Sickle Cell Anaemia in Lady in the Lake
With its new series, Lady In The Lake, Apple explores the sad life of Cleo Johnson and her relationship with her two sons, Teddy and Lionel. Based on Laura Lippman's 2019 best-selling book, Natalie Portman in her first-ever leading role in a television series stars in. Portman portrays Jewish housewife Maddie Schwartz in 1966 Baltimore who turns to investigative journalism in search of a more meaningful life. The death of Cleo Johnson (Mose Ingram) sets off Maddie's new path.
Released on Apple TV+ on July 19, 2024, the first two episodes of Lady In The Lake examine Maddie's relationship to the Durst family, particularly the disappearance of Tessie, her 11-year-old daughter, The episodes also highlight Cleo Johnson's last days of life and her brief meeting with Maddie, which later haunts the narrative with terrible frequency. The real-life Shirley Parker, whose presumed murder happened in 1969, inspires Cleo.
Sickle Cell Anemia, Lionel Johnson's
Like real-life Shirley Parker, Cleo Johnson has two sons in Lady in the Lake. Samir Royal plays Lionel Johnson, the younger son with Sickle Cell Anemia; Tyrik Johnson plays Teddy, the older son. The show briefly addresses this illness, giving a window into Cleo Johnson's family life and inner world prior to her untimely death. The show also centers on the murder of little Tessie Durst.
"Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders that affect hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen throughout the body," the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute states. Red blood cells are usually disc-shaped and flexible enough to pass readily through blood vessels. A genetic mutation causes red blood cells in sickle cell disease to become crescent- or "sickle," shaped." The lifelong disorder known as sickle cell disease
Sickle Cell Anemia in Light of Class and Race
Lionel's Sickle Cell Anemia is closely entwined with the more general issues of racial relations and class prejudice Lady in the Lake explores. Those of African heritage are disproportionately affected by sickle cell anemia. "About 1 in 13 Black or African American babies are born with sickle cell trait," the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute notes. One in every 365 Black or African American newborns have sickle cell disease at birth." Given the 1960s Baltimore setting of the series, it is likely that white officials and public health services would overlook Lionel's chronic illness, reflecting the neglect around Cleo's murder.
Beyond the Disaster
Inspired by the actual disappearance of a young child and a woman, Lady in the Lake—based on Laura Lippman's novel—is a fictional drama miniseries. The narrative centers on unhappy 1960s housewife Madeline Schwartz, who divorces her husband in search of purpose in life. After assisting the Baltimore police in finding the body of a small child in the lake, Cleo Sherwood, Maddie—as she is known—sets off a path as an investigative journalist. Within a murder mystery set in a bygone age, Lady in the Lake explores themes of status and race while including elements of noir.
Although an incident in late 2022 has caused manufacturing delays for the show, it is still scheduled for release on Apple TV+ going forward. Though the narrative is fiction, it deftly explores the complexity of American society in the 1960s by touching on real-life concerns of race, class, and healthcare.
