Alexandra Kleeman covers a lot of ground in this examination of the recent remake of “Dead Ringers”: Comparison to David Cronenberg’s original 1988 psychological thriller, Rachel Weisz’s career, how pregnancy is portrayed in media, and reproduction in the United States. Cleverly interweaving her themes to avoid any overwhelm, this is sure to keep your attention — and make you want to watch Rachel Weisz’s stunning performance in the series.
So much of the anxiety around reproduction in the United States has to do with the contradiction of being dependent and isolated at once: dependent on a health care system that must be paid for privately; dependent on a political apparatus outside your control that can force you to give birth while denying any resources or care to the baby that is born; isolated by the moral codes and prescriptions that circulate in the media and among the people in our lives. We often approach pregnancy with a hunger for clean, clear answers — the exact week at which a pregnant body should no longer be allowed caffeine or soft cheese, or the moment at which a bundle of cells becomes a legally protected human being — but living matter resists these attempts at containment.
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