Apr 15
Amherst Cinema Amherst, MA
TicketsCarrie N. Baker, J.D., Ph.D.
Sylvia D'Lugasch Bauman Professor of American Studies, Smith College; Chair of the Program for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality
The Pod Generation— Pushing the limits: Ethics, opportunities and perils of reproductive technologies
Program Description
In the 1970s, some feminists dreamed that artificial wombs would liberate women, not only from the dangers and burdens of pregnancy and childbirth, but also from patriarchal control and inequality of the sexes. Others, however, warned of the dangers of reproductive technologies for women's health, as well as the potential for expanded patriarchal control of women's bodies and lives, particularly of women marginalized by race and class. Professor Baker explains this historical context and current debates around reproductive technologies, their legal regulation and their potential for liberating or subordinating humanity.
Film Synopsis
A New York couple's wild ride to parenthood involves a new tool developed by a tech giant, Pegazus.
A New York couple, Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor) live in a not-so-distant future where technology provides ever-more convenient living. A rising tech company executive, Rachel lands a coveted spot at the Womb Center, which offers couples a convenient (and shareable) maternity by way of detachable artificial wombs, or pods. But Alvy, a botanist with an affection for nature, prefers a natural pregnancy. And yet, as Rachel’s AI therapist puts it, why is that “natural”? So begins the tech-paved path to parenthood.
A social satire of detachment parenting, Sophie Barthes’ third feature delves into the fraught, comedically tantalizing relationship between technology, nature, and society. In her imaginative world, AIs make coffee, print toast, track productivity, and measure people’s “bliss index.” But at what cost? Even nature is no longer natural (there are “nature pods”). Barthes brings a funny, philosophical sensibility to her questioning of society’s giddy pursuit of convenience, tech’s intrusion in our lives, womb envy, and the commodification of… everything. And Clarke and Ejiofor’s wry touch and emotional depth lend it a deep resonance and romance.
WINNER: Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, Sundance 2023
About the Speaker
Carrie N. Baker is a Professor in the Program for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and a co-founder of the Five College Program in Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice. She recently authored the open access book Abortion Pills: US History and Politics (Amherst College Press, 2024). Baker is the former President of the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts; a current board member of Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts; and a co-founder of the Abortion Truth Campaign, which works to protect people from anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers' disinformation and predatory practices. She is contributing editor and regular writer at Ms. magazine, has a monthly column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette and has a radio show, Feminist Futures, on WHMP 101.5 in Northampton.