Patch Adams.
The movie Patch Adams” is a story about a medical student who broke the conservatism of American medical schools. These schools sought their students to be prim and proper in every aspect of their student life.
Patch, the main character, did not let himself be burdened by the rigidity of training for the medical profession. He even insisted on a different approach to learning and treating patients. He did not believe in the cold neutrality of the medical profession and insisted on the necessity of incorporating warm relations with patients. Patch Adams consistently did all of this, even if he earned the ire of the senior faculty members in his medical school and was almost precluded from ever becoming a doctor. Instead of simply getting the medical history of a patient, he would ask about their lives. Instead of simply diagnosing them, he would even throw parties for the children. To a certain extent, he might definitely be considered a deviant insofar as his medical school was concerned. Yet, the impacts of his deviance had a positive note, which even contributed to the development of a new field of medicine – family medicine. Had Patch Adams opted to simply be a normal medical student as rigid as all the others, concepts on the necessity of warm relations between patient and doctor might have never gone to the fore.
Another person was as revolutionary and deviant as Patch Adams: his girlfriend, Corrine. Corrine held on so tightly to the revolutionary concepts that Patch championed that it cost her life in pursuit of such lofty ideals for the betterment of the health of their patients. While she may not have been as dynamic and playful as Patch, the movie was very clear in articulating the collective aspirations of the couple in creating a new path in the medical profession. Like Patch, she never reneged on her ideals even when it sometimes became burdensome to her medical education and even to her relationship with Patch. Corrine may be said to be deviant in all of these circumstances as well.
Another interesting character of note would be Patch and his girlfriend Corrine’s patient, Larry, who had murdered Corrine while she was visiting him for medical reasons. Larry’s case, on the other hand, was a classic example of social deviance due to his psychiatric condition. If left unchecked, his deviance would definitely have unwanted consequences, even if attempts are made to assimilate Larry into society. There is no better explanation for this than the murder of Corrine.
Insofar as the movie’s relation to Saudi Arabian culture, the message of the movie is clear: not all forms of deviance may be considered detrimental to the general order and health of a society and community. As such, unreasonable social rigidities imposed in Saudi Arabia based on tradition may be challenged by social deviances such as the assertion of greater democratic rights for the people. These assertions are generally considered taboo in the Kingdom, yet they are essential in the development of Saudi Arabia’s politics, economy, and culture from a feudal one. While such deviant statements may be curtailed and repressed by the Saudi government, it should never preclude anyone who fully believes in substantial change from surging on and continuing their struggle for a better society. Persons who assert themselves in Saudi Arabia may all be physically chastised for their deviance, like Patch’s expulsion from medical school, yet all of these sacrifices are important if the Saudi Arabians truly wish for a better world for their people than what they already have today.
In summary, the Saudi Arabian culture can learn a lot from their story.
