Science in Hollywood: Hits and Misses
Earlier this week I was a guest on Breakfast Television Vancouver to discuss the portrayal of science in some recent blockbusters. The recent surge in science content in films and TV is something that I find genuinely encouraging. Public interest in subjects from immunology to forensics and even physics is expanding in part due to increased visibility in popular media (see this interesting piece from the Guardian on the subject). However, in my opinion Hollywood has an important responsibility to get the science right. It’s no longer good enough to depict science in a flippant way, as a write off to the more ‘important’ aspects of the story (as one recent film does). More and more, directors are consulting closely with scientific experts in order to depict the subject matter appropriately – which is fantastic news for the movement to popularize subjects with ‘taboo’ status.
I’m looking forward to the spring lineup of films from both the mainstream and film festival circuits – there should be plenty to discuss when it comes to the portrayal of science. Stay tuned!
You can watch my interview HERE.
Bromancing Baboons: What Else are Lonely Bachelors Going to Do?
The latest video in my ‘Biomusings’ series describes the work of PhD student David Pappano at the University of Michigan. David spends his field seasons in the highlands of Ethiopia studying the unique behaviors of bachelor gelada baboons. The social system in geladas is one where a dominant alpha male keeps a harem of females and is extremely protective over his group – which generally leaves many sub-dominant males to form groups of their own. David is examining just what happens in these all male bachelor groups…
I was still pregnant with my baby daughter Juna when we shot this video – I thought it made for a nice tie in to the family unit. Enjoy!
A ground-breaking kind of SCIENCE FILM contest – every campus should have one
The application deadline for the University of Southern California’s inaugural science themed film competition is fast approaching – October 8 to apply, and January 11 for final submissions. The competition, a brainchild of professors Clifford Johnson (physics and astronomy) and Anna Krylov (chemistry) aims to bring together the (sometimes disparate) people in journalism and science, to begin a dialogue that will generate some excellent tools for science communication. According to Dr. Johnson:
“Right now, most journalists and filmmakers, either in documentary or in entertainment, aren’t in the practice of working with scientists even when they’re doing something involving science”
To read more about this fantastic opportunity (including the substantial prize list), check out the rest of my post HERE.