Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 3
CHEMISTS AND THEIR CRAFT IN FICTION FILM
Peter Weingart
Department of Sociology, Institute of Science and Technology Studies,
University of Bielefeld, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany; weingart@uni-bielefeld.de
The chapter presents results from a quantitative analysis of some 200
fiction films. Chemistry is the iconic discipline of the 'mad scientist'
reflecting the alchemical imagery that was prevalent until recently (and
can still be identified) in the depiction of science in films. Other results
show the ambivalence with which primarily the natural sciences are
represented in popular movies.
1. Introduction
∗
Michael Crichton, well-known author of bestsellers dealing with science,
is a wanderer between the worlds of fact and fiction. Crossing the
boundary towards 'science fiction' and combining thrilling action with
plausible accounts of scientific advances, his topics have frequently been
turned into movies, the most famous being
Jurassic Park
. In a talk before
the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
he presented
himself as an educated scientist who could boast of degrees in
anthropology and medicine as well as of publications in the renowned
New England Journal of Medicine
. Later he assumed the position of a
movie producer and explained to his academic audience that they should
not be worried about the negative representation of science in movies,
∗
Parts have been taken from a German version 'Von Menschenzüchtern, Weltbeherr-
schern und skrupellosen Genies: Das Bild der Wissenschaft im Spielfilm' in Wein-
gart 2005. The material has been extracted from an analysis of 220 fiction films the
results of which were published in Weingart
et al
. 2003.
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