Representation of Cloning in the Media

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Representation of Cloning in the Media

Since the birth of Dolly, the cloned sheep, the debate over human cloning has been characterized in the media as an ethical debate. When scientists announced that they had cloned an adult sheep, the public also heard that cloning humans was possible. The media stories about this unprecedented feat was not about the procedures utilized in but rather about the morality of the process itself. Media coverage focused on ethical concerns of cloning, its social, religious and physiological significance, and the motivation behind it. Although the there are many views expressed in the media on cloning, the main characterization of cloning as an ethical issue centers around two connected worries: the loss of individuality, and the seemingly evil motivations behind cloning. In a sense media coverage framed the public moral debate on cloning around the above issues.

In the coverage of cloning, the media has chosen to represent cloning as a danger to individuality and uniqueness. This concern about losing individuality stems from the status of clones as copies. The March 10, 1997 cover of Time Magazine shows two large identical pictures of sheep and in the background numerous copies of the same picture and the cover title asks, "Will There be Another of You ?". The picture accompanying the main article shows a coin operated machine dispensing white males, while another picture shows identical bodies dropping out of a test tube. Similar images expressing this concern over the loss of individuality brought on by cloning dominate the popular media.

This representation of cloning as a means of bringing about the loss of individuality reflects two widespread ideas. The first is...

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...w, the media has framed the cloning debate as an ethical debate and has provided the framework that much of the public views the issue. Among the articles that I reviewed, the main characterization of cloning as an ethical issue centers around two connected worries: the loss of individuality, the motivations behind cloning. In the presentation cloning the media has not always presented an objective view of cloning, but rather has played upon peoples fears about loss of individuality and questionable use of cloning to create uncertainty among the public.

Works Cited

Begley, Sharon, Little Lamb Who Made Thee, Newsweek, March 10, 1997

Elmer Dewitt, Cloning: Where Do We Draw the Line, Time, November 8, 1993

Herbert, Wray, The World After Cloning U.S News & World Report, March 10, 1997

Nash, Madeline, The Age of Cloning, Time, March 10, 1997

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