The promise and perils of advances in technology, science, and medicine have long been fodder for creative works in literature and cinema. Consequently, a variety of resources exist exploring the realm of medical humanities as well as those providing in-depth analysis of a given cultural medium or particular artifact. Th is column seeks to off er a more expansive listing of contemporary expressions of bioethical issues in the popular media (fiction, fi lm, and television)—with minimal commentary—to encompass a wider spectrum of popular culture. It will be of value to educators and others for conversations in the classroom, over a cup of coffee, at a book club, or around the dinner table. Readers are cautioned that these resources represent a wide spectrum of genres and content, and thus may not be appropriate for all audiences. For more comprehensive databases of the various cultural media, please visit our website at cbhd.org/resources/reviews. If you have a suggestion for us to include in the future, send us a note at msleasman@cbhd.org.
(Doubleday, 2013).
Bioterrorism, Genetic Engineering/Gene Therapy, Population Control, Public Health, Transhumanism.
In this latest installment, esteemed Harvard professor Robert Langdon finds himself in a life and death mystery in the streets of Florence to track down a rogue geneticist bent on releasing a bioterror attack as his final answer to the impending “population bomb,” and inaugurate a transhuman future.Dan Brown, Inferno (Doubleday, 2013). Bioterrorism, Genetic Engineering/Gene Therapy, Population Control, Public Health, Transhumanism. In this latest installment, esteemed Harvard professor Robert Langdon finds himself in a life and death mystery in the streets of Florence to track down a rogue geneticist bent on releasing a bioterror attack as his final answer to the impending “population bomb,” and inaugurate a transhuman future.
(Katherine Tegen Books, 2011).
Neuroethics.
In this opening volume of the Divergent trilogy, Beatrice/TrisPrior faces a crucial decision during the annual right of passage. The choosing ceremony of a post-apocalyptic Chicago presents teens with a societal choice to live with one of five tribal factions that uphold a single virtue of humanity. Will she choose the selfless faction Abnegation of her family, or the brave protectors of society, the Dauntless?Th e choosing ceremony leads to an unexpected revelation. Beatrice/Trisis found to be divergent. But what does this mean? And, why is she able to control the neurostimulation of simulations and the fear landscape?
(2012, PG-13 for violence and action sequences).
Genetic Engineering/Gene Therapy, Human Enhancement, Military Ethics, Research Ethics.
(2011, R for language and some drug use).
Disability Ethics, Ethics of Care, Human Dignity.
(2013, PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, and for some language).
Designer Babies, Genetic Engineering, Reproductive Technology Ethics.
(2012, PG-13 for some language).
Aging, Artificial Intelligence, Human-Machine Relations, Personhood, Robotics.
