Programska knjižnica 9. Lošinjskih dana bioetike - Hrvatsko ...

BIOETHICS IN FILM
For some time, film has been attracted by bioethical issues. Key bioethical
dilemmas, concerning, for example, the practice of human genetic enhancement,
cloning or euthanasia, are subjects of various film genres, from
science fiction, through comedy to drama. The discussion in this paper is
focused on films Multiplicity, The 6th day, Blade Runner, Alien Resurrection
and Gattaca. The main goal of the study is to shed the light on the fact
that the film, besides being an important art form and source of popular
entertainment, is also a powerful source of education, but simultaneously
a powerful method of indoctrination. The reasons which make film a useful
medium for study and exploration of a wide range of bioethical themes
are explicated. However, attention is drawn to the fact that, in representing
bioethical themes, for example, different applications and implications of
biotechnology, film is not neutral and that it forms the public opinion on
these topics. Therefore, the importance of fashion in which movie incorporates
the latest scientific discoveries and the debates on bioethical issues is
emphasized. It has been noticed that quite often this fashion is not “bioethical”
in a sense that films do not incorporate the latest scientific discoveries
and bioethical debates in a consistent manner. The conclusion of work is
that unlike the Multiplicity, The 6th day, Blade Runner and Alien Resurrection,
Gattaca can work as a successful bioethical text. Namely, although
the technology of genetic engineering in this movie is depicted far more
advanced than it is in present state, the attention is turn to the fact that this
movie, unlike the others, does not criticise human genetic technologies.
Rather, the film warns that these technologies will create problems only if
society accepts a genetic determinism ideology that sees humans as nothing
more than the sum of their genes.
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