“The Medicine Man”
Answer the following questions while you view the movie. Do not wait until the end of the movie!
1. In what part of the rainforest does this movie take place? ______________________________________
2. At the opening of the movie, what two events are taking place in the rainforest as the research assistance
fly over and drive through the forest? _____________________________________________________
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3. What kind of scientist is Dr. Robert Campbell? _____________________________________________
4. Why does Dr. Campbell tell Dr. Crane to wear a surgical mask? ________________________________
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5. What does Dr. Campbell suggest that he’s found the cure for? _________________________________
6. Since Dr. Crane doesn’t believe Dr. Campbell, what is “control group” he suggests that she studies for
the next 24 hours? ____________________________________________________________________
7. What is Dr. Crane’s independent variable for the experiment to prove Dr. Campbell’s hypothesis that he
really has discovered a cure? ____________________________________________________________
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8. What happened to the indigenous “medicine man” after Dr. Campbell showed up and why? __________
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9. Where does the “cure” come from, according to Dr. Campbell? _________________________________
10. What is the one flaw with his serum (cure)? ________________________________________________
11. Why doesn’t Dr. Campbell want a full research team set up to help him with his research? ___________
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12. What did Dr. Campbell learn from the indigenous medicine man about the “juju” in the sky flower? ____
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13. Why couldn’t Dr. Campbell just grow the flower someplace else? _______________________________
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14. What was different with the baseline data that Dr. Crane was running and why? ___________________
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15. What caused the major fire that burned down the rainforest near and including the camp? ____________
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16. Once they figured out the source of the cure, how did the fire affect their research? _________________
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17. Why was it so important that the area around the research camp be preserved from the construction of the
road and deforestation? ________________________________________________________________
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18. Why did the indigenous medicine man allowed Dr. Campbell to follow him and the others to their new
location? ____________________________________________________________________________
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Post-Video Reflection: Write the answers to the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. BE
SPECIFIC...avoid vague answers. Provide support for your responses.
19. What is biodiversity and why is it so important to preserve it?
20. What would you do if you were in Dr. Campbell’s position, knowing you were responsible for the deaths
of all those indigenous people (from the swine flu that he accidentally introduced)? Since he was so
adamant about Dr. Crane getting a physical and wearing a surgical mask, why hadn’t he taken the same
precautions previously?
21. If you had to chose between helping one village/villager and helping all of mankind, what would you do
and why? Include an explanation of why you think Dr. Crane went ahead and gave the boy the last of the
serum even though she was opposed to using it initially. Keep in mind they only had one small sample
of the original serum left, and no way of reproducing it.
22. Since they were able to identify the chemical structure of the unknown substance, why didn’t they just
synthesize it in a lab somewhere?
23. Why would the workers constructing the road want to beat up Dr. Campbell? Likewise, why might any
group of individuals (businessmen, workers, citizens, etc.) stand up against someone like Dr. Campbell (a
researcher, an environmentalist, etc.)?
24. How does the construction of roads and deforestation affect biodiversity in the tropical rainforest?
25. What other types of human impacts might cause the destruction of a biome, and hence its biodiversity?
(Provide at least 3 other human behaviors that would affect biodiversity in different biomes besides the
tropical rainforest...be specific and list the biomes you are referring to.)
26. Although this was a fiction-based story, is it possible that this type of situation could actually occur in the
rainforest or elsewhere in another biome? Why or why not.