The pioneering freethinker and 1960s folk hero Stewart Brand makes a case for so-called de-extinction in this documentary.
“We Are as Gods” is a mildly interesting documentary about a very interesting man: Stewart Brand, the author, lecturer, entrepreneur, technologist and environmentalist whose unorthodox thinking made him a kind of folk hero and celebrity within the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Through archival footage and talking-head interviews, the film chronicles Brand’s rise from upstart Stanford biology student to LSD-loving associate of the novelist Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters, the famed cabal of devotees who are the subject of Tom Wolfe’s book “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.” As this storied history unfolds, we also learn what Brand, now in his 80s, has been up to these days: working with the geneticist George M. Church to promote the use of biotechnology to bring extinct species back from the dead.
To the credit of the filmmakers, David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg, Brand’s case for so-called de-extinction receives plenty of onscreen pushback, in the form of various scientists and environmentalists who regard the notion of reviving woolly mammoths with the droll skepticism of Jeff Goldblum in “Jurassic Park.” (I did not leave the film convinced, as Brand is, that de-extinction could reverse climate change and save the world.)
But much of the rest of the film treats Brand with a degree of unqualified reverence that borders on hagiographic, to sometimes hilariously overstated effect — as when Brand, describing a line of novelty buttons he produced in the mid-60s after an acid trip, takes credit for catalyzing modern environmentalism, which the film just accepts without question. There’s no doubt Brand is a fascinating individual. But let’s not pretend he’s a god.
We Are as Gods
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. Rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
