Doctors discover pathogens posing public health threats and outline steps communities can take to save lives. Although he was initially respected, public sentiment against the medical leader soured as the costs and inconveniences of his interventions became known. This health emergency ultimately becomes politicized, leading to doctors being discredited, publicly vilified, and branded “enemies of the people.”
“This is meant to encourage interesting conversations. Everything old is new.”
Jeffrey Kahn
Director, Berman Bioethics Institute
This is the outline of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play. enemy of the people. But this fictional story set in a 19th-century Scandinavian village is reminiscent of a real-life place these days: the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, faced growing hostility over the U.S. public health response, including mandates to slow the spread of the disease. The backlash grew, with at least one lawmaker literally labeling him an enemy of the people.
These similarities are explored in “Enemy of the People: The Public Health Project.” The event will feature two nights of dramatic readings of Ibsen's plays by professional actors alongside public health leaders and scientists, followed by moderated town hall-style discussions. . The production is a collaboration between the Berman Institute for Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University, the National Academy of Sciences, and Theater of War Productions, a New York City theater company that uses classical drama to explore contemporary issues.
“The idea is to encourage interesting conversations,” says Jeffrey Kahn, director of the Berman Institute, who will be among the readers. “It's like everything goes from old to new again. And it's also reversing the positions of the members of the choir, the citizens who are screaming.” [Ibsen’s] Physicians are the very people who have been in a different position during the pandemic.So [former NIH director] Francis Collins and all the public health faculty at Hopkins will be in a chorus screaming doctors. ”
These two free public performances will be available for viewing both in-person and via Zoom on Thursday, February 22nd at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC (registration required to attend in-person or online). Saturday, February 24, at the National Academy of Sciences. Participating professional actors include David Strathairn (nomadland), Kathryn Herbe (Law and Order: Criminal Intent), Frankie Faison (wire), Peter Francis James (oz), Jay O. Sanders (true detective).
Khan will be among the performers at Johns Hopkins University this Thursday, along with Kesha Pollack Porter, dean of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Nancy Kass, associate director of public health at the Berman Institute for Bioethics and vice president for graduate and professional education; Joshua M. Sharfstein, associate dean for public health practice and communications at the Bloomberg School of Public Health; Kahn, Pollack-Porter, Kass and Sharfstein will be joined at Saturday's event by Ruth Faden, founder and professor of biomedical ethics at the Berman Institute.
Mr. Kahn first witnessed how historical plays emotionally connect with contemporary issues a few years ago when he read an English translation of Sophocles' tragic war play at the War Theater. ajax. Sophocles was writing about the Trojan War some 3,000 years ago, but his military themes and messages proved timeless.
“Military veterans stood up and talked about how certain parts of the play resonated with their own experiences leading a battalion in Afghanistan,” Khan says. Poet Ezra Pound said: “Literature is news that continues to be news.”
During the pandemic, the Berman Institute and the Johns Hopkins Arts, Humanities, and Health Program collaborated with Theater of War to theater on the front lines of wara series of Zoom readings of Sophocles' tragedies. Philoctetes and women of trachis The theme is injury and nursing care. The goal was to help nurses, doctors, first responders, and other health care providers have constructive discussions about the challenges of the pandemic.
Ibsen's play is one of the new works Theater of War is highlighting, and its public health themes fit well with both the coronavirus and global warming. The play's aspiring protagonist, Dr. Stockmann, discovers that the water used in the town's new bathhouse is contaminated by a nearby tannery. Although designed to bring much-needed income to the community, he says the spa will have to close for an extended period while the water pipes are rebuilt. Stockmann's brother, the mayor, doesn't want to lose tourist money, so he proposes a less obvious solution to keep the spa open, even though he has no scientific or engineering training. He suggests keeping quiet about the issue. When the press learns that most of the repairs will be covered by new taxes on the working class, they criticize Dr. Stockmann. Dr. Stockmann takes his concerns to a raucous town meeting, where he is branded with the play's title. According to Theater of War materials, the reading and discussion will explore “the corrosive influence of power and money in politics, media distortions, and many other challenges to public health in today's culture.”
The key roles will be played by trained actors, with public health workers playing the roles of angry citizens. “I was cast as a drunk guy, so I guess I have to hone my slurred speech,” Khan says with a laugh. But while there will certainly be some hilarious moments as scientists become actors, Khan said he's sure the nights will also provide meaningful food for thought.
“I think every performance like that that I've attended or watched has surprised me in some way,” Khan says. “People are moved. It's not like someone giving a talk, showing slides, giving a lecture. This is a way for people to connect with the issues we've had for the last four years and hopefully address those issues. This is another way to access some of the themes in a different way. “
Description: A previous version of this article stated that Anthony Fauci would attend one of the events. However, Fauci is no longer available.
