blog 32

I’m not exactly sure how I can make the topic of Identical twins timely.  I believe this topic isn’t so much current but has made progress in understanding more about identical twins.  I guess the best way to make this topic timely would be to consider the possibilities of human cloning.  Cloning allows us to make a genetically identical copy of a person.  This would be an unnaturally way to make identical twins although an age difference exists.  Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human, human cell, or human tissue. Therapeutic cloning involves cloning cells from an adult for use in medicine and is an active area of research, while reproductive cloning would involve making cloned humans. Such reproductive cloning has not been performed and is illegal in many countries. A third type of cloning called replacement cloning is a theoretical possibility, and would be a combination of therapeutic and reproductive cloning. Replacement cloning would entail the replacement of an extensively damaged, failed, or failing body through cloning followed by whole or partial brain transplant.  I believe that this is the purpose that human cloning will ultimately achieve, a way to immortalize yourself.  Basically you can just upgrade to a healthier body by stealing your identical twin’s, made in the lab, body.  The ethical question that helps make it a current topic is whether this twin made in the lab has it’s own human rights.  It wouldn’t be right to take advantage of this unnaturally born person who would have his or her own uniqueness.

blog 31

I may be writing about identical twins for my commonplace project.  I figure I could just write about awareness and the fact that despite their identical DNA, they retain their own unique personality and identity.  Progress in scientific advancements such as human cloning could allow for a change in identical twins.  Human cloning allows for a genetically identical person to be grown from the donor DNA.  This could allow for identical twins that have a difference in age rather than the same birthday. The correct term for identical twinning is monozygotic. Monozygotic twins form from a single (mono) fertilized egg (zygote). The zygote splits into two parts after conception, resulting in the development of two individual embryos. Because the two embryos are the result of a single egg/sperm combination, they have the same genetic origins. They have the same DNA.  Many people believe that identical twins share a special connection, including the ability to read each other's minds. There is plenty of anecdotal data to support the idea. Nearly every set of twins can relate a story. Sometimes, one twin experiences a physical sensation of something that is happening to their twin (such as labor pains or a heart attack.) Other times they will find that they perform similar actions when they're apart, such as buying the same item, ordering the same meal in a restaurant, or picking up the phone to make a call at the exact same moment. They may appear to know the other's thoughts, by speaking simultaneously or finishing each other's sentences.  I can personally verify these instances because my roommates are identical twins and I have seen them say the same thing at separate times as well as other strange things quite often.

blog 29

 I read the article titled Diversity or Discrimination by Beth Carter.  She argues that Stressing diversity might actually make a college campus less diverse and that the majority groups such as caucasions shouldn’t be left out of diversity programs and such.  Racial intolerance is a prevalent problem on many college campuses. Colleges and universities try to alleviate problems of racism and discrimination by setting up special living communities which allow people of a certain nationality or culture to live together. Creating these living areas may seem like a great idea, yet it is causing more division between races. Having like groups of people isolate themselves by living in a house or dorm eliminates their diversity. Neither the people who live in these secluded communities nor the rest of the campus’s residential population get the full experience of cultural diversity at Ohio State. The university is a unique school because of its many groups, clubs, religions, races and hobbies, but when people start cutting themselves off from others, the diversity disappears. Obviously a living community of just one race is not diverse. While it is reassuring to have security in living with people who share the same background, everyone needs to branch out and face diversity head on.  As a recipient of a minority scholarship for being Appalachian I understand how campuses set up programs to lure more minority groups to the school in hopes of diversity.  

Blog 28

I Read an article about socialization and stereotypes by drink selection.  The article was titled, “you are what you drink” by Ellas Nader.  The articles make an argument that your social class can be defined by what alcoholic beverage you drink as a tool of stereotyping.  It says that whether you’ve ever realized it or not that what you alcohol you choose to drink puts you in a social group with certain qualities and characteristics.  The first two examples the author uses are the martini and the cosmo.  The author says that the cosmo has gained fame and been made personalized by Carrie Bradshaw from sex and the city.  Also, the martini gained its characteristics from James Bond and his famous line, “shaken, not stirred.”  The martini takes on Bond’s personality as being a manly and sophisticated drink.  Just the same the cosmo is a strong, independent and feminine drink.  Natural light represents a party beer and people who drink tend to be parties and binge drinkers looking to have fun.  Natural light markets to college students as being a cool beer and a party beer.  The article also makes an argument that even if you are not a drinker of alcohol that you can still be put in a class by what you don’t drink. They are stereotyped as being extremely focused on academics or their jobs and are notorious for having few friends and a nonexistent social life. The lack of social drinking can place someone into a class of his or her own, allowing others to make snap judgments associated with the stereotype of a non-drinker similar to those that non-drinkers make about those who do drink.

Blog 27

The year is 2025 and the structure of modern civilization has fallen into a now post-apocalyptic world.  If you’ve survived, you can no longer safely walk the streets without the fear of having your body stolen and imprinted with the mind of some one else.  This is an extreme scenario of a world where curiosity and power got the best of mankind and our science spun out of control.  In the popular TV series, Dollhouse, this unfortunate future became a reality. 

The great Rossum Corporation whose power runs deep with influence, created a business out of next-generation prostitution.  Imagine being a wealthy or powerful person and with the help of the dollhouse you can rent a human being to be whoever you want them to be and fulfill your any fantasy.  After wiping clean the minds of hand selected volunteers, the active is imprinted with the persona of whomever the client wishes the doll to become.  These innocent dolls are purchased for anything from a romantic encounter to a dangerous engagement.  Throughout the series, one could question the morals of the dollhouse and the ethics involving the technology they use for mind erasing and imprinting. 

Ethical and moral issues surround modern day science.  Scientific research, especially involving human beings, need to be closely watched and regulated as well as enforcing some sort of ethical code.  Without proper regulation, controversial research such as human cloning could progress out of control and have great consequences.

blog 26

In my last blog, I discussed and defined human cloning and the possibilities that the science in that area is heading towards.  Scientific advancement of cloning has future potential of relating in many ways to the dollhouse technology.  A combination of the two types of cloning that has already been made possible, would allow for the cloning of person into an identical genetic copy.  Then, the original tissue donor or client would just need their memories, personality, etc., programmed into the brain of the clone.  The technology does not yet exist but who’s to say that it won’t be possible a few years down the road.  The dollhouse technology allowed for the imprinting of memories and personality into a ‘blank’ body.  I don’t think that this technology that far fetched for development in the future.  The Rossum Corporation consisted of powerful men that lacked good ethics and were very susceptible to corruption.  They had other motives of using the technology to take over governments and also to take over other people’s bodies.  They immortalized themselves by imprinting themselves into different younger or healthier bodies.  The technology became easily accessible and eventually people began stealing other people’s bodies which all led to the downfall of civilization into a post-apocalyptical world.  The episode “Epitaph One” shows an extreme version of the possible consequences of such unregulated technology and what could happen if it is misused or falls into the wrong hands.  With human cloning potential so similar to the dollhouse technology, not being prepared for the implications could be disastrous. 

blog 25

“Epitaph One” reveals that the Rossum Corporation eventually comes to abuse the dollhouse technology by selling immortality.  They can discard their aging or damaged bodies for a new and healthy or younger body that they have taken from another soul.  This was the point where they crossed the line of ethics and it eventually led to a global disaster. Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human, human cell, or human tissue. Therapeutic cloning involves cloning cells from an adult for use in medicine and is an active area of research, while reproductive cloning would involve making cloned humans. Such reproductive cloning has not been performed and is illegal in many countries. A third type of cloning called replacement cloning is a theoretical possibility, and would be a combination of therapeutic and reproductive cloning. Replacement cloning would entail the replacement of an extensively damaged, failed, or failing body through cloning followed by whole or partial brain transplant.  This type of replacement cloning would be almost the same thing that the Rossum Corporation did with the stolen bodies they imprinted themselves into.  The difference with cloning, however, is that the body would actually be a genetically identical match and then all that would be needed is the transplanting (or imprinting?) of the brain into the new body.  With such technology and procedures possible in the near future, the ethical and moral issues cannot wait and should be discussed, debated and guidelines and laws be developed now.

blog 24

There are a lot of arguments that can be made about the show Dollhouse and the advanced technology they use.  The Dollhouse technology takes a person’s personality and life, downloads it onto a hard drive, and then they use that person’s body in anyway they want.  I think the main argument that can be drawn from this is the ethical implications of such technology.  It is illegal to sell your body but this technology just takes the idea of prostitution to a completely new level.  I found that there are greater implications surrounding the dollhouse technology than simply the ethics of prostitution.  This technology has great power and great possibilities.  When Topher is first brought on board with the LA dollhouse and the Rossum Corporation, he immediately brags about how he can improve the imprinting technology and make it better using waves instead of wires.  The head of security warns that this kind of technology could hold great consequences in the wrong hands.  This warning goes unrecognized and sure enough it leads to the catastrophic downfall of society.  The lesson here is that science makes great advances every day in technology.  The problem is that there needs to be regulations on ethically questionable technology.  The military makes some of the greatest advances in technology but most of this technology could be very dangerous in the wrong hands.  Science has created many advances that have many benefits to mankind but without proper regulation there could be great consequences.  The Rossum Corporation’s greed and lack of regulation or ethical code allowed for the technology to be abused, which led to consequences that nearly ended society.

blog 23

The year is 2019. A group of "actuals" (non-imprinted humans) are attempting to get underground to avoid technology and "butchers." The Rossum Corporation has let imprinting technology slip from their hands; China has created a way to spread the imprint through phone lines and also blanket areas with a wave, and as a result, many people have been imprinted to kill those who have not been. The group discovers the Dollhouse and the chair. Through a series of memories left on a tablet, they discover how the world came to be as it is.

The first set of memories shows Topher's introduction to the Dollhouse with DeWitt and Dominic, and his creation of a new imprinting system that used a different approach to the technology, leading to the development of the chair found in this episode. The old technology used analog cables, which took two hours to upload into an active. Topher brags that he can do it faster using waves instead, and laughs off Dominic's warnings that such an upgrade could easily go out of control. 

In the scene I am analyzing, the Dollhouse has isolated itself. The actives have all been given their original personalities back. Topher, now mentally unstable, explains to DeWitt that a phone call could be made, and anyone who picked up the phone would be imprinted (similar to the way Echo was wiped in "Gray Hour"). This would create an instant army of people programmed to kill everyone who isn't imprinted. Topher realizes that this is happening because of the technology he made possible: imprinting people with waves rather than the slower, analog method. The guilty realization of the part he has played in causing Armageddon has driven him mad.

blog 22

The final episode of the first season of Dollhouse wasn’t originally aired but it ties a lot of the plot together and makes some important arguments towards the ethics of the dollhouse technology.  The final episode, called “Epitaph one”, brings the viewer into the future, about a decade or so later.  The technology from the dollhouse ‘got out’ and now hardly anyone on Earth is in his or her own body anymore.  The story follows a small group of survivors that are still in their original bodies.  The group stays alive by following a code of avoiding and destroying all “Tech” because that is how people end up getting their body stolen.  The group eventually ends up in the original LA Dollhouse and they find the chair used for imprinting.  They begin uploading memories into a man who has lost his personality.  These memories allow the viewer to see what happened with the technology to make everything get out of control.  One scene takes us to a group of actives and dollhouse employees who have barricaded themselves from the outside world by living in the dollhouse.  We find out that Topher has gone mad because of the moral dilemma he came to face.  DeWitt goes to comfort him and he just rambles about how they could make an army in an instant with a single phone call.  He ends his rant by saying, “that’s brilliant, why didn’t I think of that?  Wait?  Did I think of that?”  This his Topher realizing what the consequences of what he did.  He wonders if what he has done was because of curiosity or of arrogance. 

blog 21

Today I did some research on yahoo.com for popular sites in the science community that might have articles or news on ethics.  I came across a site with some essays about ethics in science and some news about recent ethics violations.  The essay broke down scientific misconduct into two categories:  scientific negligence and deliberate dishonesty.  Negligence being that the scientist did not properly follow the scientific method or made an error that went unnoticed.  Either way, they did not set out from the beginning with the intentions of misconduct.  Deliberate dishonesty includes premeditated acts of fraud that may include forged or fabricated data, falsified or invented results, plagiarism, piracy, hoaxes, and other such malicious acts.  The author mentions that both forms of scientific misconduct should be viewed equally in punishment because of what is at stake by misconduct in the community.  The argument that the author makes is whether or not scientists need a professional code of ethics. “In conclusion, scientists need well-defined and clearly written professional codes of conduct. Additionally, well-defined procedures for handling accusations of misconduct should be developed, agreed upon, and implemented. Those accused of misconduct should be afforded, at minimum, the same rights that are given to those who participate in the conventional legal system. (Hamner).”  The author stresses this conclusion and it’s importance because science just cannot afford to lose its autonomy and self-regulation.  There is just too much at stake because of scientific research’s importance to society in developing new drugs and methods of health care.  

blog 20

Human cloning has become one of the most controversial debates about reproduction in Western civilization. Human cloning represents asexual reproduction, but the critics of human cloning argue that the result of cloning is not a new individual who is genetically unique. There is also awareness in the scientific community, including the medical community, that human cloning and the creation of clones are inevitable. “Psychology and other social sciences, together with the natural sciences, will need to find ways to help the healthcare system, to be prepared to face the new challenges introduced by the techniques of human cloning.(Morales)”  One of those challenges is to help the healthcare system to find specific standards of behavior that could be used to help potential parents to interact properly with cloned babies or children created through genetic manipulation. In this paper, the concepts of personality, identity and uniqueness are discussed in relationship to the contribution of twin studies in these areas. The author argues that an individual created by human cloning techniques or any other type of genetic manipulation will not show the donor's characteristics to the extent of compromising uniqueness. Therefore, claims to such an effect are needlessly alarmist.  The author doesn’t really discuss the ethics of cloning but makes a good point concerning the inevitability of scientific progress.

Blog 19

The Milgram experiments were thought be very controversial because of the way he went about the experiment.  The test put a lot of unnecessary stress on the participants because they were faced with the dilemma of following their own moral beliefs and stopping the experiment or choosing to obey an authority figure by continuing with the test despite the screams of agony from the victim they thought they were shocking.  Dan McArthur writes in his article about the ethics of the experiments.  He believes that good ethics can sometimes mean better science.  “All agree that if the Milgram experiments were proposed today they would never receive approval from a research ethics board. However, the results of the Milgram experiments are widely cited across a broad range of academic literature from psychology to moral philosophy.(1)”  This brings a sigh of relief to many knowing that ethical standards have improved since the 1960s.  The Milgram experiment actually led to changes in many ethics committees in reviewing new studies and test involving human beings.  It is important that this ideology be maintained in future scientific studies.  If we continue to respect the importance of ethics in scientific research, then we can prevent science from spinning out of control where progress fails to appreciate the moral code of civil human beings.  Without these ethics boards, experiments could have gradually have gotten worse in degree of morality.  We have the Milgram experiments to thank for helping set up guidelines in ethical review for new research.

Blog 18

Human cloning, aside from unregulated clinical trials, is probably the most controversial and ethically questionable scientific study today.  Ethics and morality are a driving force in regulating scientific advancement.  Without these very important qualities, the research and experiments done would spin out of control.  Unquestioned and unregulated testing could progress into complete disasters.  The consequences of testing done by research done disregarding completely the ethics involved are hard to even imagine.  We have reached a point in time where are technology and scientific understanding poses a real threat to the future of humanity if we do not approach all progress with extreme caution.  The entertainment industry imagines the extremes of the consequences our own progress could bring in movies and shows.  But these exaggerated situations, could be more real than we think.  Following the trend of human scientific progression, there really is no limit to what we can eventually accomplish.  Our own curiosity or arrogance could become a truly dangerous thing; especially we fail to regulate ourselves on the basis of an ethical code. “If human cloning happens, it will occur in a less restrictive area of the world--probably by some wealthy eccentric individual,"(Choi 158).  This is the biggest problem we face in regulation of unethical or dangerous scientific discovery.  That quote describes how easily something like human cloning could “blow-up” if in the technology falls into the wrong hands.  There isn’t much we can do except hope that all scientists keep a strong sense of morality and protect the ethical code when doing new scientific research.  Otherwise, we might all suffer the consequences.

blog 15:

I read another article about human cloning. The article is titled, Psychological aspects of human cloning and genetic manipulation: the identity and uniqueness of human beings by Nestor Micheli Morales.  Through all my research, I have found that human cloning is probably the most controversial topic and can be related the best to the technology in Dollhouse.  Dollhouse technology’s main ethical problem is that it is performed on human beings, which is also the case when it comes to human cloning.  In early theories about human cloning as well as media the way the media depicts it, the clone would be genetically identical as well as share personality qualities.  I find this to be an interesting link because the mind imprinting technology gives the active an imprinted personality of a different person, whom could in theory, still be alive and then you would have a mind clone.  Wrap your mind around that for a minute.  The article I read, however, doesn’t focus on the ethics of cloning but the psychological aspects.  It says that human cloning is inevitable in the future so the healthcare system needs to be prepared to preparing parents how to handle cloned babies.  The author argues that cloning cannot hinder uniqueness of the individual.  Despite complete genetic sameness, a cloned person will develop their own personality and uniqueness based on environmental stimuli.  Most of the author’s data and conclusions are based on studies done on the identical twins in this area.  I personally believe that eventually with a better understanding of the human brain that programming a clone to have the same brain structure could allow for an almost identical personality and decision-making process.  I agree with the author that based on environmental interaction, the clone would develop and retain his or her own uniqueness.

Blog 14

After reading the article on the Nazi experiments, I decided to read a closely linked experiment conducted after the war that was quite as harsh.  The Milgram experiments were a series of social psychology experiments done by Yale University Psychologist Stanley Milgram.  Milgram’s experiment was inspired by the Holocaust.  His study was done based on the question of whether the millions of accomplices were just merely following orders, despite their deepest moral beliefs, or if they all shared the same immoral beliefs.  The experiment was meant to measure the participant’s willingness to obey an authority figure who was instructing them to do acts that conflicted with their conscience.  The experiments were done from 1960 to 1963 and were very controversial because some scientists viewed the study as unethical and psychologically abusive.  The Milgram experiment motivated many ethics boards to be more thorough when reviewing studies with human subjects.    

            The subjects were told to ask another subject (an actor) questions and they were to deliver a shock if they answered incorrectly.  The shock would increase in voltage each time they answered incorrect up to a max voltage of 450.  The subject thought they were shocking another participant in the study and would be asked to continue as they heard screams from the actor that they thought they were delivering shocks to.  65% of the participants administered the final max voltage to the victim, although, many felt uncomfortable doing so.  The results from this experiment showed that most people would follow orders to hurt someone even if they personally believe it’s wrong.  The article I read argues that the Milgram experiments today would never be approved in front of any ethics board.

Blog 13: NAZIS

Since the main focus of my research project is about the ethics and morals of science and scientific research, I decided to read some articles about some of the most immoral scientific studies conducted in history.  I read about the experiments done on human beings by Nazi scientists and doctors.  The Nazi regime and almost everything done in Germany under Hitler’s reign has been considered unethical and wrong.  That would probably be the main reason we invaded Europe to stop the Nazis and Hitler.  The Nazis believe in something called racial hygiene, which allowed them to justify the terrible experiments they did on people.  Their beliefs in racial inferiority made it acceptable to them.  Most of the experiments done on humans were conducted on the prisoners of concentration camps.  Most subjects would die or be killed during the experiments.  A lot of medical experiments were done to help doctors treat soldiers in the military.  Some inmates were injected with the ooze from festering wounds from other patients.  Glass and debris were purposely put in the wounds to mimic injuries obtained during battle.  Inmates were also put out in the cold and had their vitals recorded to find out more about hypothermia.  Many of them were left in the cold to die.  High altitude experiments were done on human subject to find out more for airplane pilots that have been shot down.  Of the 200 subjects, 70 or more died or were killed to study their bodies after the high altitude chambers.  Compared to what happened during this time, not much comes close to the Nazi experiments as far as ethics go.  

Blog 12: it would be like sending a baby up into space in a rocket that has a 50-50 chance of blowing up

I just read another research article on human cloning.  The title of this article is “Cloning of a Human” by Charles Q. Choi.  This article was very similar to the last cloning article I read but it brought up a few differing ideas and aspects of cloning. “Despite success with other mammals, the process has proved much more difficult in humans--which may strike some people as comforting and others as disappointing.”  I believe this sentence is a good description on the ethical controversy surrounding human cloning.  Some people are comforted by the fact that the process of cloning is more complex in human being than animals because they most likely view human cloning as immoral.  The disappointed people are those that are interested in and support scientific breakthroughs and advancement despite the risk and ethical grey areas.  A decade ago there was a breakthrough in the right mix of chemicals and proper method in programming of the human cell and the first human embryo was cloned.  Robert Lanza was the scientist who made this discovery but even he acknowledges the risks involved.  25 percent of cloned animals have abnormalities from slips and errors in programming.  Attempting to clone a human would be so risky, Lanza says, it "would be like sending a baby up into space in a rocket that has a 50-50 chance of blowing up."  This statement clearly shows that the risks involved in human cloning are way too high to be considered safe and ethical.  In Dollhouse, a slight programming error in the imprinting process presents a high risk to the safety of the active and anyone that might get in their way.

Blog 11: CLONES

For my first article of research, I decided to read Analysis of an epigenetic argument against human reproductive cloning by Anders Nordgren.  The article is about human reproductive cloning.  This scientific advancement would allow DNA collected from a possibly infertile couple to be cloned into human being.  The benefits would be that this would allow the couple to avoid the social awkwardness and complications of using a third-party donation of gametes or embryos.  The main problem that the article argues is the risk involved.  Animal reproductive cloning presents the risk of abnormalities and birth defects due to errors in epigenetic reprogramming.  The argument being that if there is a high risk of abnormalities due to errors in epigenetic reprogramming in reproductive cloning with animals, then there is a high risk of abnormalities in human reproductive cloning because of these errors in reprogramming.  The benefits of this scientific option does not out-weigh the risk because the possible risk is unacceptable and unethical.  The article further argues that there is also a risk of abnormality with normal sexual intercourse.  If in the future improvements in cloning allow for the risks to be no higher than the risks involved in procreating through sexual intercourse, then cloning could become an acceptable option.  For human reproductive cloning, it’s ethical acceptance is all about finding the balance between benefit and risk.

            This topic can be easily linked to the technology used in Dollhouse.  This technology presents a high risk to the subjects of an error in programming that cannot be morally accepted.  

Blog 10: research

For my analytical research project, I am focusing on the ethics and moral implications involved in the technology of memory imprinting used in the show Dollhouse.  This technology if existed would cause quite a controversial stir about how it is wrong to erase someone’s memories and personality to turn them into an empty shell.  In one episode, a reporter asks people on the street what they think about the Dollhouse myth.  Many of the people respond with their opinions on how what the Dollhouse might be doing is wrong and immoral.  I think scientific research and development today has brought of a lot of controversy and questions concerning the ethics behind some studies and experiments.  I would like to link the moral implications of human cloning to the technology and practices done in Dollhouse.  Cloning has been a very controversial topic over the past few years.  The idea and possibility of human cloning brings up many ethical questions.  There are many people that would be willing to volunteer for studies like this in the interest of scientific advancement and money.  I believe that just because these people are willing does not make it right and breaks a certain moral code.  With all of the moral controversy surrounding scientific research, the futuristic Dollhouse technology can easy be linked and compared to much of it. 

Sources:

1.     1. Choi, Charles Q., cloning of a human, Scientific American; Jun2010, Vol. 302 Issue 6, p36-38, 3p, 1 Color Photograph

2.    2.  Morales, Nestor Micheli, Psychological and Ideological Aspects of Human Cloning: A Transition to a Transhumanist Psychology, Journal of Evolution & Technology; Jul2009, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p19-42, 24p

3.      3. Josh Whedon, “Epitaph One”, season one, episode 2, Dollhouse, 2009

4.      4. Josh Whedon, “Omega”, season one, episode 2, Dollhouse, 2009

5.     5. Nordgren, Anders, Analysis of an epigenetic argument against human reproductive cloning., Reproductive BioMedicine Online; Aug2006, Vol. 13 Issue 2, p278-283, 6p

blog 9

I would like to focus my topic for my analytical research paper on the ethical and theological implications of the Dollhouse's technology.  Every episode, the morality and ethics are questioned surrounding the motives and actions of the corporation that is running the underground establishment across the globe by the viewer.  The argument can be made that the actives being sent on missions and engagements by the dollhouse are all volunteers in search of ultimate wealth or an escape from everyday normal life.  The volunteers are erased of their memories and personalities and forced to live like soul-less dolls in a dollhouse where everything is controlled and decided for them by the organization.  These volunteers are given the promise that, after five years of service, their memories and personalities will be restored, as well as a large deposit into their bank accounts.  The moral implications come into play because these people are put in high-risk situations against their will that they cannot personally control the outcome.  Also, many of the engagements that the actives are purchased for involve sexual and romantic fantasies of the clients.  This is prostitution at a whole new level because the actives are entirely unknowing of what is happening.  I wanted to focus mostly on the season finale, "Epitaph One", because it depicts a future of what could go wrong with this technology.  The main character are also brought to realize the moral complicity and ultimately that what the organization is doing is immoral and wrong.

          

Blog 8: DRAMA

“High School is Hell,” this is a phrase that I think anyone can understand or relate to.  Tracy Little writes about the argument that Buffy the Vampire Slayer sends to its viewers.  The writers and show creator Joss Whedon took common high school metaphors and turned them into reality in the show.  They played on the metaphors derived from the very common fears that youth have about high school. "High School is Hell!" "My boyfriend is a monster!" "I feel invisible!" "My mother is just clueless!" "I would kill to get on the cheerleading squad!" "After we slept together he became a totally different person.”  These are all metaphors that anyone who has ever been through high school can relate to in some way.  I liked the way Tracy broke down the first three seasons of Buffy, which are the high school years.  I never realized that you could put a theme or overall message with these seasons but it is true how the first season plays on the metaphors of fitting in to high school and being afraid of not finding a clique of friends.  I can personally relate to a lot of the topics brought up by Tracy.  I remember how intimidating it was getting ready to go to high school.  As a freshman, everyone was trying so hard to be accepted by the upperclassmen and trying to be popular.  I started high school not that popular but I climbed the social ladder and made a lot of friends.  I think high school is “Hell” because of the social pressure and drama.

Blog 7: "Did i fall asleep?"

Today I watched two episodes of Dollhouse.  I think I might be hooked on the plot.  I’m starting to get pretty interested in the developing storyline involving alpha.  Alpha is supposed to be an active that went crazy and killed everyone and now he is interfering with Echo’s missions.  Anyway, I watched episodes 4 and 5 but I have decided to focus on episode 5 for this blog.  This episode was about a cult in Arizona.  The cult is under federal investigation and there hasn’t been enough evidence to get a warrant to search the compound until now.  Echo is imprinted to be a blind believer and she is taken in by the cult.  At the Dollhouse though, she was given a surgical procedure to implant a camera into her eye so the feds could watch and gather the evidence they need.  Echo just ends up getting slapped so much that she can see again eventually anyway.  During the federal raid, the leader of the cult tries to burn everybody.  Echo realizes the danger and quickly takes control of the situation saving all of the stupid cult followers.  This cult reminded me a lot of the Dollhouse itself.  The cult leader brainwashes his followers and manipulates them to do what ever he says and whatever he wants.  In a way, you could make the same comparison to the Dollhouse.  They take these people and erase their memories and manipulate them to do whatever.  The Dollhouse might as well be a cult.  

Blog 6: killing

Today I watched Dollhouse right after I watched the season finale of Dexter.  Dexter is by far the best show I have ever seen.  I think it is comparable in some ways to Dollhouse.  In both shows, a lot of people die and the main character kills.  Also, just like Dexter, Echo is emotionless and empty on the inside, although that doesn’t make her want to murder people.  Echo wasn’t born in blood either, so, she wouldn’t understand.  Anyway, since I am starting to enjoy watching Dollhouse, I decided to watch the episodes in sequence.  So, today I watched episode 3 of season 1.  This episode was a little twisted in a few ways but I found the plot to be really entertaining.  Echo was hired to be a back up dancer and singer for some pop star.  But it turns out; she was also programmed to be a security guard or something so that she can protect the singer.  The part where it starts to get real twisted is when we find out that the pop star wants to die.  Apparently, there is this psycho stalker fan that is trying to kill her because she wants to be dead.  The stalker fan kidnaps a fan girl that wins some video contest, which turns out to be another active.  Echo seems to be having memories so she comes up with a plan to save her friend.  It truly was a brilliant plan because in the end she saves the pop star from herself.

Blog 5: "4 brothers.. (click) none of them democrats"

I just finished watching Dollhouse episode 2 from season 1.  I watched it with my friends and we all agreed that the show is kind of weird.  I found myself enjoying it quite a bit though.  It is a very easy show to watch and I think the plot and structure of the show really can capture your interest and keep you entertained.  In this episode the client originally appears to be a rich man who wants a girl for entertainment.  Echo is the girl they use for him and they program her to be an outdoor enthusiast.  Little did the boss woman know that her client was actually a psycho.  The way the episode was going I thought the only danger echo was in was that they were doing extreme activities.  I didn’t expect the rich guy would, right after having sex with her, just stand up and tell her she could have a 5-minute head start.  The guy spends the whole episode chasing her with a bow and arrow trying to kill her.  Eventually echo just meets up with her handler and she ends up stabbing the guy in the neck.  I feel really bad for Echo because she gets put into the worst and most dangerous situations and she doesn’t even have a choice in the matter.   Apparently, there is a much deeper plot going on that has something to do with one of the dolls that went crazy and started killing everyone.  Also, Echo was having some unexpected memories, which makes me interested to see what happens next.

Blog 4: playing with dolls

I just finished watching Dollhouse episode 1 from season 1.  I found this show very entertaining and easy to watch.  I thought the concept and idea that the show is based around is very interesting.  The main character in this show is Echo and she is a part of an elite organization that sends their operatives, like Echo, on sometimes very dangerous and risky missions.  This organization is known as the “Dollhouse” and has people, who are the operatives they send on missions, who have had their personalities erased living there like dolls.  The organization appears to make their money from billionaires and such that hire them to complete an objective of some kind.  Before one of the actives is sent on a mission, they are imprinted with a personality that is created to help them complete their objective.  The people working there seem to justify what they are doing as being good and that they are helping people.  I believe that the idea of the Dollhouse is wrong.  They have taken peoples lives away from them and make them live in a building controlled entirely by the organization.  It would appear that the ‘dolls’ are living perfect and stress free lives but they really can’t be happy because they have no knowledge of emotions at all.  The agent that is investigating the case concerning the Dollhouse says at one point in the episode that what they are doing is murder.  I agree that by taking away these peoples lives they might as well be tried for murder.

Blog 3: Classic western

Last night I started watching episode 2, season 1 of Firefly.  I fell asleep about half way through but that wasn’t because I didn’t like the show.  I re-watched the episode and found it entertaining to watch.  The show definitely had a western style to it.  I’m not sure how much I might have missed since I didn’t watch the first episode.  I watched it on Netflix and it said the first episode was like 86 minutes long.  I have a lot of trouble sitting still that long so I decided to skip to the second episode.  The opening scene started with a few leading members of the crew getting into a bar brawl with some simple looking locals that are loyal to the alliance.  This seemed like a classic western scene to me.  From what I gathered, it seemed that the crew hosts guests on their ship that are fugitives to the alliance.  The crew takes whatever work they can get whether it’s legal or not.  I found it interesting that the writers of this show made the main characters the ‘outlaws’ that are under federal investigation.  Even though the crew are all thieves, I discovered in this episode that they are still good people.  The crew decided to return the medicine they stole from the train to the town in need because of illness from the mines.  I thought it was a little strange that these people living in the future would follow such similar culture practices to the ‘old west.’  Robbing the train was classic western style.