I'm compelled to write this review only because no one else has. I saw this a while back, so it is not fresh in my mind.
In the years since this documentary, there have been two fictional films on the topic: Quebec's "Starbuck (2011)" and USA's remake of Starbuck "Delivery Man (2013)".
We live in a society who's principal religion, beyond the church stuff and faith based philosophies, is growth. Economic growth, technological growth, production growth, and the population growth which permits all of it.
This human obsession with growth is what prevents society from questioning the value and ethics of the assisted reproduction industry. We see what we want to see, we make excuses such as "biology doesn't matter, only love does", or "adoption takes so long", or "fostering is too difficult", or "I just MUST see my genes passed on". None of these stand up to criticism.
This documentary is about one human's hunt for answers. It reflects on the challenges faced by children manufactured this way. It questions the notion that biology does not matter, it questions the risks of siblings meeting and mating, it questions the ethics of the business that provide these services.
This documentary could have been a start to a great ethical discussion in society, but society is not ready to question this. Meanwhile, we're stuck in this path, that too few are questioning. Some countries have banned anonymous donation of gametes, but even without anonymity, there are so many ethical problems with this industry.
It's not an exciting documentary, but it is highly worth watching.
In the years since this documentary, there have been two fictional films on the topic: Quebec's "Starbuck (2011)" and USA's remake of Starbuck "Delivery Man (2013)".
We live in a society who's principal religion, beyond the church stuff and faith based philosophies, is growth. Economic growth, technological growth, production growth, and the population growth which permits all of it.
This human obsession with growth is what prevents society from questioning the value and ethics of the assisted reproduction industry. We see what we want to see, we make excuses such as "biology doesn't matter, only love does", or "adoption takes so long", or "fostering is too difficult", or "I just MUST see my genes passed on". None of these stand up to criticism.
This documentary is about one human's hunt for answers. It reflects on the challenges faced by children manufactured this way. It questions the notion that biology does not matter, it questions the risks of siblings meeting and mating, it questions the ethics of the business that provide these services.
This documentary could have been a start to a great ethical discussion in society, but society is not ready to question this. Meanwhile, we're stuck in this path, that too few are questioning. Some countries have banned anonymous donation of gametes, but even without anonymity, there are so many ethical problems with this industry.
It's not an exciting documentary, but it is highly worth watching.