When accomplished the right way, scientific advancements and medical breakthroughs are huge matters, remembered for years to come by many different people in various fields. They could be colleagues who are honored to stand next to you or journalistic reporters who want to help bring the news to extraordinary heights with their coverage. With that all being said, one wrong move on the way to fame and fortune for these researchers and doom could seep into their academic work, spoiling everything they hoped to achieve.
Albeit still very controversial among many, the process of cloning everything from stem cells to animals is a rapidly evolving phenomenon. A new documentary on Netflix calledKing of Clones,which was released on June 23, brings interested viewers even more into this new world by highlighting one of the most connected names, Korean researcher and veterinarian Hwang Woo-suk.
Starting in 1999 and through various photo-ops andexciting press releases, Hwang made public promises to the press as to what his work could do for the world on a global scale. He made his beginnings primarily by cloning livestock, notably two cows named Yeongrong-i and Jin-i. These achievements alone attached a god-like status to the man.
Taking the World By Storm In the Worst Way
While the filmmakers ofKing of Cloneshold numerous interviews with the man of the hour himself, some of the interviewees in this explorative timeline piece include Dr. Alex Tinson, who is the Australian director of research at the United Arab Emirates Presidential Camel Center, radiologist Dr. Alexander Rueben and Pastor Kim Jea Un.
While all three of these individuals have a unique and heartfelt story about their connection with Hwang, which helps the overall documentary teasea satisfying conclusion, the official description given by Netflix teases a devastating controversy that turns everything promised thus far onto its head.
Fast-forward five years, and with the many trials pertaining to this subject in science coming along nicely, Hwang Woo-suk stepped onto a new stage in February 2004 when he and his team created an embryonic stem cell. While this could have been an extraordinary event,King of Clonesdives right into the scandal and re-embellishes the fact that the eggs which were used for research were actually extracted from female members of Hwang’s own organization.
This automatically stamped a seal of ethical malpractice to his work. Since the heat was already on, some more digging revealed that nine out of eleven supposed lines of embryonic stem cells were faked. On top of everything else, it was later discovered that DNA profile pictures in Hwang’s paper were manipulated, perhaps even duplicated.
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Producing King of Clones In a Unique Way
The best part aboutKing of Clonesis not the emotionally based arcs that surround Dr. Reuben and his quest to clone his deceased French bulldog named Csillo orthe spiritually-freeing enlightenmentthat occurred with Pastor Kim Jea Un after his son’s untimely passing. While profiles like these help to open up conversations about death and religion without the same ferocious intensity of ripping off a bandage by spotlighting both sides, director Adita Thayi adds an extra layer to the documentary by letting viewers themselves figure out the present situation of Hwang Woo-suk.
At the end of the feature, he has apeaceful and tearful reunionwith the pastor, which brings about a conclusive scene, but in no way does this represent an ending for Hwang’s professional career. When one pays close attention to the choice words said throughout the slices of interviewed scenes, Hwang seems to be consistently looking forward to the future and trying not to pay much attention to the past.
He tackles the usual accusations and doubts that come with this new riveting science but never forgets to showcase the many benefits that cloning could have for different industries. Whether all of this is classified asa dystopian downfallof society or the beginning of a bright and new age,King of Clonesis an exhilarating ride into the future.
Based in Singapore but with films that cover a wide range of topics in other countries, including London and Mumbai, Peddling Pictures worked alongside Mr. Thayi to bring this surreal documentary to life.
With the company’s earliest work being afantastic TV miniseriescalledDeciphering India,which was released in 2016 and looked into the revolving intricacies of the country’s fluctuating social and political issues, they have gone on to make other through-the-looking-glass featurettes.
These featurettes includeCoded World,which delves into how digital algorithms are taking over the world’s infrastructure;Ideas vs Pandemic, a look into how some very creative people in Singapore who were motivated by the 2020 pandemic to find solutions to overbearing issues at the time and more recently,Click to Ransom, an hour-long documentary that details the fight between a rural Japanese hospital and an international cybercriminal organization who wanted millions of dollars in exchange for the return of confidential patient information.
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With explorative features that touch on subjects all across the world, the folks over at Peddling Pictures seem to have struck gold once more with their mesmerizing and detailed glance into a single man’s befuddled attempt to quickly change the world. As it is readily available for streaming on Netflix,King of Clonesis one documentary you don’t want to miss out on. Just don’t find yourself cloned in the process.
