Cyborg: A Documentary
Neil Harbisson, the first human to be recognised as a cyborg, speaks out in Carey Born’s documentary.
Image courtesy of Tull Stories.
I have never been one to regret the fashion for reviews to carry star ratings. Nevertheless, I do have to admit that in the case of Cyborg: A Documentary the fact that I give it three stars is no real guidance as to what others might think about it. The reason for that is that most reactions to this film will be decided not by the quality of what is on screen here but by personal reactions to the man who is its subject, Neil Harbisson. Seen alongside his partner Moon Ribas, Harbisson is such an unusual figure that he might well earn responses that range from awed admiration to scornful dismissal. But, whatever else might be said about this debut feature from Carey Born, it will certainly help viewers to decide what their own stance is in that the film is a platform for Harbisson to talk about his life and to expand on his ideas.
Harbisson was born in 1982 and found to suffer the condition known as achromatopsia being unable to see colours and thus seemingly confined to a world made up of black, white and shades of grey. He first met Moon Ribas in Spain when as children they both attended a theatre group there but in their late teens both came to England to study at Dartington College in Devon where his subject was music composition and hers was experimental dance and choreography. However, they found a shared central artistic focus a little later after Harbisson, unable to get hospital approval for the surgery he wanted, found someone who, acting anonymously, was prepared to implant an antenna in his head. This was in 2004 and through sounds and chords it enabled him to identify colours. He would now be seen by others as someone with an electronic device on his head but, challenging that description, Harbisson claimed that it was instead an organ that was now part of him. This was an argument that he won becoming the first human being to be legally recognised as a cyborg.
To take this path was extraordinary and could be considered a brave way of overcoming the basic limitation in being an achromat. However, having once taken this step Neil Harbisson went on to make this experience the dominating factor in his life influencing not only his work as an exhibiting artist (the description he applied to that being cyborg art) but his role as somebody promoting a new way of life. Thus in 2010 he and Moon would create the Cyborg Foundation in order to research and promote the possibility of using technology to find ways of giving humans additional senses. That concept extended to supporting those people who wanted to become cyborgs and it would lead in 2017 to the creation of another foundation. This was The Transpecies Society, set up by Neil and Moon together with another cyborg artist who also appears in this film, Manel Muñoz. Under an online banner that declares "We Explore. We Create. We Discover", the Society declares that it is an association that gives voice to non-human identities, raises awareness of the challenges transspecies face, advocates for the freedom of self-design and offers the development of new senses and organs.
Born’s film makes use of pre-existing footage featuring Neil Harbisson but for much of the time allows him and Moon Ribas to speak directly about their history and their aims. Both of them are articulate but their devotion to their cause is hardly less than one finds in those who espouse evangelical religion. Increasingly one comes to feel that they are extremists with in all probability a profound belief that a world of self- designed transspecies would be an improvement on one with human beings. While Harbisson has elaborate hopes for the future, he can already point to what has been achieved. Thus, through the use of a Bluetooth button he and Moon can claim to be able to communicate tooth to tooth using vibrations that are a form of morse code and in addition a sensory device has been created that plays with time. Known as a Solar Crown it enables the body to sense the time of day in distant locations but might eventually be elaborated to enable one to alter one's perception of time.
Cyborg: A Documentary is certainly informative and is presented straightforwardly save for the odd inclusion of brief clips from old films which include Metropolis, Frankenstein, Things to Come and Cocteau’s Orphée. The latter includes the scene in which Orphée himself walks through a mirror having been told “You just have to believe”. That line is surely no less applicable if one is to find this film a truly rewarding experience. If Harbisson’s brave new world is as appealing to you as it is to him then Born’s film will surely please you. On the other hand, if you don't appreciate Harbisson’s vision it may feel that a full-length feature film is more than you need. Some of those inserted film clips may seem to question his viewpoint (Frankenstein’s botched experiments hardly make him a hero), but the only real expression of any serious doubts are those expressed by that intelligent interviewer Stephen Sackur when talking to Neil Harbisson at a symposium in St. Gallen. Had the film been made in the form of a debate about his ideas and their value it might have had something for everyone, but as it is Cyborg: A Documentary will only be fully meaningful and worthwhile to those who admire Harbisson and the views that he endorses.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Featuring Neil Harbisson, Moon Ribas, Manel Muñoz, Oryan Inbar, Adam Montandon, Ophelia Dero, Louis Ortiz, Ryan Murdock.
Dir Carey Born, Pro Carey Born, Ph Matthew Akers, Ed Dave Briggs.
First Born Films-Tull Stories.
88 mins. UK/USA/Spain/Germany. 2023. UK Rel: 20 September 2024. Cert. 12A.
