This resembles John Merrick being born!
During the time the film is set, mental illness and mental disabilities were significantly misunderstood. So blanket terms were often used. The term "idiot" was used to classify people with an IQ lower than 25. Essentially classifying them as unintelligent. Though as Teves soon learns, Merrick is very intelligent.
Not exactly. According to the Wikipedia article on The Elephant Man, there are several historical inaccuracies that stand out. First, the events at the railway station happened before Merrick stayed at the hospital. Second, Merrick went to Europe on his own accord and was never kidnapped. Third, Treves never "rescued" Merrick from the completely fictional character of Bytes (who was "seemingly modelled after Robert Newton's characterisation of Bill Sykes in David Lean's 1948 film adaptation of Oliver Twist (1948)"). Additionally, in order for Merrick to speak there were several operations to facilitate his ability to talk. Merrick was also quite secure financially from the work he did in the freak shows-he would have been incapable of performing any other work in those days. Finally, his name was not "John" but "Joseph". In a 2011 documentary, Meet the Elephant Man, scientists examined Merrick's skeleton and determined that his death was accidental, caused by a fracture of the neck, and he died in the afternoon of 11 April 1890. He did not deliberately remove his supporting pillows and lie down to die after his evening at the theater. But Wikepedia has some inaccuracies,
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- How long is The Elephant Man?2 hours and 4 minutes
- When was The Elephant Man released?October 10, 1980
- What is the IMDb rating of The Elephant Man?8.2 out of 10
- Who stars in The Elephant Man?
- Who wrote The Elephant Man?
- Who directed The Elephant Man?
- Who was the composer for The Elephant Man?
- Who was the producer of The Elephant Man?
- Who was the executive producer of The Elephant Man?
- Who was the cinematographer for The Elephant Man?
- Who was the editor of The Elephant Man?
- Who are the characters in The Elephant Man?Dr. Frederick Treves, John Merrick, Mrs. Kendal, Carr Gomm, Mothershead, Bytes, Night Porter, Mrs. Treves, Queen Alexandra, Fox, and others
- What is the plot of The Elephant Man?A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
- What was the budget for The Elephant Man?$5 million
- How much did The Elephant Man earn at the worldwide box office?$26 million
- How much did The Elephant Man earn at the US box office?$26 million
- What is The Elephant Man rated?PG
- What genre is The Elephant Man?Biographical and Drama
- How many awards has The Elephant Man won?11 awards
- How many awards has The Elephant Man been nominated for?33 nominations
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