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Peter
Yup, yup and yup. Although, the involvement
of psychiatrists (and in some countries, priests or journalists) was not
necessarily a bad thing - provided of course they were prepared to take a fairly
"hands off" approach (as Griffith Edwards largely succeeded in doing at
Phoenix). Indeed in many ways, it was this involvement of psychiatrists
that allowed for the melding of the two TC traditions in Europe which resulted
in a more mellow TC. The trick presumably is in the balance and how that
balance is managed. The on-line obituary I mentioned includes a striking
passage by Phill Jackson where he argues that it was the marginalisation of the
so-called "lifestylers" at Synanon - the non ex-addict community members - which
led to the excesses of the later, rattlesnake days, particularly after they left
Santa Monica for the rural idyll. What he says is that while the
lifestylers remained central to the community, they were always there to "tell
the King his flies were undone".
Rowdy Yates
Senior Research
Fellow
Scottish Addiction Studies
Department of Applied Social
Science
University of Stirling
E: [log in to unmask]
T: 01786
- 467737
W: http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/sections/scot-ad/
NOTE:
EFTC Conference, 6 - 9 June 2007, Ljubljana, Slovenia
W: http://www.eftc-europe.com/conferentie/
-----Original
Message-----
From: Therapeutic Communities on behalf of Peter Martin
Sent:
Tue 3/6/2007 11:47 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject:
Re: Dope Fiends in Disneyland?
Rowdy
I agree Rowdy but probably
did not emphasise that sufficiently. There's a
paradox though in many
countries the acountablity has gone over the top with
Psycholgists or
Psychiatrists being put in charge of TCs . In the uk concept
based TCs hardly
exist with one or two notable exceptions. Sweeden
practically eradicated TCs
from their portfolio of drug services. The
essence of TCs is to get recovered
addicts to work with new prospects. I
often wonder what if Synanon had not
gone barking mad within a few years.
Nonetheless the film was absolute
crap!
Peter
_____
From: Therapeutic
Communities
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Rowdy Yates
Sent: 06 March 2007 11:27
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Dope Fiends in
Disneyland?
Peter
Quite right. BUT... I think
we have to acknowledge Synanon's importance to
the development of the TC
movement - if only because they were one of the
few agencies around who
actually believed in those days that recovery was
possible. The early days of
Synanon, I think were much more inspiring.
There was a series of three
articles by Phill Jackson (a journalist with
Morrock News in San Francisco)
which offered a pretty balanced view of the
Synanon story. Sadly, it's
no longer available on-line. If anyone has a
copy, let me
know.
Rowdy Yates
Senior Research Fellow
Scottish Addiction
Studies
Department of Applied Social Science
University of
Stirling
E: [log in to unmask]
T: 01786 - 467737
W: http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/sections/scot-ad/
NOTE:
EFTC Conference, 6 - 9 June 2007, Ljubljana, Slovenia
W: http://www.eftc-europe.com/conferentie/
-----Original
Message-----
From: Therapeutic Communities on behalf of Peter Martin
Sent:
Tue 3/6/2007 11:21 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject:
Re: Dope Fiends in Disneyland?
Dear ALL
Having seen the film years
ago I can only concur with the critics view of
it. Synanon was an important
foundation stone of the TC movement and full of
rich learning of how not to
have any kind of accountability. Chuck was the
first TC Guru and ended up
intitiating an attempted murder of a journalist
who was investigating the
outfit. When I was in California I met Chuck's
cook - a huge old time addict.
He said that he knew something was wrong when
Chuck maniplulated "overnights"
with his wife another resident. Much of the
TC madness can be traced back to
good ol' Chuck and the early days of
Synanon. Power corrupts - where have we
seen this before. I only write this
is case anyone holds Synanon in
historical greatness. It was full of fear,
corruption, and base instincts
were acted out by the powerful few. In the
end, like any unaccountable cult,
damaged many lives masquarading as the
"only" answer.
For anyone
interested, Synanon lives on as a commercial advertising agency
without the
late Chuck Dederich who was tried and banned from holding any
public office
in the US for life.
Homer
_____
From: Therapeutic
Communities
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Rowdy Yates
Sent: 06 March 2007 10:56
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: More on that
Film
Here's that critical review:
SYNANON
(1965).
In yet another misguided attempt by Hollywood to understand
America's drug
use, this focuses on real-life rehab center Synanon House,
where junkies
could clean up and switch to "safe" vices such as chain-smoking
cigs. Filmed
at their actual Santa Monica beach-front locale, director
Richard Quine
bludgeons us with preachy cliches and a strung-out roster
of
recovering-addicts. Though its obvious intent is to send audiences
screaming
from the horror of narcotics, the result is a corny b&w soap
opera enlivened
by its enjoyable cast and grim 'tough-love' attitude. Like
any formulaic
prison film, its story begins with a new fish -- in this case,
Alex Cord as
smack-happy newcomer Zankie Albo. Stumbling into Synanon's door,
he gets the
standard cold turkey treatment and meets the other residents,
including
Chuck Connors as a long-clean jailbird who tangled with Zankie in
prison;
Stella Stevens as curvaceous Joaney, who abandoned her baby and
will
undoubtedly fall for this swarthy new cynic; Eartha Kitt, who admits to
once
being a swinger, a whore and a vegetable; plus Richard Conte and
Alejandro
Rey. Then there's Edmond O'Brien as Synanon's blustery,
ex-alcoholic founder
Charles Dederich, who bitches about underfunding,
bellows at screw-ups, and
gets the best line when the center receives free
tickets to a nearby
amusement park: "Dope fiends at Disneyland?" Wallowing in
past fuck-ups
during the house's rap sessions, and shaving the head of anyone
who sneaks a
quick high, this place seems like a voluntary prison camp. Will
Zankie and
Joaney return to their old spike-in-the-vein ways? With a film
this
self-righteous you know the answer is going to be a bummer, and if
Synanon's
idea of happiness is a group sing-in of "We're poor little lambs
who have
lost our way," pass me a needle, quick!! The actors work hard, as if
they've
been conned into believing this hard-hitting slop. Cord's character
is an
asshole (but also provides the hippest, junked-up banter), Connors has
to
restrain himself since he's playing an ex-bully trying to change his
bad-ass
ways, and Stella attempts to act, but only proves that her finest
role was
as January 1960's Playboy Playmate... But wait! What makes this
film
unintentionally hilarious is Synanon's legacy, since the real-life
Dederich
went nuts in the mid-'70s. Declaring Synanon a religion (shades of
L. Ron
Hubbard!), he cut himself off from society, and instead of
sending
rehabilitated junkies back into the world, they were to stay in
Synanon
forever. Increasingly-wacko Dederich also created his own
"Imperial
Marines," while hundreds of his cult followers were ordered to
get
vasectomies and divorces! With this crackpot info undercutting
everything
on-screen, it's no wonder that this glowing tribute rarely
surfaces.
Rowdy Yates
Senior Research Fellow
Scottish
Addiction Studies
Department of Applied Social Science
University of
Stirling
E: [log in to unmask]
T: 01786 - 467737
W: http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/sections/scot-ad/
NOTE:
EFTC Conference, 6 - 9 June 2007, Ljubljana, Slovenia
W: http://www.eftc-europe.com/conferentie/
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