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The Representation of Genetic Engineering in James

Cameron’s Avatar.

Jameson relates the production of images to capital and

consumer society. (3) Baudrillard reinforces the idea that

images, capital, and consumerism are linked by proclaiming

modern media images as “immoral simulations that destroy the

distinction between the real and the imaginary.” (194) He

believes notions of reality and the simulated are leveraged

independently as needed to maintain power. (199) The recent

blockbuster Avatar , directed by James Cameron, has been lauded

as a “special effects marvel” that will reinvent the way that

audiences experience cinema. (Wheeler) It is one of the most

expensive films ever produced at a cost of approximately $387

million dollars according to a studio spokesperson. (The Wrap)

Given that the film was such an expensive and risky

undertaking it would be logical for the makers to reinforce

capitalist ideology through the film as Hollywood filmmaking

exists within the paradigm of capitalism. The storyline of

Avatar, however, appears to condemn unregulated capitalism,

imperialism and militarism. Evaluating the film within Jameson

and Baudrillard’s discourse of image and capital relations,

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the question is raised: What political or ideological motive

could there be for Twentieth Century Fox to take a gamble on

producing such an expensive film? The issue of genetic

engineering is fundamental to the film’s plot. Chimeric

avatar bodies, created by blending human and Na’vi DNA,

facilitate the entire story. An examination of the way the

image making technology used to create the film further

reduces the disparity between the real and the imagined, the

context in which the film was produced, and the way the plot

relates to current issues surrounding cloning technology

reveals how Avatar can be read as a manifestation of the

Jamesonian and Baudrillardian principle of image, capital, and

consumer relations.

The reason Avatar is a prime example to study in terms of

the relationship between imagery, capital, and consumerism is

because the technology developed to create the film has

redefined the way moviegoers will experience cinema. As

Cameron has said, 3D “works in a dramatic sense because it

gives you a heightened sense of reality. Whatever you're

watching has a kind of a turbo-charged level of audience

involvement.” (Keegan Q & A with James Cameron) 3D technology

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further blends the distinction between reality and the

simulated identified by Baudrillard. Avatar has been

instrumental in pushing more cinemas into 3D technology.

(McClintock) In Korea, the film was screened in 4D meaning the

audience became more physically involved in the action with

“moving seats, smells of explosives, sprinkling water, laser

lights, and wind.” (Sunhee) The realism contributes to a

greater suspension of disbelief in the audience and makes us

more receptive to the dominant ideologies in the film. As

Russell Moore of the Christian Post notes, “if you can get a

theater full of people in Kentucky to stand and applaud the

defeat of their country in war, then you’ve got some amazing

special effects.” In his article ‘Avatar: Rambo in Reverse’,

Moore condemns the film as anti-war propaganda devoid of any

“real argument”. Despite Moore’s Christian beliefs his article

does not mention how Avatar depicts genetic engineering

technology, even though it is such an onerous subject to

orthodox religion. It seems the most obvious point for

criticism in the context of religion. The lack of critical

discussion about the representation of genetic engineering in

‘Avatar’ suggests that the theme of genetic engineering is

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encoded in the film in a way that renders its ideological

messages invisible, but positions the audience to receive them

positively.

Twentieth Century Fox produced Avatar. The company’s

owner, Rupert Murdoch, is also involved in biotechnology. The

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is a ‘participating

organisation’ in the Australian Stem Cell Centre. (Australian

Stem Cell Centre) He is also the co-chairmen of the

Partnership for New York City (PFNYC “Chairmen”), an

organization whose current project is developing a

biotechnology cluster in the city. (PFNYC “About”) One arm of

the partnership is the New York Bioscience Initiative

Partnership (nycbiotech.org “overview”). It is evident reading

the ‘NYC Bioscience: 2009 Year in Review’ how firmly

entrenched stem cell research is in New York scientific

endeavour. The report also states that “NYC is #1 in NIH

Funding for Universities and Colleges”, and that two of the

stem cell lines recently approved by the NIH were derived by

Dr. Scott Noggle, director of New York Stem Cell Foundation’s

Stem Cell Laboratory, during his tenure at Rockefeller

University. (nycbiotech “Industry Snapshot 2009”)

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The New York Stem Cell Foundation outlines the current

situation of stem cell technology in the U.S. as paraphrased:

It is thought that the majority of Americans

consistently support human embryonic stem cell

research. In March 2009, President Obama issued an

executive order authorizing the National Institutes

of Health (NIH)…to allow federal funds to be used in

stem cell research. These guidelines exclude funding

for stem cell lines derived from somatic cell

nuclear transfer (SCNT) - a foundational technique

for therapeutic and human reproductive cloning.

Private bequests for this sort of research are not

nearly enough to cover the cost. The House and the

Senate are making efforts to warm both the political

and funding climate for human embryonic stem cell

(hESC) research. However, current attempts to

legislate federal support for hESC research provide

only the first steps towards loosening the funding

restrictions on this important area of research. The

foundation laments the loss of U.S scientists to

countries with less restrictive policies and

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emphasizes that the laboratories where they work are

not ‘powerful anchors for economic development’ (The

New York Stem Cell Foundation).

The situation in Australia is slightly more relaxed. The

Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Act 2006,

effective on the 12th of June 2007 allows for SCNT research,

for therapeutic purposes only, to be funded by the Federal

Government. (Australian Stem Cell Centre “Legislation”)

The information provided by the New York Stem Cell

Foundation indicates there is a push by venture capitalists

setting up biotech companies to have SCNT funded by taxpayers

through the US government, as happening here in Australia.

Concern about this possibility was voiced by social science

lecturer Bowring who stated that “the scientific and

intellectual groundwork for corporate enterprise in the

biotech industry is being subsidized by tax-payers with nearly

two-thirds of all gene patents awarded in the US based on

research with federal money.” (223) Therefore, despite the

research and development being paid for by taxpayers, the

ownership of biotechnology is in the hands of the corporate

elite who may charge excessively for therapies resulting from

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the research. It could be unaffordable for some members of

the public whose taxes have gone towards funding the therapy’s

development to receive it. A similar situation has occurred in

the US with military industrial complex. (Chomsky 368)

It is important for capitalist enterprise in the US to

have public support in their bid to get the US government to

fund SCNT research. As Kirby points out, fictional

representations of cloning have a history of depicting it

negatively, although there are some exceptions. (99) This is

more than likely because the reputation of genetic engineering

has historically been mired in controversy. Genetic

engineering is not sanctioned by orthodox religion (Kolata 17)

and the practice of eugenics has been tainted by its

association with Nazism. (Kirby 90) There were also medical

scandals of the late 60s and early 70s in the US that bred

distrust among the public towards medical science. Kolata

chronicles the “God Squad” and their dialysis machines, the

1972 “Tuskagee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male”,

and the Willowbrook Study (77,78) More recently, the clinical

trials on Parkinson’s sufferers in which foetal brain stem

cells were injected into their brains caused some disastrous

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and irreversible effects; the clinical trial was labeled a

‘catastrophe’ by the media. (Boseley) Despite hiccups, the

promise that stem cell research is the holy grail of human

immortality has lured researchers on. It was reported in

January 2008 that the first human embryo had been cloned using

SCNT in the US by Dr Samuel Wood. (Reuters) Stem cell

discovery has provided very promising developments, especially

for sufferers of genetic blood disorders like leukemia,

offering great hope to the terminally ill. A report recently

explained how perfectly matched replacement bones had been

grown from stem cells (Eisenburg): a very promising

development for the disabled like Avatar protagonist Jake

Sully. The real benefits to humanity of therapies based on

SCNT are still speculative however. To engage public support

in getting federal funding for research, the entrepreneurs and

facilitators behind SCNT will need to portray the science in a

positive way that projects its benefits and leads the public’s

imagination to a world where it is already happening. This is

what Avatar delivers. The film positions us to identify with

Jake who achieves salvation through his genetically engineered

body.

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The representation of genetic engineering in Avatar has

been stripped of any reference to the real, yet still has the

potential to influence public perception on the matter. In

“Towards a Global Pop Culture of Genes?” Eyck suggests, given

the media coverage of the world of genetics it is not

surprising that audiences cannot clearly see what is real and

not real in this realm. He cites how misrepresentation can

cause “real political consequences” by using the example of

Burkina Faso in Africa where the policy-making elite who read

French newspapers are inclined to believe snow-skiing is more

dangerous than childbirth. Misunderstanding of the issues can

lead to less concern with creating relevant policies. (Eyck

172) Media representations of issues, factual or not, have

real political consequences. There is no definitive answer on

the morality of genetic engineering. Some say ‘geneticisation’

is a reductionist process that “devalues social experiences

and feelings”. (Dahinden et al. 19) Oxford ethicist Julian

Savulescu points out we already engage in eugenic practice,

such as screening for Down syndrome, and that biological

enhancement is about offering humanity more choice.

(Sutherland) Given that much of the debate is speculative and

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science fiction texts portray outcomes of this technology that

are not yet feasible, it is easy to see why academic writing

coming from a scientific discourse is cautiously optimistic

about the possible benefits arising from the technology.

The potential for stem cells as a treatment for a

number of serious diseases and injuries offers hope

to millions of patients and clinicians worldwide,

but there is much scientists are yet to discover and

confirm before many of these hoped-for treatments

become a reality. In the short term, stem cell

technology is likely to result in a number of

products and tools for basic research and possibly

drug discovery before the development of cell-based

therapies. (Australian Stem Cell Centre “About Stem

Cells”)

If economic and political powers wish to positively shape

public perception of genetic engineering technology to induce

government funding for the research—and this change of

perception cannot come about through actual results delivered

by the technology—then it stands to reason that films like

Avatar will be made to dispel any fears of the technology from

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the collective social consciousness and replace them with

imagined benefits through affirmative simulations of genetic

engineering. A closer examination of the narrative in Avatar

reveals how genetic engineering in the plot is portrayed in a

way that negates current social concerns about genetic

engineering. However, while the film appears to criticise

capitalism, imperialism, and militarism, it is the ideology of

progress that structures not only these discursive formations,

but also biotechnology that the film seeks to naturalise.

James Cameron clearly has an appreciation for etymology

and the directive quality of the wordsmith. The humans in

Avatar have come to Pandora seeking to mine ‘unobtanium’

(pronounced un-obtain-ium) as a source of power. Difficulties

with the indigenous population of Na’vi prompts the mining

company, RDA, to hire Dr Grace Augustine to mix human and

Na’vi DNA and create avatar bodies to be controlled remotely

by their human originators. They hope to integrate the avatars

into a Na’vi tribe to gain an understanding of their culture

and move them away from the Hometree that which on a rich

deposit of unobtanium . Jake, an ex-marine, is drawn into the

project when his identical twin brother, a doctor of science

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who was participating in the project, dies and the mining

company need someone with identical DNA to control his

deceased brother’s avatar body. The foundation of this

premise is Descartes split subject and, although recent

cognitive science suggests that such a neat body and soul

division does not exist (Siegel 31), the idea is so firmly

entrenched in Western thinking it is a truism. Subjectivity is

an important issue in the context of genetic engineering, as

one of the fears of cloning is the reduction of the human

condition to a set of DNA. Proponents of cloning emphasize

that ‘individuality’ is created by the intersection of genes

and the environment. (Kolata 37) Jake and his twin brother

are portrayed as completely distinctly different people in

Avatar even though they have the same genetic make-up. They

have taken different life paths, which have made them unique

individuals. It is important for this idea about the nature of

our identity to be maintained by supporters of genetic

engineering in the homogenising face of cloning technology, as

the individual is a privileged concept in Western capitalist

culture.

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Support for eugenics is implicit in Avatar. The Na’vi are

a super race: larger, stronger, faster, and wiser than humans.

In his super improved avatar body Jake is able to transcend

the physical incapacity of his human body and through the

course of the narrative moves up the food chain to become

leader of the Omaticaya clan. Life on Pandora is encoded in

Darwinian terms—survival of the fittest—whereby all life forms

fit into a hierarchy. Any anomalies in the order indicate that

something is out of balance; for instance, when Jake tames the

Toruk—an event that only happens in times of “great sorrow”.

Eugenics is a form of conscious manipulation of Darwin’s

theory. Developments in genomics, genetic engineering, and

reproductive biology have placed the eugenic goal of

correcting and perfecting the human genome within our reach.

Many contemporary scientists and social commentators, such as

Oxford ethicist Savulescu, are now beginning to publicly

champion eugenics as a legitimate social and scientific

pursuit.’ (Kirby 83) (Sutherland) Echoing the thoughts of

many eugenicists, McFadden points out that modern healthcare

and medicine have interfered with the processes of natural

selection and reproductive technology may be assisting the

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survival of defective genes. He does not see this as a motive

to retard Western medicine, however, but a reason for cloning

technologies to develop unabated. (McFadden) Critics question

whether humans should aspire to perfection and whether the

endeavour will actually improve our lives. (Bowring 251)

Regardless, eugenics is informed by the ideology of progress

and promoted as a way to improve our lives by the experience

of Jake in Avatar.

Interspecies blending is another issue represented in

Avatar. As noted earlier, Jakes avatar body is a blend of Na’vi

and his own human DNA. Back on earth interspecies blending

occurs in the practise of xenotransplantation. Experiments

with the practise have happened since the 16th century. It has

only been since the advent of encapsulation, transgenesis, and

cloning that great advances have been made for controlling

xenograft rejection. Ethical questions surrounding the risk of

cross species infections have become a major preoccupation

within the scientific community and the general population

however. (Deschamps et al) In November 2008 the first WHO

global consultation on the regulatory requirements for

xenotransplantation clinical trials occurred. The resulting

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‘Changsha Communique’ principles outlined how

xenotransplantation has the potential to treat a wide range of

diseases such as diabetes, heart and kidney disease, and

provide transplants for people who currently would not get a

transplant. (World Health Organisation) The FDA estimates ten

patients die each day in the US at the moment while waiting to

receive lifesaving vital organ transplants. (US Food and Drug

Administration “Xenotransplantation”) If xenotransplantation

were to become a viable option the black market trading of

human organs would be curtailed. At the time of writing,

inhabitants of Third World countries can sell their body parts

for more than a lifetime of wages, ‘allowing the impoverished

to trade essential parts of themselves to guarantee the basic

nutritional needs of them and their families.’ (Bowring 225)

Can improved xenotransplantation end this kind of exploitation

of Third World inhabitants? Or would they resent the removal

of a means for them to support themselves and their families,

and simply put more money into the pockets of biotech

industries? Ho and Cummins believe that the lure of a

potentially multi-billion dollar market from the sale of

patented techniques, organs and drugs to over-come rejection,

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is causing large biotech companies like Imutran (a subsidiary

of Novartis) to push ahead with the technology despite the

risk of viral pandemics. (Institute of Science in Society) If

it is in the interests of biotech companies to dispel publics

concerns about xenotransplantation and genetic engineering

then representations of trans-species heroes like Jake in

popular culture assist that purpose.

In the film the Omaticaya are not initially willing to accept

Jake into their group. It is only when assured by Neytiri that

there have been signs from their deity Ewya that he should not

be killed that they reluctantly allow him to learn their ways.

Tsu’tey, the next in line to be clan leader, says of Jake “his

alien stink fills my nose.” Mark Jerng argues that it is not

that clones are “intrinsically evil but cloning disfigures

human relations...and while dystopian fiction tends to see

clones as less than human because of a lack of normative

narration of individuation, another set of narratives see

clones as human, but only in terms of a familiar, normative

script of individuation based around the family.” (370) In

order for Jake in his avatar body to be accepted by the social

group, he must first be ordained by their God and then become

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part of their tribal family. Cameron references a pantheon of

religions in the film, such as Hindu, Ancient Greek, and

Native American. There is also clearly a Christian allegory

within the narrative. Dr Grace Augustine, whose name alludes

to the saint, takes Jake Sully (whose flesh has been ‘sullied’

in war) and performs a metaphorical baptism on him by lying

him down in the avatar link unit and pushing his head down. He

is then reborn into his avatar body enabling him to experience

the heavenly utopia that is Pandora. The makers of Avatar

carefully weave science and spirituality together in the film

to naturalize the process of genetic engineering by

linguistically and narratively placing it within the paradigms

of religion and family. For cloning technologies to be funded

by the government in the US it will be important for the

objections of religious groups to be addressed. Incorporating

genetic engineering into creationist myths in popular culture

helps to bridge the gap between science and spirituality, at

least for the more secular masses, even if it doesn’t convince

fundamentalists.

The exoticism of Pandora and culture of the Na’vi provide

the ‘other’ needed to highlight the folly of humankind’s greed

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for power and control. Parker Selfridge (rhymes with selfish),

the mining administrator in Avatar, fails to understand the

value of the bio-botanical neural network that links all life

form on Pandora. He reduces the value of the Omaticaya’s home

by saying “It’s just a goddam tree.” His thinking is entrapped

in a semantic prison and the audience is positioned to feel

angered by his disregard for life on Pandora. This

reductionist way of treating life through the semantics is

paralleled in the laboratory practices of geneticists. “If

genetic reductionism is anywhere legitimate then it has to be

in the context of an embryonic ball of cells, where the human

is sterilized and distilled to its atomic essence, and where

genetic oddities or imperfections reveal themselves to be pure

biological errors, programming mistakes that must be corrected

or erased.” (Bowring 193) This leads to one of the major

arguments against cloning: that it is impossible to establish

when human life begins, and that using developing embryos for

SCNT shows disregard for the sanctity of life. Researchers

have asserted that they are using left over embryos from IVF

and have suggested that aborted embryos could be used for

research purposes to minimize concerns over the practice.

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Another concern is the numbers of eggs required to produce a

single viable stem cell line; many hundreds of eggs are often

used before success.

The major question raised by genetic engineering is

whether the genetic engineering will contribute to a better

human condition or worse. It is a question that can only be

answered with time. Critics of cloning however currently feel

that the practice shows a disregard for life, similar to the

disregard for life on Pandora that is criticized by the makers

of Avatar.

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Works Cited

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Avatar. Dir. James Cameron. Perf. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodrigeuz, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore. Twentieth Century Fox.2009. DVD.

Ed Wood. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette. Touchstone, 1994. DVD.

Baudrillard, Jean. “The Evil Demon of Images and The Precession of Simularcra.” Postmodernism: A Reader. Ed. Thomas Docherty, New York and London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993. 194-99, Print.

Boseley, Sarah. “Parkinson’s Miraccle Cure Turns into a Catastrophe.” Guardian.co.uk The Guardian. 13 March 2001. Web. 7 June 2010

Bowring, Finn. Science, Seeds and Cyborgs. London; Verso, 2003. Print

Chomsky, Noam. Understanding Power. Ed. Peter R. Mitchell and JohnSchoeffel. Melbourne: Scribe Publications, 2003. Print.

Dahinden, Urs et al. “Dilemmas of Genetic Information.” Gaskell and Bauer 9 – 28. Print

Deschamps, JY et al. “History of Xenotransplantation” PubMed.gov. National Center for Biotechnology Information, 12 March 2005. Web. 5 June 2010.

Eisenburg, Anne “Replacement Bones, Grown to Order in the Lab.” nytimes.com. The New York Times. 26 March 2010. Web. 9June 2010

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FDA U.S. Food and Drug Administration “Xenotransplantation” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 4 February 2010. Web. 5 June 2010

Gaskill, George and Martin W. Bauer, eds. Genomics and Society. London and Sterling, VA : Earthscan, 2006. Print.

Hoe, Mae-Wan and Joe Cummins “Bad Science and Big Business Putthe World at Risk from ViralPandemics – Xenotransplantation” isis news. Institute of Science in Society, 2010. Web. 10 June 2010.

Jameson, Fredric. “Postmodernism and Consumer Society” The Cultural Turn: Selected Writings on the Postmodern 1983-1998, New York:Verso, 1998, Print.

Jelsoe, Erling et al. “Moving the Goalposts in Bioethics.” Gaskell and Bauer 44 – 59. Print.Kolata, Gina. Clone. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1998. Print

Jerng, Mark. “Giving Form to Life: Cloning and Narrative Expectations of the Human.” Partial Answers: Journal of Literature and the History of Ideas. Vol 6. No 2. (June 2008): 369-393. Print.

Kirby, David. “The Devil in Our DNA: A Brief History of Eugenics in Science Fiction Films” Literature and Medicine. Vol26, No 1. (Spring 2007): 83-108. Print

McClintock, Pamela and Michael Fleming. “Fox shifts Avatar’ ‘Museum’” Variety. 11 December 2007. Web. 7 June 2010.

McFadden, John Joe. “Our Genes are Doomed.” Guardian.co.uk. The Guardian. 5 February 2001. Web. 6 June 2010.

Moore, Russell. “Avatar: Rambo in Reverse.” The Christian Post. 21 December 2009. Web. 7 June 2010.

NYCEDC. NYC Bioscience: 2009 Year in Review. New York City Economic Development Corporation. 2009. Web. 7th of June 2010

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Partnership for New York City. 2010. Web. 7 June 2010.

Partnership for New York City. New York City Bioscience Initiative Overview. Partnership for New York City. 2009. Web. 7 June2010.

Reuters. “First ‘proven’ human cloned embryo” ABC Science. ABC. 18January 2008. Web. 8 June 2010.

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Sutherland, John. “The ideas interview: Julian Savulescu” Guardian.co.uk The Guardian. 10 Oct. 2005, Web. 6 June 2010.

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