Citizen Bio (2020) User Reviews

Examining the questionable world of biohacking

[paul-allaer · 5/10 · 31 October 2020]

"Citizen Bio" (2020 release; 96 min.) is a documentary about the the world of biohacking and related subcultures. As the movie opens, we are introduced to biohacker/free spirit Aaron Traywick, who is found dead at age 28. We then go to "A Few Months Earlier", as Traywick retells of his upbringing in Elsmore, Alabama, and eventually ending up in "Bethesda, Maryland", where his niece and lobbyist gives him a job in a healthcare non-profit. It isn't long before Traywick wades into the biohacking subculture, without any scientific background, promoting various "cures" along the way. At this point we are less than 15 min. into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from longtime producer (and here also director) Trish Dolman, whose previous work includes "Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Wilson". Here she looks at the world of biohacking and related subcultures. Never heard of Biohacking? Neither had I, but we get a Biohacking 101 introduction: a subculture of non-scientists who love to (self)experiment outside the mainstream (without FDA supervision) for major diseases like HIV, herpes and so forth. Is this even legal? Just watch. I must admit, I was taken aback by some of this, and frankly confused as to what the heck was going on for a good part of the film. And what exactly led to Traywick's death? All is revealed in due course. I almost gave up on this film halfway through but in the end stuck it out as I wanted to understand what happened to Traywick. But when all was said and done, I felt pretty much unmoved. It's one thing to want to "stick it to the man", as these biohackers clearly feel, but it's another thing when we are talking serious and major healthcare issues undertaken by non-scientists.

"Citizen Bio" premiered on Showtime this weekend, and is now available on SHO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in biohacking or in shady/edgy healthcare practices, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

A sporadically interesting waste of time

[jake_fantom · 3/10 · 9 February 2021]

This belongs to that now ubiquitous genre of documentary which is propelled along by a suspenseful soundtrack, lots of moody closeups, and a sense that we are about to discover some awful truth -- but which ultimately leads straight down the same old rathole. The viewer takes a sudden plunge into the subculture of biohacking, which seems to consist largely of people who self-embed software devices in their bodies and concoct mysterious DNA potions to inject themselves with.

Oddly, many of these biohackers seem to have experimented on themselves in other ways, including implanting horns on their heads, extending their ears with black discs the size of dinner plates, and hammering various lengths of metal spikes in different parts of their bodies. Your reward for watching them disfigure themselves with various experiments for 90 minutes is that you get to hear them toot their own horns endlessly about how brilliant they are, and how they are revolutionizing... something. It is about then that you have the uncomfortable feeling of being in the company of Attention Vampires.

Against this backdrop, the story of one Aaron Traywick play out. He sees himself as a super scientist (with scant if any credentials) and a master marketer (with zero credentials), and he is determined to cash in on the biohacking phenom. So he organizes the motley crew of biohacker misfits and starts promoting "cures" for AIDS, herpes, aging and just about any other malady the flesh is heir to. Eventually, he comes to a bad end, in a meditation tub of all places. There is a bit of mumbling about whether it was the result of some deep conspiracy, or whether he killed himself. (No one has the temerity to ask if it's possible that he just dropped dead from injecting himself with one of his "cures.") And then, with a few more closeups and a bit more ominous music, the whole mess comes to an end with the obligatory closing captions about what became of the key players. And surprise, surprise -- absolutely nothing happened to any of them. None of their self-experiments worked. They're all in the same hopeless muddle they were in 90 minutes ago. Imagine that!

Not for me

[thejdrage · 4/10 · 3 July 2022]

I love when people are optimistic about making the world a better place. How they do it is a different topic.

Aaron seems to be a Peter Pan of bio-hackers. And I always had to rewind and listen to some of the things he said two or three times - meaning, to me, that it wasn't as clear as it should have been.

In this program, you meet a lot of bio-hackers and they all want to help the world in one way or another - in their garages or backyards. I admire that. But there are ways to do it and ways not to do it. And if you're someone who doesn't play well with others, well .....

One reviewer mentioned the wrong affectation of the people interviewed - always smiling - at everything. True. Not everyone was that way, but enough were that is was most disconcerting. Machiavelli Davis was a prime example. Every time he was on the screen, I got nervous and antsy. That's my reaction. Same with a lot of Aaron's pieces.

I'm not sold and I'm tired of watching this at 50 minutes.

It would be wonderful if I were totally wrong about these people - and they cure the world! SO, I'm hoping I am wrong, but ... In the meantime, the program isn't finished, but I am.

Affect is off

[danielmartinx · 8/10 · 22 February 2022]

When the biohackers talk about the failure of the project, they smile. When Tristan talks about being locked out of the laboratory, he appears to be happy. I think this is because it confirms his paranoid and conspiratorial beliefs, and I think that that's more of a win for these kind of biohackers and anarchists than any actual accomplishment would be. This whole story is a win for them because it justifies their toxic and pessimistic views about life and humanity.