The Varsity Theater is screening the documentary FIXED on October 9 (7-9 p.m.).
This screening is organized by the UW Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, and is a fundraiser for the neuroethics group there. After the film, there will be a panel of speakers, including Joanne Woiak from UW Disability Studies, Kayla Brown from DO-IT, and Sara Goering from UW Philosophy and Disability Studies. Cost is $5/student with ID, and $10 for others.
A haunting, subtle, urgent documentary, FIXED questions commonly held beliefs about disability and normalcy by exploring technologies that promise to change our bodies and minds forever. Told primarily through the perspectives of five people with disabilities: a scientist, journalist, disability justice educator, bionics engineer and exoskeleton test pilot, FIXED takes a close look at the implications of emerging human enhancement technologies for the future of humanity.
Patty Berne works at the Center for Genetics and Society as Project Director on Race, Disability and Eugenics, where she focuses on raising awareness about the ethical implications of emerging prenatal screening technologies. Fernanda Castelo works with Ekso Bionics as a test pilot, helping them develop the Ekso, a bionic exoskeleton which allows people with no or limited function in their legs to walk. Engineer Hugh Herr runs the Biomechatronics Lab at the MIT Media Lab where he designs bionic legs which allow himself, a double amputee, and others, to rock climb, trail run, play tennis, etc. John Hockenberry is an Emmy and Peabody award winning journalist, author, radio host (WNYC?s ?The Takeaway?) and distinguished fellow at the MIT Media Lab, where he works to promote research into human-machine collaborations. Gregor Wolbring is a biochemist and ability studies scholar at the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta, who lectures worldwide on human enhancement technologies and ableism.
Info on the film: http://www.fixedthemovie.com