Synthetic Pleasures

Conceived as an electronic road movie, this documentary investigates cutting edge technologies and their influence on our culture as we approach the 21st century. It takes off from the idea that mankind's effort to tap the power of Nature has been so successful that a new world is suddenly emerging, an artificial reality. Virtual Reality, digital and biotechnology, plastic surgery and mood-altering drugs promise seemingly unlimited powers to our bodies, and ourselves. This film presents the implications of having access to such power as we all scramble to inhabit our latest science fictions.

Cast: John Perry Barlow, Jeff Baxter, Scott Bukatman, Scott Frazier, Robert Gurland, Michio Kaku