User reviews

"Citizen Bio" (2020 release; 96 min.) is a documentary about the the world of biohacking and related subcultures. As the movie opens, we are introduced to biohacker/free spirit Aaron Traywick, who is found dead at age 28. We then go to "A Few Months Earlier", as Traywick retells of his upbringing in Elsmore, Alabama, and eventually ending up in "Bethesda, Maryland", where his niece and lobbyist gives him a job in a healthcare non-profit. It isn't long before Traywick wades into the biohacking subculture, without any scientific background, promoting various "cures" along the way. At this point we are less than 15 min. into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from longtime producer (and here also director) Trish Dolman, whose previous work includes "Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Wilson". Here she looks at the world of biohacking and related subcultures. Never heard of Biohacking? Neither had I, but we get a Biohacking 101 introduction: a subculture of non-scientists who love to (self)experiment outside the mainstream (without FDA supervision) for major diseases like HIV, herpes and so forth. Is this even legal? Just watch. I must admit, I was taken aback by some of this, and frankly confused as to what the heck was going on for a good part of the film. And what exactly led to Traywick's death? All is revealed in due course. I almost gave up on this film halfway through but in the end stuck it out as I wanted to understand what happened to Traywick. But when all was said and done, I felt pretty much unmoved. It's one thing to want to "stick it to the man", as these biohackers clearly feel, but it's another thing when we are talking serious and major healthcare issues undertaken by non-scientists.

"Citizen Bio" premiered on Showtime this weekend, and is now available on SHO On Demand and other streaming services. If you have any interest in biohacking or in shady/edgy healthcare practices, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

I love when people are optimistic about making the world a better place. How they do it is a different topic.

Aaron seems to be a Peter Pan of bio-hackers. And I always had to rewind and listen to some of the things he said two or three times - meaning, to me, that it wasn't as clear as it should have been.

In this program, you meet a lot of bio-hackers and they all want to help the world in one way or another - in their garages or backyards. I admire that. But there are ways to do it and ways not to do it. And if you're someone who doesn't play well with others, well .....

One reviewer mentioned the wrong affectation of the people interviewed - always smiling - at everything. True. Not everyone was that way, but enough were that is was most disconcerting. Machiavelli Davis was a prime example. Every time he was on the screen, I got nervous and antsy. That's my reaction. Same with a lot of Aaron's pieces.

I'm not sold and I'm tired of watching this at 50 minutes.

It would be wonderful if I were totally wrong about these people - and they cure the world! SO, I'm hoping I am wrong, but ... In the meantime, the program isn't finished, but I am.

When the biohackers talk about the failure of the project, they smile. When Tristan talks about being locked out of the laboratory, he appears to be happy. I think this is because it confirms his paranoid and conspiratorial beliefs, and I think that that's more of a win for these kind of biohackers and anarchists than any actual accomplishment would be. This whole story is a win for them because it justifies their toxic and pessimistic views about life and humanity.