I have lots of interests, it helps me not burn out on one topic. I read comics, books, articles and fan fiction. I watch news, shows and when I have the time, I go to the theater. Musicals have shifted in and out of the mainstream over the years but with the advent of YouTube, off Broadway previews are a click away. Now I don't expect people to go digging through the archives to find cult classics or learn about theater houses that write for themselves. No, today all I want is a little break from reality.
In 2006, an age of grunge meets the drama, a musical was made for screen that had a dark outlook of the future of medicine. The name of this musical was Repo! The Genetic Opera. The movie revision was rated R for the reference of gore, sex, and drugs of a dark future of medicine. A cult classic at best today, I feel it can be an interesting retrospective on the pessimism of the time and (sadly so) the predictions that are coming forth in our markets.
The world of the play is one where organ failure is on the rise and those with the money can replace them. If payments stop, a person comes to repossess the organ, no matter the state of the individual after the fact. As we have talked about in class, the government controls the legal organ trade. Arguments for the market approach are reasonable in theory. An intensive for donator and to more tightly control and close the black market for good. This is not exactly the same as the play but the exchange of funds for organs inserts an ethical dilemma. Those in desperate need of funding will be more motivated to become a part of the system or even give organs and tissues that still allow an individual to function. Using this population as a resource forgoes their human rights. The right approach is difficult to determine because of the risks for the currently ill, but the constant delays and discussion only gives black market workers more time to commit crimes, here and overseas.
Another issue brought forth is this same fictional company that provides the organs, Geneco in the musical, also makes the drug Zydrate. Based on the side effects listed in one of the songs("Zydrate Anatomy"), it is very similar sounding to an opiate or something that acts like a sedative or local anesthetic. The company opens a support system for addicts, and sees no problem with providing it or it's source. Almost in a scary mirror of this play, the Sackler family is currently in hot water about the opioid crisis. The family, in charge of the company's Purdue Pharma and Rhodes Pharma are currently being sued for negligence when it came to the promotion of Oxycontin and production of treatments for opioids. The company is not the only one to blame as the Washington Post states that the CDC's thresholds for how much should be provided does not reflect the research and effects of the drugs.
Musicals and other media can be a window into the option and views of the society at the time. Sometimes fiction can become a predictor of the future unwittingly. Any media that you have seen recently or not that has a similar effect?
As we discussed earlier this semester, I remember being young and seeing Kim possible talking to her friends through a video chat thinking it was so cool. This was obviously before video chat was available via cell phones. Now you can FaceTime multiple people on your phone. I wonder how soon we will be able to have land hover crafts!
ReplyDeleteLet us know, everyone, of any other films, books, or other pop culture representations of issues surrounding genomics and other biotechnologies and the future that you're aware of.
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