ABSTRACT
Media audiences are increasingly faced with images that show the ‘wonders’ of genetic engineering: living dinosaurs, half-human/half-animal creatures, glowing fish, to name but a few. At the same time, they may read of the current, mainly illegal, practice of using anabolic steroids and other genetic treatments to enhance athletic performance. Given that standard news coverage of biotechnology and genetics highlights controversial issues (Gaskell and Bauer, 2001; Ten Eyck and Williment, 2003), it is not surprising that for audiences faced with the world of genetics what is real and what is make-believe becomes less and less clear. These images and stories, which have passed through various genres of popular culture, are not confined to the privileged audiences of developed countries. Hollywood films, sporting events and even the reporting of such events play out in many different regions for various audiences around the world. In every case, there are individuals and organizations that benefit from such presentations, while others suffer. In Burkina Faso, for example, one of the poorest nations in Africa, the policy-making elite who read French newspapers are likely to rank snow skiing as riskier than childbirth (Kone and Mullet, 1994), an opinion which could lead to less concern with developing policies that aim to improve infant mortality.
