THE GOD CELLS: The Messy Collision Of Science, Business, And Belief

On the surface, what the medical industry should be doing is simple: saving and improving lives. All possibilities should be explored and tested, with the breakthroughs made readily available to anyone who needs it. In practice, though, nothing is that simple. Science is messy, people are flawed, and there’s rarely a eureka moment where the answer is found. The gap between how it is and how it should be naturally causes frustration, and when the end result is people needlessly suffering, criticisms should be launched loudly and vehemently.

That is the goal of the documentary The God Cells, which targets the underutilized and occasionally banned research of fetal stem cells in America. It sheds light on the great promise these treatments offer, the roadblocks in their way, and the large number of people who are being harmed by the delays in research.

Before going any further, I should provide a bit of transparency. You see, I work in a subset of the biotechnical industry, not for any pharmaceutical company, but for a company that provides services within the industry. I’m familiar with but not particularly invested in the current state of the medical community, which gives me a working knowledge that is a bit more robust than the general audience that this documentary is targeting.

Still, if a documentarian doesn’t have a knowledge deeper than its audience, then they won’t be spreading a meaningful argument. Thankfully, The God Cells shows a solid grasp of its topic, even if it does get filtered through a one-sided perspective.

Presenting Science To A Target Audience

The God Cells starts off assuming that the audience doesn’t know much about stem cells, or at least not much outside of the headlines regarding their ethical use. Now, what they are is potentially very confusing to someone who doesn’t understand how fetuses develop or how cells replicate, which is a hurdle that writer/director Eric Merola overcomes quite deftly. By using some slickly produced visual tools, the concept is explained without feeling dumbed down or turning into a long-winded scientific lecture, providing a solid amount of baseline knowledge for the rest of the film’s argument to build upon.

From there, it must tackle the motivations of the pharmaceutical industry and the regulatory processes of the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). I know, it’s not exciting stuff, but Merola knows that as well and attempts to sprint through it by focusing on the frustrating downfalls of the system. While his findings won’t move anyone to fury, he finds enough damning evidence to get you on his side.

The presentation of all this information is in the tried and true exposé style, highlighting cited documents and industry research with some peppy editing. There’s a few snarky asides, but this doesn’t feel like a negative piece. This is primarily about the exciting possibilities that stem cells offer, and how with some changes to the system we could see some drastic improvements in how treatment programs work.

The Limitations Of Limited Explanations

While all the technical points in The God Cells are presented quite effectively, they are noticeably lacking in intricacy. It’s understandable that the film doesn’t want to get sidetracked in the weeds of the situation, but by ignoring the other movements going on in modern medicine, its picture of what’s happening with stem cell research becomes too simple to offer an effective solution.

The reality is that Big Pharma is having a bit of an identity crisis, with the patent drug era that The God Cells criticizes coming to a close. The widespread illnesses have largely been made treatable, and the patents for these multi-billion dollar drugs are expiring. The research seems to be taking the industry towards personalized medicine; in fact, an internet search of ‘personalized medicine’ turns up a 62-slide outline from the FDA titled Paving the Way for Personalized Medicine that was published back in 2013, before the filming of The God Cells.

Yes, the industry is still trying to find ways to keep medicine profitable, which the film rightly criticizes, but ignoring the strains that the industry is currently dealing with is detrimental. By not presenting a more complete picture, it runs the risk of getting its audience riled up and pushing towards something that won’t be feasible in five or ten years, leaving us still unable to treat people with this exciting new therapy.

The Human Factor

While science underlies all of this, it’s important that we don’t forget the human elements that make up a large part of the fight. The God Cells keeps that in the forefront, constantly reminding the audience that there’s individuals on both side of the issue with deeply personal stakes in the matter.

While those who support stem cell research take center stage, the influence of those who have a moral objection to the treatments, often for religious reasons, are not ignored. Merola uses this to bring up the disturbing influence of social and political factors on stem cell research, and how these arenas often are made up of misinformation and spins intended to promote a point of view. Perhaps inadvertently, this opens the film up to the same criticism.

However, Merola sticks to some solid principles, occasionally including pieces of data that aren’t favorable and admitting that the therapy doesn’t work for everyone. That honesty is what allows The God Cells to ride the line of a slanted but not disingenuous piece.

Where The God Cells truly thrives, though, is when it follows the Americans who travel abroad for the unapproved treatment. It’s an inescapable fact that people suffer and die while therapies are being developed, and by following those who face this very dilemma, the film is able to put faces on the movement. It’s these people who linger in the mind after the film has ended, and the hope that their recoveries bring is the strongest argument that it presents.

Conclusion

The God Cells won’t be the last documentary to take on America’s imperfect medical system, but its focus on stem cell research allows it to avoid painting a hopeless picture. It synthesizes the field’s promising results into a powerful argument that everyone can understand, even if it doesn’t provide a clear blueprint on how to improve the situation. The details, I suppose, are for the scientists and the regulators to figure out. The God Cells just wants us to push the industry along.

Do you think the onus falls on the industry, the regulators, or the patients to push for appropriate healthcare practices? Let us know in the comments!

The God Cells opens in New York cinemas on June 3, 2016, in Los Angeles cinemas on June 10. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08H0ih490RY