James Pinkerton on "Malcolm X-Men"

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James Pinkerton has his own take on the recent film X: The Last Stand, and what it foreshadows in terms of the biological enhancement of human beings in the real world:

If this movie brings in all the money that I suspect it will, there will be more "X"s in the future. And while the filmmakers will be well advised to stay close to their fan base among special-effects-crazed kids, the storyline has continuing potential among older audiences, too.

How so? Forty years ago, the notion of mutations among humans was mere speculation, confined to sci-fi. But today, human speciation, driven by rapid advances in biotech -- bionics, gene therapy, stem cell -- is a clear and present danger. Or is it an opportunity?

So speciation and mutation; our friends or our foes? Scribblers will be seeking to answer such questions in wonky publications such as this for a long time to come. But filmmakers will be offering their own answer, too -- for a lot more money.

Not that I'm jealous or anything.

Personally, I'm just happy this particular discussion is seeping more and more into the public consciousness. Not every film is going to be as serious or as focused as Gattacca, but having these ideas surface in more and more blockbuster films certainly doesn't hurt the public debate. By enabling us to have a public debate, for example, instead of keeping it behind closed doors in the hands of various special interest groups.

I'd say more, but I have to get back to the smoke-filled room. (The socio-economic one, that is, not the political one. Come on in, there's plenty of room.) =)

Bio, Soc
Future Imperative