Bioethics at the Movies

Bioethics at the Movies explores the ways in which popular films engage basic bioethical concepts and concerns. Twenty-one philosophically grounded essays use cinematic tools such as character and plot development scene setting and narrative framing to demonstrate a range of principles and topics in contemporary medical ethics.The first two sections plumb popular and bioethical thought on birth abortion genetic selection and personhood through several films including The Cider House Rules Citizen Ruth Gattaca and I Robot. In the third section the contributors examine medical practice and troubling questions about the quality and commodification of life by way of Dirty Pretty Things Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and other movies. The fourth section's essays use Million Dollar Baby Critical Care Big Fish and Soylent Green to show how the medical profession and society at large view issues related to aging dying and death. A final section makes use of Extreme Measures and select films from Spain and Japan to discuss two foundational matters in bioethics: the role of theories and principles in medicine and the importance of cultural context in devising care. Structured to mirror bioethics and cinema classes this innovative work includes end-of-chapter questions for further consideration and contributions from scholars from the United States Canada the United Kingdom Israel Spain and Australia.Contributors: Robert Arp Ph.D. Michael C. Brannigan Ph.D. Matthew Burstein Ph.D. Antonio Casado da Rocha Ph.D. Stephen Coleman Ph.D. Jason T. Eberl Ph.D. Bradley J. Fisher Ph.D. Paul J. Ford Ph.D. Helen Frowe Ph.D. Colin Gavaghan Ph.D. Richard Hanley Ph.D. Nancy Hansen Ph.D. Al-Yasha Ilhaam Ph.D. Troy Jollimore Ph.D. Amy Kind Ph.D. Zana Marie Lutfiyya Ph.D. Terrance McConnell Ph.D. Andy Miah Ph.D. Nathan Norbis Ph.D. Kenneth Richman Ph.D. Karen D. Schwartz LL.B. M.A. Sandra Shapshay Ph.D. Daniel Sperling LL.M. S.J.D. Becky Cox White R.N. Ph.D. Clark Wolf Ph.D.