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Tuesday, March 1st
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Film Screenings - I
Am Able & Fixed: The Science / Fiction of Human Enhancement
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This movie screening
will be held in the atrium of the Peterson Building (Building 550). Community
members are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to
Dave if you plan to attend, to
insure an adequate amount of chairs and
popcorn.
I Am Able Abstract: After
surviving the genocide in Rwanda, Frederick Ndabaramiye was the victim of a
brutal retribution attack. Left for dead in the jungle, he was found by two
girls who took him to the hospital. His miraculous survival was just the
beginning. Frederick slowly learned to live again, re-honing his motor skills
through painting. After years of recovery, uses his story to empower others
going through similar struggles. Through painting, cycling, and storytelling,
Frederick now seeks to change people's preconceptions of what it means to be
'able' by encouraging us to focus not on perceived “disabilities” but
on the grit that each of us have.
Fixed Abstract: What does
"disabled" mean when a man with no legs can run faster than most people in the
world? What does "normal" mean when cosmetic surgery procedures have risen over
450% percent in the last fifteen years and increasing numbers of people turn to
"smart drugs" every day to get ahead at school or work? With prenatal screening
able to predict hundreds of probable conditions, who should determine what kind
of people get to be born? If you could augment your body's abilities in any way
imaginable, would you?
From bionic limbs and neural implants
to prenatal screening, researchers from around the world are hard at work
developing a myriad of technologies to fix or enhance the human body. Fixed:
The Science / Fiction of Human Enhancement takes a close look at the drive
to be “better than human” and the radical technological innovations
that may take us there.
Through a dynamic mix of verité,
dance, archival, and interview footage, Fixed challenges notions of
normal, the body, and what it means fundamentally to be human in the 21st
century.
Biosketch of Fixed's Fernanda
Castelo: Fernanda Castelo, as a "test pilot", helped Ekso Bionics
refine their design for the "Ekso", an exoskeleton which allows individuals
with limited to no mobility in their legs to walk again. Fernanda worked
closely with their engineers, and clinical physical therapists giving critical
feedback from a user's perspective. A dancer at Disneyland in her youth, after
an accident 20 years ago, she has since consulted with multiple design teams on
the development of new technologies for people with mobility impairments. From
the new WHILL, providing mobility, independence and style for everyone to Ekso
to Stanford's Mechanical Engineering Perspectives in Assistive Technology class
mentoring with future engineers, Fernanda educates about the importance of an
organic, body/user-centered approach to design and how essential it is to
involve people with disabilities at every stage of development. She is also an
avid sailor and very active with BAADS (Bay Area Association for Disabled
Sailors). Setting her eyes on the prize and claiming 1st Place at the 2013
North American Access Championship on San Francisco Bay.
- Contact
Information:
- Lecture Material:
- Photos - 274 Kb pdf file
- Links:
- I Am Able -
website -
trailer (0:31)
- Fixed: The Science / Fiction of
Human Enhancement - website -
trailers: short (1:01) -
extended (6:51)
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