11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent movie detailing medical innovation & racial history, September 22, 2007
This review is from: American Experience - Partners Of The Heart (DVD)
As a person who's had the very procedure detailed in the movie - I was a bit apprehensive about seeing it... would they show the procedure in detail? Would that blow my mind?!
They don't show the procedure in detail, but they do follow the real life story of the two men gifted in medicine and the development of surgical procedures who came up with a way to bypass the unformed parts of the hearts of some children with certain congenital heart defects so they could lead longer, healthier lives.
For more information about how Blalock-Taussig shunt patients are doing right now go to the Adult Congenital Heart Association's website at www.achaheart.org
The movie also details the struggles of each man in relation to race and class and how it put a strain on their research partnership at times. I feel extremely indebted to these two men that they stuck it out, recognized their value as a team and followed their passions for medicine despite such differences in the status, pay, position, etc. that society would grant them at the time.
I'm so glad this story has been told!! It makes me feel like I am part of a profound history.
*The only thing I didn't like so much was that they left Helen Taussig out of the story for the most part to capitalize (maybe?) on the racial drama between Thomas & Blalock.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT DOCU, May 22, 2011
This review is from: American Experience - Partners Of The Heart (DVD)
Great docu about the life of an unknown lab tech who altered the world of surgery. He went unsung for to long because he was African American, yet was the catalyst that revolutionized surgery on the heart.
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7 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
white man and black man in the laboratory, February 17, 2005
This review is from: American Experience - Partners Of The Heart (DVD)
When the title said "partners" I assumed they meant a romantic relationship between a black woman and a white man that might have been outlawed pre-Loving v. Virginia. But these are same-sex research partners. Vivien is a black man. (One of the first black men to serve in Congress was named Blanche, an appellation usually associated with women nowadays.) When the title says "Heart," it is actually referring to the organ. This work demonstrates that Charles Drew and George Washington Carver were not the only great African-American scientists. This documentary shows how a rich, credentialed white doctor depended upon his black research assistant who didn't get the opportunity to attend college, though born into the black community's elite. In the photographs that they show, it becomes very clear that some institutions which excluded blacks of all genders did include white women; the reverse of how voting rights were won. Later in the documentary, a white female doctor helps the duo find a way to cure children with heart defects. This is a great documentary for watching during Black History Month. It may be inspirational to blacks (of any gender) and women (of any race) who plan to practice medicine. Disney's "The Fox and the Hound" was a metaphor about whether white men and black men could be friends pre-1960s. This documentary touches on that same theme. It almost reminded me of the numerous interracial buddy flicks made by numerous black and white male actors. In this film, there are far more reenactments than there are actual photos. This suggests a paucity of visual details which is surprising given that this event happened less than 100 years ago. This investigation into cross-race, cross-sex progress in a time of inequality may inspire many patriots and enthusiasts of American history.
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