A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics, and the American Dream is a documentary film which premiered in 2016.
Here is some basic information about it:
** Director: Stephanie Welch
** Writers: Andrew Kimbrell, David Scalisi and Stephanie Welch
** Narrator: Neil Harvey
** Distribution: Bull Frog Films
** Run time: 106 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):
Garland Allen
Ignacio Chapela
Barry Commoner (1917-2012)
Troy Duster
Fidelma Fitzpatrick
Agustin Fuentes
Ruth Hubbard (1924-2016)
Oliver James
Van Jones
Jay Joseph
Evelyn Fox Keller
Andrew Kimbrell
James Lefanu
Joseph J. Levin, Jr.
Richard Lewontin
Robert Pollack
Robert Reich
William H. Tucker
Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the talking heads. Archive footage is used while the narrator is talking.
THE PLOT
Eugenics is an idea that was popular in the US in the beginning of the 20th century. Later it was popular in Nazi Germany.
After World War Two, when it became clear how popular the idea had been in Nazi Germany, it was no longer as popular as before, but it is still circulating in different forms and versions.
This is why the director and her crew decided to create this film. They want to issue a warning: eugenics is a dangerous idea.
REVIEWS AND RATINGS
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 63 percent, which corresponds to 3.2 stars on Amazon.
On Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 69 percent (audience score) which corresponds to 3.5 stars on Amazon.
On Amazon there are at the moment 53 global ratings and 42 global reviews. The average rating is 3.8 stars which corresponds to a rating of 76 percent.
Amazon reviewers love or hate this product. 69 percent are very positive. They offer four or five stars, while 28 percent are very negative. They offer only one or two stars. The average rating (three stars) is only offered by 3 percent of reviews. There is no middle ground here. Reviewers love or hate this product.
Bull Frog Films is in charge of distribution. If you visit the website of this company, you will
find several positive statements about this film. Here is a link:
Bull Frog Films = A Dangerous Idea (2016)
The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film in a review posted online 27 September 2018. The review is written by THR staff. No names are given, which is a bit odd.
This anonymous review accuses the film of being one-sided because it allows critics of eugenics to speak out. People who want to defend this idea are seen and heard but only briefly. No one is allowed to offer an extensive defence of this idea.
This accusation is absurd. There is no law which says that a documentary film must be neutral or balanced.
Many documentary films are one-sided and there is nothing wrong with this. The director and the crew have a message which they want to present and they will spend most of the time available doing this.
They are not obligated to spend a lot of time arguing against their own message. Perhaps this has already been done before. Perhaps this is why they are creating their film.
CONCLUSION
What is my opinion about this product? What do I think about it? In my opinion, the first half is not as good as the second half.
The first half is like a long introduction which did not capture my attention, but I am glad I did not give up.
The second half is much better than the first part. The second part captured my attention. It is well done.
As you can see, the ratings hover somewhere between three and four stars. I understand why. This film is not great, but I do think it is good. I want to offer a rating of four stars (80 percent).
PS. The Eugenics Crusade is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2018. It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience. For details about this film, visit my blog of June 2019. Here is a link:
*****
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