Dolan's aim was to find out whether twins are really as close as they seem. He begins by describing his own perception of twins. To him, the idea of twins conjures up sinister imagery - The Shining, the Crays, holding hands and speaking in unison. He also makes a point that he does not understand why identical twins are doomed to dress the same. I think he makes a valid point here. My mam dressed Rachael and I the same while we were growing up, and only stopped once we were old enough to say we wanted our own styles. I cringe at the thought of Rachael and I being so 'twinny' that past the age of 10 we would own the exact same wardrobe of clothes. I even feel silly if we so much as wear the same colour.
The Barbi Twins Thipawan and Sirintara (Fiat and Fad)
The first twins we meet in the show are the self named Barbi Twins. Although they have a negative attitude toward their extreme likeness, they show no shame in flaunting their twinship to make money. They both talk about how much they dislike being associated as one unit, and want to be seen as individual identities. However, the pair made their fame, and money, through modelling together and selling themselves as an identical twin package. I am unconvinced that they truly feel so sour about being twins. At one point, Mark asks them about their outfits, to which they claim were not planned, but arrived separately wearing the exact same clothes. I find this very hard to believe. Yes, Rachael and I have been apart and reunited wearing similar outfits, or one item of clothing the same and joked about being a 'twin thing', but the precise choice of accessories, colours and styles lead me to believe that their outfits were planned.
The next people he meets show a completely opposing view of being a twin. Fiat and Fad, Fad meaning twin, are famous in Thailand for marrying the same man. The twins made a pact to stay together forever and share a husband, so this is what they did. Although their marriage is not official due to Thai law, the three live together in Bankok. Mark describes the girls as taking 'the ultimate sacrifice' for twinship. I understand that for most people, meeting a life partner and raising a family is the ultimate fulfilment. However, I feel that for Fiat and Fad they could not have happiness if they were separated. They are already each others life partners. Sharing a husband was their choice and they were in no way pressured to only have one man, or stay together. Although for me, sharing a husband with Rachael would not be the ideal, if it works for them, and they are happy then good for them.
The third situation Mark tries to understand is twins marrying twins. Here, he probably chooses one of the more 'extreme'cases, as the twins live together and share their families. The children refer to both sets of parents as mom and dad (mommy Jena, mommy Jil, Daddy Dug, Daddy Phil), blurring the boundaries of the family to create one unit. Although Dug and Phil have distinct separate personalities and independence from each their wives take their twinship a lot more seriously. When together, Jena and Jil become withdrawn from everyone else, whereas Dug and Phil socialise. The woman discuss their youth. They were brought up as a unit and their twin status as encouraged by their mother. However, this lead to extreme competitive behaviour, which often ended in physical fights, which they kept secret from everyone else. I would not consider Rachael and I competitive, we have always been similar with our academic results, but take interest in different things, and so never felt the need to be better than the other. I feel like because of the competative nature of their childhood, Jena and Jil have missed out on the best part of having a twin.
The last segment is about Terry and Linda - 'The Psychic Twins'. Their strong belief is that being a twin has given them great psychic power, which they channel through their bifurcated soul (one soul, 2 bodies). This psychic connection has made the women closer than anyone - 'a nuclear bomb could not destroy our connection'. Although I am sceptical on the psychic side, I do believe that they have a rock solid connection, that could be due to being twins. Growing up together and sharing clothes, identity, experiences, birthdays and lifestyles like twins do plays a huge part in what makes them close and is in my opinion a hard bond to beat.
Mark ends the programme by saying that being a twin means that it is 'written in the script to always be together'. I am not sure weather I agree or disagree with this statement. Yes, a connection is always going to be there, and will be hard for others to penetrate but I do not think we are doomed to be one unit forever. Rachael and I live 200 miles apart and are quite happy running our own, seperate lives just like many other sets of twins. However, I think it is down to the individuals and their personal relationship. If being your twin's life partner is most important, don't let anything stop you. Even if you have to marry the same man, marry twins who understand your bond, or remain spouseless but together, do what makes you happy.
The World’s Most … and Me: Series 3, Episode 2 (2010) The World’s Most Identical Twin and Me. London, Channel 4, April 19 [Documentary: Televised]
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