Sunday's Report
Jul. 24th, 2005 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
weaktwosWork went productively. After work, I felt movieish, so I made haste to a nearby theater to see "The Island", starting Ewan McGregor (of the clan MacGregor, I assume. There certainly can be only one Ewan. purrrrr) and Scarlett Johansson. I enjoyed the movie, despite the fact that plotwise it wasn't all that exceptional. The action sequences were fun, though. It makes for a delightful escape from reality. Your mileage may vary, however, if you don't think Ewan and/or Scarlett are as solar-hot as I do.
The movie does bring up an interesting issue, however. Ewan and Scarlett's characters, Lincoln and Jordan, respectively, are clones. They are, in the eyes of the antagonist Merrick, a product. Rich people pay millions to have themselves cloned so that if they need an organ transplant, etc., they can merely harvest their clone. They can also have their clones deliver a baby to term for them. Real nice service, here.
However, the kicker is that the clients don't realize they are doing something rather dastardly. They are told by Merrick and his marketting team that the clones are in a persistent vegetative state. They don't realize that these people develop feelings and what we perceive as a soul.
What gives these clones hope to live in their rather sheltered lives is the Lottery for "the Island". It's a paradise for them, and clones "win" this opportunity. In reality, their "owners" need an organ, or their baby delivered, etc.
Lincoln finds out the truth and because Jordan is his best friend, he rescues her, and they make an escape.
Their plan? To find their "owner" so that the owner can realize what he/she is doing and help them stop this practice.
Of course, when the owner of Lincoln finds out, he tries to turn Lincoln in. When confronted with a choice, humans will do whatever they have to in order to survive, even if that means killing a clone who thinks and feels human.
The plot did have some holes in it. I'm thinking that sentience is not a requisite for good organs, but I guess we'll see how our own cloning technology goes.
Wouldn't it be interesting if we could clone someone and they did in fact have their own "souls"? What would that say about God? What is so special about humans if we could create our own living, breathing, thinking, feeling beings without procreation?
Would people who aren't interested in being lifelong romantic mates, but who both want children have a clone of their combined genetic code?
The movie does bring up an interesting issue, however. Ewan and Scarlett's characters, Lincoln and Jordan, respectively, are clones. They are, in the eyes of the antagonist Merrick, a product. Rich people pay millions to have themselves cloned so that if they need an organ transplant, etc., they can merely harvest their clone. They can also have their clones deliver a baby to term for them. Real nice service, here.
However, the kicker is that the clients don't realize they are doing something rather dastardly. They are told by Merrick and his marketting team that the clones are in a persistent vegetative state. They don't realize that these people develop feelings and what we perceive as a soul.
What gives these clones hope to live in their rather sheltered lives is the Lottery for "the Island". It's a paradise for them, and clones "win" this opportunity. In reality, their "owners" need an organ, or their baby delivered, etc.
Lincoln finds out the truth and because Jordan is his best friend, he rescues her, and they make an escape.
Their plan? To find their "owner" so that the owner can realize what he/she is doing and help them stop this practice.
Of course, when the owner of Lincoln finds out, he tries to turn Lincoln in. When confronted with a choice, humans will do whatever they have to in order to survive, even if that means killing a clone who thinks and feels human.
The plot did have some holes in it. I'm thinking that sentience is not a requisite for good organs, but I guess we'll see how our own cloning technology goes.
Wouldn't it be interesting if we could clone someone and they did in fact have their own "souls"? What would that say about God? What is so special about humans if we could create our own living, breathing, thinking, feeling beings without procreation?
Would people who aren't interested in being lifelong romantic mates, but who both want children have a clone of their combined genetic code?
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-25 05:14 am (UTC)That's not really a plot hole. Plot holes are gaps in the progress of the story. It's more like a background assumption. Without it there could be no movie.
"Wouldn't it be interesting if we could clone someone and they did in fact have their own "souls"? What would that say about God? What is so special about humans if we could create our own living, breathing, thinking, feeling beings without procreation?"
This last question is illogical. Cloning is procreation. It's not sexual (though it may or may not involve gestation in a human body) but it's procreation nonetheless. And as for 'what is so special about human beings...', well, for one, we're the only species known to us that can procreate in this manner. What makes us special isn't some soul, some essence. It's what we can do, what we choose to do, and what we accomplish.
As for what it would say about God... Frankly I don't see why it would say anything. In Vitro fertilization didn't say anything about God. Neither did cloning Dolly. Why should cloning humans?
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2005-07-25 10:02 am (UTC)Human cloning scares me. I don't think we should ban it, but I'm frightened of how it will be used. I don't see the need to clone an entire person when you simply need an organ. The idea of having a clone be pregnant for me is tempting, but again, there must be a way to just clone the uterus.
We're facing some interesting developments in our lifetime, methinks.
(no subject)
From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2005-07-25 05:03 pm (UTC) - Expand