Olly Bootle, “Are We Still Evolving?” (2011)
UK anthropologist Alice Roberts presents this BBC Horizon documentary investigating whether humans have stopped evolving as a result of creating cultures that can mitigate the worst excesses of the environments they live in or if on the contrary we are not only still evolving but are evolving at a faster rate than we did during our caveman days. Speaking to various scientists and other experts on both sides of the Atlantic and observing their activities and research, Roberts finds evidence that we are indeed still evolving and are still subject to the old forces of natural selection that shaped our ancestors’ gene pool and consequently our appearance and behaviours: it’s just that these forces aren’t necessarily what we’ve always thought they were. Among various issues that arise during the course of the documentary are the possibility of a pandemic caused by exotic diseases such as avian flu; the rise of designer babies, made possible by advances in genetics that enable people to select for certain physical characteristics; the rate of mutations and how it rises or falls depending on the human species’ encounter with new and extreme environments in very short periods of time; and how much influence culture might have on the human genome anyway.
The curious aspect of this documentary is that in spite of the resources the BBC can bring to the party, the entire film is drained of all passion and energy and comes across as very tired and dull. Roberts may be an attractive redhead presenter – the camera does focus on her face quite a lot – her accent is homely and comforting and her knowledge of the subject matter can’t be faulted but she has much work cut out to make viewers feel that what she is talking about is worth pursuing for its own sake and relevant to their lives. Part of the problem is that the issues Roberts explores are hardly very cutting-edge science when viewers can just walk to their nearest newsagents and buy the latest copy of New Scientist magazine to read articles on human genetics and evolution that are light years ahead of what Roberts covers. At the time the documentary was being made, there was considerable work being done on epigenetics (that area of genetic investigation that studies the heritability of characteristics caused by mechanisms in gene expression not related to changes in the DNA code itself) and Roberts might at least have covered some of this research. There is also the possibility that future evolution in humans might be driven also by exposure to sources of electromagnetic radiation such as cellphones, wifi and other electronic technologies, and to toxic chemicals in our environment over long periods of time; it seems incredible that Roberts or the researchers and consultants who worked on the documentary didn’t consider the effect of modern society, its products and their consequences, short-term and long-term, on human evolution.
The film is put together well and is easy to follow; the background music is calm and unobtrusive; and there is some use of animation which comes across as an after-thought rather than helping to illustrate some of the information and concepts Roberts uses or refers to. One can still come away with new knowledge and insight about aspects of human behaviour and society that can have an impact on human evolution – the section on avian flu suggests that factory-farming of chickens and their vaccination schedules are driving the evolution of viruses that in turn might drive the evolution of human immune systems and thus humans themselves – so at least the documentary is very clear in the way it presents its topics.
I am not saying the presentation must be whiz-bang slick and commercial but as a program targeting a general audience, this film really has to reach out to even the most scientifically illiterate viewers in a way that is attractive, highly visual and easy to follow and understand.