Fictions, fantasies, and fears

The debate about cloning and genetic engineering, which began in 1997, has been strongly influenced by fictional narratives, scripts, and images. They in turn provided the seeds for the creation of various metaphors used in the debate, especially by the media. The flow of metaphors and images associated with cloning is now ebbing away and is being replaced by a new wave of images and metaphors deployed in arguments against genetically modified food. In both cases, cloning and genetically modified food, the media reports are interwoven with more or less explicit references to science fiction novels and films, from Frankenstein to Gattaca and beyond. They nourish and reflect the general public’s fears about an increasing process of biological hybridisation which blurs the boundaries between humans, plants, animals and machines and threatens people’s sense of humanity.