Life extension is a fascinating and complex topic. Naturally, it makes for great entertainment - from the more fantastical, to films based in hard science, to documentaries. If you have an interest in longevity, then we’ve got a few movies you should check out.
Just a heads up: spoilers ahead! You’ve been warned.
Hope Frozen
Hope Frozen is a powerful documentary about love in the face of disease and death. It follows the story of a toddler in Thailand named Matheryn Naovaratpong or Einz, who suffered from a rare form of brain cancer called ependymoblastoma. When Einz was diagnosed, her father was unable to rest until he had exhausted every avenue of treatment for her. However, he eventually saw that there is no way of saving her life with current medical technology. In the end, he and his wife decided that the best chance of their daughter experiencing a full, happy life was to undergo cryopreservation. They believed that perhaps, in the future, medical technology would advance enough to cure Einz of her brain cancer, and give her a chance to live.
Einz was cryopreserved and is housed in Alcor’s facility in the United States. She underwent this process only days before her 3rd birthday, making her the youngest person ever to be cryopreserved to date. Her story gained international attention and raised important questions about faith, and ethics of cryonics. As members of the Buddhist community in Thailand, her parents were questioned for their decision regarding their daughter’s life.
Dr. Sahatorn’s moral position is that as Einz’s father, it was his duty to give his child life, however possible. For him, cryonics was the way he could provide this to little Einz. Do you agree with him?
At the heart of Hope Frozen is perseverance in the face of death, and the desire to provide life for one’s child, whatever or however this can be achieved. Since current technology was unable to save Einz’s, her parents put their faith in cryonics.
You might want to have a tissue box, or several on standby!
How to Live Forever
Another documentary on life extension and cryonics to consider is film maker Mark Wexler’s How to Live Forever. In this movie, Wexler takes viewers on a journey into the world of life extension and anti-aging, asking the question, how do these people live for so long? He focuses on multiple facets of this topic, including scientific, philosophical, dietary and lifestyles approaches to long life, interviewing people as old as 122 years! In addition to centenarians, Wexler also interviews notable figures in longevity and anti-aging sciences such as Ray Kurzweil, authors like Ray Bradbury, and other figures who have different beliefs as to how one can live a longer life.
But what inspired him to consider anti-aging as a topic for a documentary?
Wexler said that he began reflecting on life and death shortly after the passing of his own mother, in addition to receiving an AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) card. He asked himself whether one could truly achieve immortality, then set out to uncover the ways in which people have tried to live a longer life.
The documentary is not a how-to-guide to live a longer life, but an examination of the different perspectives and philosophies surrounding anti-aging and longevity, including cryonics. If you are looking for a movie that touches on existential topics, definitely consider How to Live Forever.
Oxygen
Unlike the previous movies on this list, Oxygen (Oxygène) is not a documentary but a French science fiction thriller on Netflix.
The film follows a woman played by Mélanie Laurent who wakes up in an airtight medical cryogenic unit from cryo-suspension. Why does she wake up? It turns out that her pod is dangerously low on oxygen. WIth no memory as to who she is, or how she got into the pod, she must rely on an artificial intelligence (AI) named MILO to figure out her identity, and free herself before she runs out of air.
In this movie, suspended animation (aka biostasis) achieved through cryonics is used for space travel. This is commonly used in other science fiction media, but also a concept that has undergone research by organizations such as NASA. While some of the more scientific aspects of cryonics are not 100% accurate, processes regarding cryoprotectants and vitrification are effectively demonstrated. The possible uses of human cryopreservation in the movie are shown to have potential life-saving qualities.
You will be on the edge of your seat as you uncover the truth about the mystery behind her cryopreservation, and what it means for humanity.
Longevity Hackers
Here’s a movie to keep an eye on for the next year! Longevity Hackers is an upcoming movie that follows Emmy nominated filmmaker Michal Siewierski and his journey to learning about new research and scientific breakthroughs in longevity and life extension. The aim of the film is to promote these fields of research, and help generate exposure for the industry to help increase funding to forward these sciences. Scheduled for release in early 2023, the movie has already been reviewed by members of the longevity and life extension community including Bill Anders, Phil Newman and Sergey Young. If you’re looking for something to enjoy in the new year, keep your eyes peeled for this movie!
Conclusion
If you’re looking for something new for your next movie night, then we highly recommend you check out these films. Life extension, however achieved in fiction or reality, is a fascinating topic of discussion.
Interested in real world life extension technologies? Consider checking out Tomorrow Bio’s ebook on human cryopreservation. We also publish articles at Tomorrow Insight on all things related to cryonics, including longevity and biostasis research, so give them a read too!
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