On ‘A Dangerous Idea’ and Documentary Filmmaking—Stephanie Welch, Director

The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast.

It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Stephanie Welch is the director of the documentary A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics, and the American Dream. In September, she visited Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the nearby Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, Mich., for screenings and discussion of the film.

In addition to directing, Stephanie was a writer and producer on A Dangerous Idea, which exposes the false claims at the heart of biological determinism—the belief that we are not all created equal, that some groups and individuals are born inherently superior to others and therefore more deserving of fundamental rights. The film goes on to show how popular misunderstanding of both gene science and the concept of genes has been and can be manipulated to advance truly sinister motives.

Stephanie and host Ted Fox talked about the film, the experience of being an independent filmmaker, and the reception to A Dangerous Idea, whose accolades include winning best documentary at the Santa Fe Film Festival and best feature film at the Ogeechee International History Film Festival.

LINK

Film website: A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics, and the American Dream