X-Message-Number: 23072 Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 00:00:40 -0800 From: "John Grigg" <> Subject: Cryonics in the media Mark Plus wrote: Meanwhile, Leon Kass, Immortalism's current arch-enemy, seems idiosyncratically focussed on fictional portrayals of characters who bring disaster upon themselves from meddling with the natural order and reaching for things allegedly beyond human propriety. (Curiously, Kass doesn't seem to be bothered by the Borgs on his side, like the defibrillated Vice President or the cochlear-implanted Rush Limbaugh.) Apparently Kass is too Matrix-bound to consider other perspectives, and he would have everyone take the Blue Pill, indefinitely. Refer, for example, to the Slate article, "Anti-Science-Fiction": (end) I thought Jeremy Rifkin was the arch-enemy of immortalism? lol It was about three years ago that Rifkin was deemed that by some at Extro 5. I suppose arch-enemies change over time. I look forward to reading a book circa 2023 which proves through historical anecdote what a deluded fool Kass was. And hopefully there well be a chapter telling the story of how Kass finally made that realization himself. he continues: Either that, or else Immortalists could co-opt the ultimate neo-Luddite bogeyman, Victor Frankenstein. If American culture has been able to give vampires a public-relations makeover so that novels, movies and television shows regularly portray them sympathetically, with blonde American girls even choosing them as lovers, then I don't see why Frankenstein couldn't get the same treatment. Maybe cryonicists could at least acknowledge an oblique relationship with vampires, since the cryonaut, like the person becoming a vampire, has his blood removed in a process that (we hope!) leads to a dispensation from mortality. (end) The Anne Rice novels sure did remake the vampire genre, but I find it strange romanticizing mythical beings who are by their very nature serial killers. But vampires in film and print tend to be shown as much better looking & charming than Dr. Frankenstein and his rampaging monster. As for linking cryonicists with pop culture's beloved vampires, when you remove the blood & insert his masters to make a new member of the undead you get a fiend with instant immortality and supernatural powers who looks great at the local night club. While with cryonics you remove the blood, put in cryoprotectants and then put the subject into a dewar where he stays put till brought back many years later by advanced technology. I know cryonics and killer zombies have been linked in film but that was not something which would cause new recruits to rush to their phones to call Alcor or CI. lol Instead of graves they had dewars to rise out of as they sought to terrorize the living. Actually, the recent Frankenstein film starring Kenneth Branagh as the doctor, showed him sympathetically as a scientist trying to improve the race and fight mortality after the tragic and premature death of his own mother. And as for having a lover, Helena Bonham Carter was the woman cast to be his lover and wife! I'd say Dr. Frankenstein was doing pretty dang good on the matter of who was his lover. We should all do so well. When it comes to the message the book and films had, some say it was not really about science gone amok but the great tragedy of a child not receiving the care it needs from its parental figure. So the story of Frankenstein is very relevant for our time as we move forward to create new machine and biological life. As far as the Frankenstein monster goes, the recent tv commercials showing him as a prosperous aging boomer who does tai chi, gardening and even plays the guitar for school children thanks to a brand name pain reliever are not only hilarious but show the power of advertising. "I used to suffer from such stiff joints until I started using ________." "Just look at how I used to be (they show a clip from the classic Frankenstein film where the monster staggers forward with his arms jutting forward)!. On a recent Saturday Night-Live episode they had a tv commercial parody which was already briefly mentioned on Cryonet. A thoughtful man says to the camera "I suffer from halitosis and my doctor recommended I try cryogenics." Another person states "I have bad dandruff and my doctor recommended the same thing!" A narrator chimes in with a colorful computer graphic demonstrating how "cryogenics" works. "With cryogenics the blood in your body will be drained and your body frozen (graphics show the red body slowly turning blue)." "Then your head will be removed and put in longterm cold storage (the graphics show the head being snapped off with jagged edges and taken from the body)." A testimonial bearing woman matter of factly says "my doctor says in the future science will be able to bring me back!" And finally a man says "I am male pattern baldness so I can tell you, cryogenics is for me!" I realize some cryonicists might be offended but I think playful humor like this could to an extent get people to relax about a subject which became a lightning rod for negative public opinion in recent months. Humor properly used *by* cryonicists could be a boon for us in getting the message out. Cryonics has found its best niche in entertainment media by being the means to put a new twist in the classic Romeo and Juliet style storyline. "Forever Young" with Mel Gibson and the probably better film "Late for Dinner" are examples of this. "Ralph's Journey" by David Pizer is a literary take on the same thing. Personally, I'm very glad cryonics is seen in such a romantic light by pop culture. I'll take this over vampires and Frankenstein any day. What I think we need is a popular film which shows cryonics as more than just a plot device to get people from point A in time to point B. If cryonics WERE the focus and hero of the story with brave and devoted people working to make it happen, we would have our chance to really get the message out properly. The film would have to end with the characters "on the other side" and greatly enjoying their transformed bodies/lives in a new and wonderful world. best wishes, John Grigg ____________________________________________________________ Free Poetry Contest. Win $10,000. 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