More ‘Patch’ Points

In their response to my Jan. 4 Counterpunch on the movie “Patch Adams,” Marvin Minoff and Mike Farrell (“Doctor Misdiagnosed the Point of ‘Patch Adams,’ ” Jan. 18) appear to have missed the point. In order to promote better doctor-filmmaker communication, let me first of all clarify that I appreciate and admire the “heart” of Patch Adams. I am glad that this wonderful doctor’s story is becoming more widely known. My objection is to the heartless and misleading depiction of medical education.

Although plenty of bad movies are made, Mr. Minoff and Mr. Farrell would not have the dean of a film school tell his incoming students that, “Our job here is to destroy your desire to make quality movies.” That would be almost as ridiculous as the dean of a medical school saying to his students that, “It’s our mission here to rigorously and ruthlessly train the humanity out of you.” Yet those are the exact words they have Dean Wolcott say to the first-year class in their movie.

As for Mr. Minoff and Mr. Farrell’s recommendation of vitamin E lotion to thicken my skin, they miss the mark again. Vitamin E lotion does not thicken skin. Obviously, film producers should not practice medicine without a license or at least competent technical advice.

ANDREW G. KADAR, MD

Los Angeles