X for Methotrexate: Groundedness Filmed from the Rheumatic Body

Abstract

This film and statement looks at the different sites involved in the research, development, production and use of the medication Methotrexate. Initially used to treat childhood leukaemia in Boston in the late 1940s, this chemotherapy proved successful in treating autoimmune illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis. After a series of trials conducted by Michael Weinblatt (MD), Methotrexate became the most commonly used medication for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis from 1990s and onward, replacing or substituting alternative treatment forms such as climatic or hydrotherapy. Whereas most countries have ventured away from these alternative therapies, Norway still has a governmental funded programme offering climatic therapy, where patients are sent for rehabilitation in warm climates. Aiming at engaging with the sites that relates to this medication, my research uncovered a series of places from Norway to Boston and Puerto Rico. Based on archival research, oral history, site-visits and film production, my film X for Methotrexate (Andersen, 2019, 16mm, 05:59, produced at the Harvard Film Study Center) addresses the theme Grounded Place by juxtaposing the chronically ill and disabled body’s embodied connection to place, with a global network of pharmaceutical production, experienced and seen from the disabled body.