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A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream

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A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream
Directed byStephanie Welch
Written byStephanie Welch, Andrew Kimbrell
Produced byStephanie Welch, Jed Riffe
Edited byMaureen Gosling, Sara Maamouri, Stephanie Welch
Music byJonathan Zalben
Production
companies
Paragon Media, Denkmal Film
Distributed byBullfrog Films
Release date
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States

A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream is a 2016 documentary film about genetics, eugenics, and social inequality in the United States. The film was directed by Stephanie Welch and distributed exclusively by Bullfrog Films.[1][2][3]

Content

A Dangerous Idea claims that contemporary genetics is a resurgence of eugenics, and that the concept of the "gene" will eventually be regarded in the same unfavorable light as concepts such as "royal blood".[4] The film further states that genetic research has been, and still is, misused by powerful groups to justify their mistreatment of the least fortunate, and to resist progress in racial and gender equality.[5]

Cast

The following people appear in the film as "featured experts":[6]

Reception

Ralph Nader praised A Dangerous Idea, calling it "...an effective dissection of the genetic determinist worldview, rising again in new garb and aided by the Trump Administration." Sociologist Barbara Katz Rothman, describing the "gene myth", stated, "Yes, this is a dangerous idea - and if you want to better understand why, watch this film and see the history, development and presentation of this idea that there is a book of life, a program that determines, from the moment of conception, all that we are and can be."[5] Molly Ladd-Taylor, writing in the American Historical Review, described the film as "a lively call to arms against genetic determinism and its role in the resurgence of racism and inequality in the Trump era."[2] Louis Proyect reviewed the film favorably, giving it high marks for its critiques of both eugenics and genetic determinism.[3] In a more mixed review, John DeFore of the Hollywood Reporter criticized the filmmakers for including so many interviews with critics of the scientists the film was criticizing, such as James Watson and Charles Murray.[7]

References

  1. ^ "A Dangerous Idea". Bullfrog Films. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  2. ^ a b Ladd-Taylor, Molly (2019-02-01). "Stephanie Welch, director. A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream". The American Historical Review. 124 (1): 172–173. doi:10.1093/ahr/rhy472. ISSN 0002-8762.
  3. ^ a b Proyect, Louis (2018-04-27). "Racism and Eugenics, American-Style". CounterPunch. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  4. ^ Swanson, David (2018-12-04). "Are Genes Pseudo-Science Driven by Plutocrats?". Scoop News. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  5. ^ a b Hanson, Jaydee (January–July 2018). "Film Review: A Dangerous Idea". GeneWatch. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  6. ^ "Featured Experts". A Dangerous Idea. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  7. ^ DeFore, John (2018-09-27). "'A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
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