About this episode
Tim and Jen discuss the Polish horror musical 'The Lure' and its connections to the story of June and Jennifer Gibbons.
Tim coaxes Jen into the pool for a Polish horror musical set in a dark alternate 80s Warsaw, The Lure! Director Agnieska Smocyzynska also made The Silent Twins (2022) about June and Jennifer Gibbons. Jen gave a glib and half-accurate version of their whole deal, but this 90s-era BBC documentary features the real June Gibbons and tells it a little more accurately. It’s a story that has been mined over and over again elsewhere as “spooky” content. However, the real narrative is one about two intelligent young girls facing a pressure cooker of racism and ableism, acting out, and being medicalized, misdiagnosed, and punished instead of supported. In 2023 the BBC revisited the case via podcast, again with June Gibbons. Listen to Lady Godiva’s Operation by the Velvet Underground. Listen to it seventeen times in a row, if you’re Jen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Tim
Guest: Jen
Topics covered
- Polish horror musical
- 1980s Warsaw
- racism
- ableism
- medicalization
- documentary
Keywords
- The Lure
- Agnieska Smocyzynska
- June Gibbons
- racism
- ableism
- BBC documentary
- Velvet Underground
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BBC, Velvet Underground
Books & works: The Lure, The Silent Twins, Lady Godiva’s Operation
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