Genie was a feral child whose case came to light in 1970 in Los Angeles, California, after a social worker discovered her in confinement. She was given the name Genie to protect her privacy and identity. After Genie's discovery, many doctors, linguists, and psychologists showed interest in her case and formed part of her rehabilitation team. The team was investigating the acquisition of language skills as well as linguistics development. The team concluded that she was horrifically abused and also missed a crucial period of learning a language. As part of Genie's rehabilitation team, Dr. Curtis and Dr. Kent were included but had disagreements regarding her case. For instance, upon meeting her, Dr. Kent described her as a wasteland and the most profoundly damaged child that he had ever seen. The psychologist made such conclusions based on Genie's inability to straighten her back or recognize nothing but her name and the word sorry.
Additionally, Genie was incontinent, silent, and was unable to chew. Dr. Curtis, on the other hand, suggested that Genie had strong non-verbal communication ability based on her progress and her receiving of gifts from strangers who understood her condition. As Dr. Curtis expressed, there was a lot to Genie, and one could tell by looking at her and providing the necessary opportunities to find what was latent and express it. After watching the documentary, I experienced several emotions. I felt angry at Genie's father for depriving her of her childhood and putting her through so much pain and psychological torture. I also felt hopeful that a team of experienced and knowledgeable experts was researching her case, and based on how quickly Genie was learning and adapting to the new surroundings, their research and recommendations were working. The most interesting part of the documentary was Genie's learning process. Having spent thirteen years in isolation, her rate of improvement and comprehension was remarkable.
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