're point Enid. I'm afraid I have had personal experience recently of a post mortem having to be performed on my son. Sorry to bring this up. But I think it was possibly one of the worst feelings of the whole experience, thinking of what was done to him afterwards. I suppose someone that didn't know him being somehow so intimate with him. Perhaps they didn't truly respect his remains. I find it very disturbing to think about and I would have much preferred to have been blissfully ignorant of this aspect of my sons death. Unfortunately it was rubbed in my face when the results were picked over in detail at his inquest. I can imagine how awful people feel whose loved ones bodies are involved in organ scandals (different topic)

I suppose I exercised my choice by not watching the programme though. I'm just trying to present an argument from the case of people that were close to the deceased.

[Bobbins]

they passed round the guys brain!!

[Tissy]

Didn't see it- didn't want to!

Did the Mad Professor actually do an autopsy, i.e.
try to find out what he died of, or did they just cut up the body and pass round bits for public titillation?

[Bobbins]

he probably did a bit of the former to justify the latter