Of Heroes and Monsters

The Social Impact of Life Sciences as Reflected in Culture - A theme-based festival

What happens to human beings in an age when they can technically reproduce themselves? How does a species develop when it takes control of its own evolution?  Since the 1960s there has been an intensive, yet relatively abstract ethical and philosophical debate about genetic engineering. It reached a climax at the turn of the millennium when, for the first time, scientists succeeded in cloning a large mammal (the sheep “Dolly) and completed the gargantuan project of decoding the entire human genome. Technical developments and the processes of social adaptation and anticipation have continued unabated ever since.

The human race continues to gain more and more experience with forms of life, survival and sustained existence, all of which would be impossible without modern medical-technical innovations.  New drugs optimize physical conditions and functions with the promise of incredible feats of performance. Prenatal diagnostic and reproductive medicine has made it possible to selectively modify unborn life and have become general practice in the meantime. Organ transplants and other massive alterations to the body have made patients into “cyborgs”, whose lives depend on the prosthetic circuitry of medical apparatus.

There is evidence that shows we are now in the midst of processes which – in their interaction with one another – could potentially result in new forms of human life or at least new possibilities of human development. What was once just a vision of a manmade advancement or expansion of the human species has become a reality of everyday life in a variety of fields. The new possibilities evoke both ancient hopes and primordial fears. The cultural view of technical development often utilizes figures which originate in the mythical, prehistoric times of human culture. Human-beast hybrids, homunculi, zombies and spirits of all shapes and sizes populate the modern arsenal of our collective fantasy. The ancient dream of conquering sickness and pain (forever) and perhaps even stopping the aging process are counterparts to the nightmares of the undead who are imprisoned between life and death. And because humans have never been able to meddle with their own reproduction and development until recently, this new capability has stoked the fear of punishment for overstepping the dictates of religion and the laws of nature.

In recent years there have been a slew of “undead” characters in films, literature and pop culture. Is this perhaps an indication that society has become more attuned to the current and potential impact of the bio-technologization of life? Can these images, which we find in a vast array of areas and levels of culture, and the practices of youth and subculture be a reaction to already shifting views of birth, sickness and death and even an increasing readiness to embrace a “trans-humanistic” future?

A three-day festival at Kampnagel in Hamburg in May 2011 will confront the predominant debates on the ethics of medical and life-scientific developments with a broad spectrum of cultural productions and positions. Representatives from the humanities, cultural scientific disciplines, literature, art and film will engage in a productive dialogue with medical practitioners and ethicists on the future of the human race. Instead of a purely specialized discussion among experts of similar disciplines, the debate will offer perspectives that widen the familiar horizon of the participants. Each issue or thematic complex will be supervised by a curatorial panel, comprised of representatives from the fields of science and culture, and will examine (at least) one artistic/cultural work as the basis of discussion. This could be, for example, a compilation of film excerpts on a certain subject, a performance, a reading from different novels, the introduction to an artistic oeuvre, etc.

The Federal Cultural Foundation has allocated 500,000 euros to fund the project “Of Heroes and Monsters. The Social Impact of Life Sciences as Reflected in Culture” in 2010.