|Seeking Finance|

Our Genetic Jigsaw

The understanding that all of us come from the same place should blur our differences and bring us together for a better future.

Most of us can name our grandparents, many our great grandparents, and some our great great grandparents. Beyond that, we enter a dark and mysterious realm through which we can only navigate with hesitant steps. Who were the people that came before us? Where did they live? What were their lives like? Why do we care about them? 

With today’s technology we can try to find these answers in our genetic code, which makes us uniquely human, but also unique individuals. Our DNA carries, hidden in its string of four simple letters, a historical document stretching back to the origin of life and the first self replicating molecules, through our amoebic ancestors, and down to the present day.  

From the realisation that the majority of black Americans have European ancestors and that many white people have Native Indian genes, a boom in “recreational genetics” is forcing America and other nations to redefine their roots.  Due to the declining price and user friendly methods in genetic testing, many people who live in multiethnic and multicultural societies have embarked on an amazing journey to explore their own past. Millions of every creed and colour are exploring their family histories in a genealogy boom that is redefining who they are and what it means to belong to their countries.

Private companies and the Internet are allowing people to find information that was previously locked away on dusty library shelves or in their families’ fading collective memories. They are also using modern DNA techniques to research their racial history. Blacks are discovering they have white genes, whites are finding black relatives. Native Americans are growing in numbers, not because of a high birth rate, but because many Americans are discovering unknown native ancestors written in their DNA.

For a few hundred dollars, people can radically alter the way they think of themselves through a new industry that has been dubbed “recreational genetics”. Dozens of companies now offer DNA tests, ranging from the basic - breaking down a person’s racial profile into broad categories to more detailed ones which claim to identify specific regions or tribes of the world. It has led to some bizarre developments.

“OUR GENETIC JIGSAW” will convince international personalities to take a DNA test. Most will have no real idea who they are. Many who believe are 100% European will find genetic remains of ancestors who display an international cocktail of genes.   

We will follow the celebrity-minded people who try to find out if their DNA profiles match those from famous historical figures including Thomas Jefferson, General Robert E. Lee, Genghis Khan, King David and Maria Antoinette. 

These are the proposed episodes: 

EPISODE 1:
Anglo Saxon Americans discover they have black genes.

EPISODE 2:
Anglo Saxon Americans discover they have Native American Indian genes.

EPISODE 3:
Black Americans discover they have white genes

EPISODE 4:
Black Americans want to find their African genes 

EPISODE 5:
French want to discover are if they have Maria Antoinette’s genes.

EPISODE 6:
English, Scots and Irish discover they have Spanish or Portuguese genes.

EPISODE 7:
Scots and Irish discover they have Semite and German genes.

 EPISODE 8:
Aboriginal Australians discover they have South Indian and African genes.

EPISODE 9:
Peruvians want to find their Mongol and Chinese genes.

EPISODE 10:
Jews want to discover if they are descendants from King David.

EPISODE 11:
Israelis and Palestinians peace activists want to find if they have identical genes.

EPISODE 12:
Japanese discover they have Korean and/or Chinese genes.

EPISODE 13:
Germans whose grandparents served in the Nazi army discover they have Jewish genes.

Producer: Carlos Alperin