Anthony Bourdain is known today for three main things--his snarky TV show, his snarky books and that he's a terrific chef. So, when I kept seeing him interviewed throughout this documentary, I kept wondering WHY he was interviewed. Fortunately, my know-it-all daughter was watching with me and she did an internet search--showing that Bourdain had written a book about the woman featured in this film! So, this is why he was so prominently present throughout this documentary! Why, then, isn't he listed in the credits on IMDb? And, why isn't this show listed when you look him up on IMDb?
The film is about an extraordinary woman, Mary Mallon--who was re-christened 'Typhoid Mary' by the press. Why? Because although she didn't seem sick, she was a carrier of typhoid. While this might have been a minor problem, there were two major problems. First, of all the jobs she could have had, being a cook was the perfect vector for transmission of the disease to others. Second, Mary just didn't seem to care that she was infecting and even killing others. Let me explain about this second problem. When she was first discovered to be a carrier, they quarantined her. However, they knew they couldn't just keep her forever, so they let her go--admonishing her NOT to do any more cooking. Well, after she disappeared, she was found doing exactly this--and infecting those around her. This really confused me, as the show seemed to say that Mary was a victim or didn't realize what she was doing. However, her not being an educated woman would NOT have made her do exactly what the health department warned her not to do--plus several people died because of her actions! All in all, a very interesting show but one that seemed to incorrectly paint this infamous woman as a victim. All I know is that my daughter and I certainly lost all sympathy for her when she seemed to deliberately infect those around her. Worth seeing but perhaps a bit of too revisionist for my taste.
