Vanessa A

Data Mining the Deceased: Ancestry and the Business of Family by Julia Creet is a fantastic documentary that explores our innate need to know who we are as genealogy and DNA biotechnology has emerged into the public eye over the last decade. It looks towards culture, religious origin and intentions, and the desire to know about past histories where gaps exist in oral tradition or due to trauma. It is not a comprehensive look at all information about the phenomenon of family histories, but leaves the viewer with enough that lets them balance their prior knowledge with new information to think about. Certainly worth the watch! This film would be an effective tool to use to generate conversations that draw connections between the areas of law, politics, and science. It may even be used to generate conversations about consent and its consequences whether it be in regards to genealogical curiosity like the documentary suggests, and even towards personal information posted online.