Unknown White Male
Encyclopedia
Unknown White Male is a 2005 documentary film
directed by Rupert Murray
, covering the life of his childhood friend Doug Bruce
, a British resident of New York who appeared to suffer from sudden amnesia
, who woke up on a subway train in Coney Island
in 2003, not knowing who or where he was.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2005. It was nominated for a British Independent Film Award, a Grierson and a Directors Guild of America award. It was also shortlisted for a Grierson and an Academy Award. It was theatrically released in the US by Wellspring and shown on Court TV. In the UK it was released by Shooting People
, the filmmakers community whose members made the film and shown on Channel 4 TV who had commissioned the film originally.
During the film, medical experts opine that Bruce is suffering from a syndrome called retrograde amnesia
, a form of amnesia where the sufferer cannot recall events from before the onset of the amnesia, although it remains unclear how or whether Bruce suffered a trauma
which caused the amnesia.
, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times
, initially said he found the documentary "faintly fishy", but after meeting the filmmakers subsequently wrote that he was "convinced of its truthfulness".
Objections to Bruce's claims include:
The film makers address the hoax theory with a six-minute-long DVD feature titled, "Questions With The Director & Producer." It opens with a written message responding to the allegations of a hoax with: "We, the film makers, Douglas, his friends and family categorically deny this claim." Director Rupert Murray states that he finds it shocking when people believe the film to be fake, because it raises the question "Is my life a fake?" Of Bruce, he admits, "He coincidentally happened to film himself [thus providing footage used in the documentary], which people find strange." Producer Beadie Finzi explains her belief in Bruce's amnesia with, "The bottom line is that anyone and everyone who has ever known Douglas, [his] friends and family, is completely convinced that this traumatic event did indeed happen to him. And indeed, every physician that has treated him is also convinced that this has happened to him."
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Rupert Murray
Rupert Murray
Rupert Murray is a film director working in London. Murray began by making television documentaries for Channel Four's Cutting Edge series including Playing For England and Seconds To Impact , and short films Outsiders and This Was My War, co-directed with Beadie Finzi.In 2005 he directed British...
, covering the life of his childhood friend Doug Bruce
Doug Bruce
Doug Bruce is the subject of Rupert Murray's 2005 documentary film Unknown White Male.Bruce claims to suffer from an extremely rare, and possibly purely psychological, form of retrograde amnesia. It is alleged that this has left his episodic memory blank for his entire life prior to the onset of...
, a British resident of New York who appeared to suffer from sudden amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
, who woke up on a subway train in Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
in 2003, not knowing who or where he was.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2005. It was nominated for a British Independent Film Award, a Grierson and a Directors Guild of America award. It was also shortlisted for a Grierson and an Academy Award. It was theatrically released in the US by Wellspring and shown on Court TV. In the UK it was released by Shooting People
Shooting People
Shooting People is an international social network for independent filmmakers that was founded in 1998 by Cath Le Couteur and Jess Search. With over 35,000 subscribers in the UK and NY, members share resources and knowledge to get their films made and seen....
, the filmmakers community whose members made the film and shown on Channel 4 TV who had commissioned the film originally.
During the film, medical experts opine that Bruce is suffering from a syndrome called retrograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia is a loss of access to events that occurred, or information that was learned, before an injury or the onset of a disease....
, a form of amnesia where the sufferer cannot recall events from before the onset of the amnesia, although it remains unclear how or whether Bruce suffered a trauma
Physical trauma
Trauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...
which caused the amnesia.
Amnesia hoax theory
The authenticity of the film has been questioned by some critics, who allege that it is an elaborate fraud. The filmmakers have consistently refuted this allegation. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, initially said he found the documentary "faintly fishy", but after meeting the filmmakers subsequently wrote that he was "convinced of its truthfulness".
Objections to Bruce's claims include:
- Although the documentary presents Bruce's condition as standard retrograde amnesiaRetrograde amnesiaRetrograde amnesia is a loss of access to events that occurred, or information that was learned, before an injury or the onset of a disease....
, this condition typically lasts a few hours or days at most, not years. The Washington Post consulted Hans Markowitsch, a neural psychologist and professor at the Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld UniversityBielefeld University is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization and teaching than the established universities...
in Germany and a specialist on total retrograde amnesia. "To Markowitsch, the absence of any plausible trigger makes Bruce's story more than just suspicious. "Total retrograde amnesia doesn't happen out of nothing," he says. "I can't imagine that this story is true."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101940_3.html The same article states, "A leading amnesia expert believes Bruce's story is without medical precedent."
- During an early interview, Bruce noted that it was raining the day he first walked into the police department to report his amnesia. "A couple days later, while sitting in his apartment and being interviewed, he says that he'd taken a walk a day earlier and seen a breathtaking summer storm. "It was the first time," he mutters, choking up, "that I had ever seen rain.""http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101940_4.html Retrograde amnesia would not account for this additional post-episode memory loss.
- Previous to Bruce waking up with amnesia and no identification, one of his best friends http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_4213&pageNum=2 in Paris had an accident while playing soccer, sustained a head injury, and woke up with amnesia and no identification. The amnesia was caused by visible head trauma and lasted only a week. "Bruce says the friend set aside his hard-charging business career and moved to either Bali or Thailand, where he learned to give massages. "And now he heals people," Bruce whispers."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101940_3.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101940_4.html
The film makers address the hoax theory with a six-minute-long DVD feature titled, "Questions With The Director & Producer." It opens with a written message responding to the allegations of a hoax with: "We, the film makers, Douglas, his friends and family categorically deny this claim." Director Rupert Murray states that he finds it shocking when people believe the film to be fake, because it raises the question "Is my life a fake?" Of Bruce, he admits, "He coincidentally happened to film himself [thus providing footage used in the documentary], which people find strange." Producer Beadie Finzi explains her belief in Bruce's amnesia with, "The bottom line is that anyone and everyone who has ever known Douglas, [his] friends and family, is completely convinced that this traumatic event did indeed happen to him. And indeed, every physician that has treated him is also convinced that this has happened to him."
External links
- Unknownwhitemale.com, the official website for the documentary. Includes a large press section with clippings.
- David Segal: "A Trip Down Memory Lane; Did Doug Bruce Forget It All, Or Just the Boring Truth?" - Washington Post article on the film and the controversy. March 2006.
- "The Man Who Might Not Be There", GQ Magazine article on Doug Bruce. March 2006.
- "New Man", New Yorker article on Doug Bruce. February 2006.
- "Is Unknown White Male another Million Little Pieces?" on cinematical.com.