In 2019, an unusual viral news article caught the attention of Jack Boswell, a BBC radio presenter and podcast producer from London. A man in Mumbai, India, is poised to sue his parents for giving birth to him without their consent, arguing that life suffers and that the planet would be better off if humans stopped procreating. Although this absurd lawsuit ultimately did not proceed (there is no doubt that both of the prospective plaintiff’s parents were lawyers), this symbolic threat could be interpreted as an anti-natalism that he clearly advocated. A spotlight on well-known philosophies.
“This has encouraged more people to join the movement,” Boswell said. He became interested in others who shared similar ideas and what toll it took on their lives. A community of over 250,000 users who fall down the rabbit hole of Reddit’s antinatalism and resist their biological obligation to reproduce in order to avoid exposing their offspring to the harm of disease, pain, struggle, and death. , which inspired him to begin making an independent documentary, which became “I Wish I Had Never Been Born,” which is available to stream for free online as of Friday. This thoughtful film follows Boswell as he travels across America, investigating the lives and homes (and various eccentricities) of people who see the extinction of humanity as a net positive, and who view having children as a selfish act. , indicating that yet another human being is destined to bear a child. They have the same problems and weaknesses as everyone else.
These resolutely honest interviews arrive at a time when an opposing ideology, pronatalism, is receiving increasing coverage. There are also high-profile advocates like Simone and Malcolm Collins, who made headlines thanks to a 2023 article detailing their efforts to increase birthrates through lobbying groups they founded. (She has 13 children and wants as many as 13). Pro-natalism also has a strong advocate in billionaire father of 11 children, Elon Musk, who has warned of an impending global population collapse (demographers say denying the concerns). He has linked his warnings about the birth crisis to the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. This conspiracy theory claims that non-white immigrants to Western countries will produce enough babies that whites will become a minority in the near future, necessitating stricter border policies and requiring stronger border policies. It is claimed that Domestic birth rate.
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Boswell says he didn’t talk to pro-natalists for “I Wish I Had Never Been Born.” Because while they may be outspoken, they essentially represent the default position that we should keep the species alive. Antinatalists, on the other hand, argue that “even if you don’t completely agree with the philosophy, it intersects with a lot of topics of a more mainstream kind that are more widely debated, whether it’s climate change or the right to die, and suicide.” “Aiding and abetting,” he says, sitting in San Antonio with a gun enthusiast who recalls being physically beaten by his father as punishment. The genderqueer Chicago artist was first inspired to the cause by a line in a children’s adaptation of the novel The Phantom of the Opera. He’s a man from London. who had a vasectomy in his early 20s, and even foul-mouthed comedian Doug Stanhope, who years ago said paying for his then-wife’s abortion was “the best thing to do.” Because he’s joking. He ended his life.
Even if Boswell’s subject matter is incredibly frank about the unimportance of consciousness and the benefits of non-existence, the portrait that emerges is not as fatalistic as you might imagine. “I showed some people an early cut, and they said, ‘Oh, I liked it a lot more than I expected,'” he says. “In fact, most of the time[anti-natalism]has such a visceral reaction that even if you have views that most people would think are pretty crazy, I try to humanize them. Their willingness to tackle thorny ideas, such as whether depression breeds anti-natalist sentiment or vice versa, was very persuasive in front of the camera. It becomes something powerful. “They’re all very genuine,” Boswell said. “They’re all very open.”
One of the most eye-opening conversations was with Danny Shine, the British anti-natalist activist known for taking megaphones and delivering messages to the streets of London, who initiated the current reproductive policy. There were three children in front of me. When asked if he regrets becoming a father, Shine said that although he doesn’t spend time wishing he could change the past, he said: “I think it would have been better if I had never been born, and neither should they.” I think it would have been better if he had never been born, because if he hadn’t been born, there would have been no problem.” (Perhaps unsurprisingly, his family appears in the documentary. )
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These vulnerable moments provide an effective and sometimes stark contrast to the anti-natalist YouTube videos and Facebook and Reddit posts that Boswell describes as “provocative and downright scary.” On the internet, drifting toward the extreme fringes is almost natural, and this movement, like any other, can create a cynical echo chamber. “Right after the Russia-Ukraine war started, I read an article (an r/anti-natalist post) in which someone said something along the lines of, “Is nuclear war the best thing in the world?” “I did,” he says. Thankfully, he added, commenters reasonably pointed out that forcing millions of people to suffer slow, gruesome deaths from radiation poisoning is not the desired outcome.
Still, I Wish I’d Never Been Born has plenty of controversial opinions to weigh in, including its cheeky title. Boswell guides them with empathic curiosity, always searching for root causes. Most of all, we begin to evaluate our own ideals regarding pregnancy, parenting, social responsibility, stewardship of the earth, and more. Boswell says making the film didn’t make him an anti-natalist; in fact, it only strengthened his disagreement with anti-natalists. “I don’t buy the idea that people shouldn’t be brought into this world because life is terrible,” he says. But other things he says seem convincing, or at least absorbing points of value. To use the cliché seriously, this is literally a thought-provoking documentary.
