{"id":351,"date":"2019-10-28T16:34:45","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T23:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/?p=351"},"modified":"2020-10-10T17:20:22","modified_gmt":"2020-10-11T00:20:22","slug":"dr-death-chris-and-jerry-occams-razor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/2019\/10\/28\/dr-death-chris-and-jerry-occams-razor\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Death – “Chris and Jerry” & “Occam’s Razor”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

            Dr.\nChristopher Duntsch \u2013 the name sends shivers down the spines of medical\nprofessionals, forced to remember the personification of the flaws in our own\nhealthcare system. Following the first episode of Dr. Death<\/em>, narrator\nLaura Beil utilizes Duntsch\u2019s troubled upbringing to generate the pivotal\ncharacter that harmed the lives of many. Listening to the episodes \u201cChris and\nJerry,\u201d in addition to \u201cOccam\u2019s Razor,\u201d one thing is for sure, Christopher\nDuntsch was to have never obtained a license, and his employment should have\nnever been sought out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Both\nepisodes play off and build from one another \u2013 providing intense details and\nknowledge on Duntsch\u2019s upbringing. The first episode, \u201cChris and Jerry,\u201d\nestablishes a relationship between previous episodes by immediately following\nup with the major conflicts previously brought into fruition.  The maiming and deaths patients Mary Eaford\nand Florella Brown throws listeners back into the conflict, as Duntsch had\nperformed actions no other professional would ever perform. However, as Beil\nresearches Duntsch\u2019s background, it\u2019s clear that he was once \u201cconsidered a\nmedical professional in every way possible.\u201d This statement brings forth the\nquestion that many listeners are asking \u2013 what tore away at the potential of\nthis neurosurgeon? The titular character within the episode, Jerry Summers,\nmakes a lasting impact on the listeners, as we better understand Duntsch\u2019s own\nmotives and intentions. Once known as Duntsch\u2019s best friend, Summer\u2019s\nrelationship with Duntsch provides listeners a glimpse into the man who was to\nsurely harm those around him. This episode to me, was quite shocking, as it is\nrevealed that Duntsch later operates on Summers, maiming his own friend so that\nhis head is no longer securely attached to his body, and he is permanently\nparalyzed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u201cOccam\u2019s\nRazor\u201d \u2013 it is the belief that the simplest idea is sometimes the correct one.\nChristopher Duntsch is cold, ruthless, and arrogant, his \u201cOccam\u2019s Razor\u201d set\nhim up to become \u201ca horrible surgeon who was so blinded by his arrogance he\ncouldn\u2019t see that trying harder and harder wasn\u2019t going to make him better.\u201d\nThis episode emphasizes the inappropriate relationships, drug abuse, and\nactions that establish Duntsch\u2019s foundations as Dr. Death. Not only did these\ninteractions impact the lives of those that operated under him, but to my\nsurprise, his employers as well \u2013 none of whom were able to prevent him from\ncontinuing to practice. What surprises me most about this episode, was the fact\nthat despite having a horrible reputation, and not having the skills necessary\nto operate despite receiving high quality training, Duntsch had practiced all\nover the state of Texas. It\u2019s absolutely shocking to recognize Duntsch had\nshown red flags throughout his career, yet people looked the other direction,\nfailing to acknowledge his malicious intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Structurally,\nI felt as though Beil did a magnificent job of keeping listeners on the edge of\ntheir seat. Utilizing background music and descriptive language, Beil often\nputs listeners into the environment, and allows them to perfectly envision what\nis occurring before their very eyes. Music not only allows listeners to step\ninto the podcast, but allows for quick, emotionally driven changes in tone to\noccur. An example I remember most significantly, was when Summers was about to\ngo into surgery \u2013 utilizing ominous, dreary music behind someone saying\n\u201cgoodbye\u201d prior to operation, it was clear that something was meant to go\nwrong. It\u2019s astonishing just how much the podcast utilizes auditory tools to\ntheir advantage, and invoke various emotions within the listener. Additionally,\nwe continue to listen to various interview excerpts, most importantly a\nconversation between Beil and Summers himself. Listening to Summers reminisce\nabout the brutality behind the man he once recognized as his best friend, it\u2019s\nclear that those following along will become emotionally attached. It\u2019s hard\nnot to care for these characters, as they\u2019re not fictitious \u2013 they\u2019re real\nvictims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Lastly,\nan element that interests me, is the fact that these interviews and episodes\nall occur without acknowledging Duntsch himself. Listeners continue to learn\nabout the downfall of a man destined for greatness, however it\u2019s his own\nlacking presence that adds a sense of mystery to the podcast. Various\nhypotheses are created by listeners as they further understand his character \u2013\nwas he addicted to drugs, or was he just clearly a sociopath holding a scalpel?\nChoosing to develop Duntsch\u2019s character in a matter that talks around him, there\u2019s\nan enveloping air of suspense, leaving listeners craving more, as we learn about\nthe real Dr. Death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Word Count: 736<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Dr. Christopher Duntsch \u2013 the name sends shivers down the spines of medical professionals, forced to remember the personification of the flaws in our own healthcare system. Following the first episode of Dr. Death,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-engl200c"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":353,"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351\/revisions\/353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mattpoland.net\/sherlockpod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}