So I was thinking this morning how cool it is what Episode II has subtly done for the advancement of social opinion on cloning. By default everyone seems to think cloning is evil. I am totally lost as to the source of this, most taboos I can either understand their source or if not that, I at least subscribe to the taboo (thank you societal influence). So along comes Episode II. Now I admit the message that it gives is not a focused positive message, but it’s a step. The scene I’m talking about is when Obi Wan goes to meet Jango Fett at his place on Camino. In the scene there is a clearly familiar and comfortable relationship between Jango Fett and his son, who happens to be a clone of him. This is what cloning will be. It’s not going to be like in Multiplicity where people are creating duplicates of themselves. People in general, when thinking about cloning, somehow completely overlook the fact that even if you clone something, you’re only cloning a single cell (usually a zygote). To much bad sci-fi must be the cause of all this. A clone still has to grow. So, I diverge. This father son relationship which is totally natural (except for the fact that Boba seems to be inherently evil [possibly a side effect of cloning we haven’t yet noticed]) is how cloning will exist in the real world. It will be completely normal, except for the fact that the child will be more like the parent than a normal child (which is a cocktail of two parents). Anyhow, I’m looking forward to this becoming socially acceptable, however it probably won’t knowing the despair inducing state of the world and it’s psychotic beliefs about supernatural beings, incessant fascination with super telephoto camera shots of semi nude celebrities, and the existence of the lottery.
Sigh
