King of Clones

Last updated

King of Clones
Poster for King of Clones (Netflix documentary).jpg
GenreScience documentary
Directed byAditya Thayi
Composer Dan Deacon [1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom [1]
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes1 Episode
Production
Executive producers
  • Kavitha de Silva Wijeyeratne [1]
  • Aditya Thayi [1]
ProducerSyahirah A. Karim [1]
Running time85 minutes [2]
Production companyPeddling Pictures [1]
Original release
Network Netflix
Release23 June 2023 (2023-06-23)

King of Clones is a documentary released on Netflix and directed by Aditya Thayi which examines the Hwang affair involving human cloning by South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk. [3]

Contents

Description

The documentary is described by Netflix as "After rocking the world with work in human cloning, a scientist falls from grace. Now, he's back -- this time with pets and extinct species." [4]

Release

The film was released on 23 June 2023 by Netflix. [2]

Production

King of Clones was directed by London-based Singaporean filmmaker Aditya Thayi via and is a Netflix U.K. commission. Thayi has 20 nominations and five wins at the Asian Television Awards, including two wins for best direction. Thayi described Hwang as a "polarizing figure" in South Korea and wanted to do an objective take on him." [1]

According to Variety , Thayi learned about Hwang due to anxiety he had waiting for the birth of his child, due to growing up in India in the 1980s where multiple industrial disasters occurred affecting children's health. He looked into getting genetic testing done and "was amazed by the choices that modern science has put in the hands of prospective parents and the complex ethical questions it raised." He then learned of Dr. Hwang and the hope that his stem cell research gave to parents, and believed "this story could touch upon the areas of science I personally wanted to explore and went on a mad ride with it... We set out to make a film about what happens when the domain of the Gods intersects the domain of scientists and Hwang’s life gave us the material to speak of the various themes we wanted to touch upon." Thayi wrote to Hwang for nine months before getting access. [1]

Hwang told Thayi that he gets about 50 interview requests a month from news organizations, but turns all of them down. Thayi told Variety "I went into this film thinking that I was going to find a crazy monster in the science, but I find that the science – there’s nothing really wrong with it, it’s pretty solid. I think it’s just as human beings, we’ve not really had discussions about where the science can take us... It has been possible to clone a human being for at least 10 years, the scientific ability is there, it’s just that somebody somewhere has to just do it. And then you’ll have to reckon with it. But I fear that we’ve not really spent so much time thinking about it." [1]

Reception

In a pre-release article, Variety reported that this would be a "sensational documentary film featuring unprecedented access to South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk... Hwang’s rise to prominence started with his successful cloning of cows and pigs. In 2002, Hwang embarked upon human cloning research and partnered with Moon Shin-yong, an obstetrician with expertise in in-vitro fertilization. Their collaboration led to a major announcement in 2004, claiming the successful cloning of human embryos, with the potential to cure some diseases. The announcement fueled a heated debate on bioethics, despite Hwang and Moon emphasizing that their work focused solely on therapeutic purposes and strongly opposing reproductive cloning." [1]

The Daily Beast reported that the documentary "is a primer on the rise and fall of Hwang, a former superstar who currently plies his genetics trade in the United Arab Emirates, cloning camels for the rich and powerful, who covet them for both their attractiveness and their racing prowess." It also concluded that "King of Clones resounds as a plea for more rigorous cloning-research standards, especially considering that the Chinese have cloned two monkeys—meaning that, in effect, primates (including humans) are now duplicatable... Still, a more comprehensive examination would have benefited Thayi’s film, which generally serves as a surface-level portrait about a scientific advancement that could change the world for the better or the worse, and a man who knows how to wield it but can’t necessarily be trusted to do so." According to Hwang “Grief is the catalyst. It’s where our cloning process really begins.” King of Clones reinforces that notion by profiling interventional radiologist Dr. Alexander Ruebben, who was so distraught over the passing of his French bulldog Csillo that—like Barbra Streisand—he opted to have the pet cloned. Ruebben talks lovingly about his pooch and shakes off criticisms of his conduct in a manner similar to Hwang, who states, “You can’t ignore a path just because it’s reckless.” [5]

Nicole Ackman of Readysteadycut.com explains that the film explores Hwang's scientific discoveries, falls from favor, and actions after the scandal, but it also explains what cloning is "complete with simple animations that can help even the least STEM-oriented person understand the basic science behind it." The review says that "Thayi shows several examples of cloning to demonstrate all of the possible uses that Hwang was working towards. From recreating a beloved pet to bringing back an extinct animal, the possibilities are seemingly endless. Some personal stories of those wanting something or someone cloned are pretty touching," but concludes that "While King of Clones does a great job condensing very complicated information into a succinct documentary, I wish it took more of a stance on the complex moral issues it brings to light." [2]

Rolling Stone called the film "a cautionary tale of a Korean genetic researcher whose revolutionary findings proved too good to be true, and said that Thayi "uses methods both playful... and serious, sometimes melding these approaches into something ultimately quite human." [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human cloning</span> Creation of a genetically identical copy of a human

Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue. It does not refer to the natural conception and delivery of identical twins. The possibilities of human cloning have raised controversies. These ethical concerns have prompted several nations to pass laws regarding human cloning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clonaid</span> Human cloning organization

Clonaid is an American-based human cloning organization, registered as a company in the Bahamas. Founded in 1997, it has philosophical ties with the UFO religion Raëlism, which sees cloning as the first step in achieving immortality. On December 27, 2002, Clonaid's chief executive, Brigitte Boisselier, claimed that a baby clone, named Eve, was born. Media coverage of the claim sparked serious criticism and ethical debate that lasted more than a year. Florida attorney Bernard Siegel tried to appoint a special guardian for Eve and threatened to sue Clonaid, because he was afraid that the child might be treated like a lab rat. Siegel, who heard the company's actual name was not Clonaid, decided that the Clonaid project was a sham. Bioethicist Clara Alto condemned Clonaid for premature human experimentation and noted the high incidence of malformations and thousands of fetal deaths in animal cloning.

Hwang Woo-suk is a South Korean veterinarian and researcher. He was a professor of theriogenology and biotechnology at Seoul National University until he was dismissed on March 20, 2006. He was considered a pioneering expert in stem cell research and even called the "Pride of Korea". However, he became infamous around November 2005 for fabricating a series of stem cell experiments that were published in high-profile journals, the case known as the Hwang affair.

Snuppy was an Afghan hound, the first dog clone. The puppy was created using a cell from an ear from an adult Afghan hound and involved 123 surrogate mothers, of which only two produced pups. The Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology at Seoul National University, which cloned Snuppy, was led by Woo Suk Hwang. Snuppy has since been used in the first known successful breeding between cloned canines after his sperm was used to artificially inseminate two cloned females, which resulted in the birth of 10 puppies in 2008. In 2017, 4 clones of Snuppy were made by Sooam, and were the first clones made of a cloned dog, to investigate potential health effects of cloning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hwang Jung-min</span> South Korean actor (born 1970)

Hwang Jung-min is a South Korean actor. He established himself as a leading man in the romantic drama You Are My Sunshine (2005). One of the highest-grossing actors in South Korea, Hwang has starred in several box office hits such as The Unjust (2010), Dancing Queen (2012), New World (2013), Ode to My Father (2014), Veteran (2015), The Himalayas (2015), A Violent Prosecutor (2016), The Wailing (2016), The Spy Gone North (2018), Deliver Us from Evil (2020), 12.12: The Day (2023). His performance in the latter earned him Best Actor at the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards.

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The Missyplicity Project was a project devoted to cloning Joan Hawthorne and John Sperling's dog, a border collie and husky mix. Missy died on July 6, 2002, at the age of 15.

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The Hwang affair, or Hwang scandal, or Hwanggate, is a case of scientific misconduct and ethical issues surrounding a South Korean biologist, Hwang Woo-suk, who claimed to have created the first human embryonic stem cells by cloning in 2004. Hwang and his research team at the Seoul National University reported in the journal Science that they successfully developed a somatic cell nuclear transfer method with which they made the stem cells. In 2005, they published again in Science the successful cloning of 11 person-specific stem cells using 185 human eggs. The research was hailed as "a ground-breaking paper" in science. Hwang was elevated as "the pride of Korea", "national hero" [of Korea], and a "supreme scientist", to international praise and fame. Recognitions and honours immediately followed, including South Korea's Presidential Award in Science and Technology, and Time magazine listing him among the "People Who Mattered 2004" and the most influential people "The 2004 Time 100".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ramachandran, Naman (24 June 2023). "Explosive Human Cloning Documentary Unveiled at Netflix". variety.com. Variety. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Ackman, Nicole (24 June 2023). "King of Clones Review – spotlight on a disgraced scientist". readysteadycut.com. Ready Steady Cut. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  3. ↑ Serba, John (24 June 2023). "Stream It Or Skip It: 'King of Clones' on Netflix, a Fascinating Documentary About Scientist Dr. Hwang Woo-suk's Cloning Scandal". decider.com. Decider. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "King of Clones". Netflix.com. Netflix. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Schager, Nick (23 June 2023). "'King of Clones': The Rise and Fall of Korea's Most Controversial Scientist: Playing God". thedailybeast.com. The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  6. ↑ VOGNAR, CHRIS (23 June 2023). "The 'National Hero' Who Faked Human Cloning". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
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