From evil demiurge to caring hero: images of geneticists in the movies

ABSTRACT Although images of science and scientists depicted in popular culture have been criticized as an exaggeration and fear mongering, the cinema is an important resource that influences individuals’ beliefs about science. Because popular depictions of science play a crucial role in constructing the public’s ‘scientific imaginary’ they constitute an inherent dimension of the social understanding of science and are as important for science communication as the ‘real’ science. Fictional filmic representations of geneticists portrayed in 145 films reveal that popular culture (re)constructs common images and stereotypes of scientists. While the most prevalent negative stereotypes depicted in films include: the evil demiurge, the egoist without morals, the nerdy geneticist, and the capitalist who betrays the ethos of science, over the last few decades films tend to construct more positive images of geneticists: the objective researcher, the practical expert, the bioethicist, the caring physician and the dedicated idealist. Additionally, although molecular biology depicted in films largely represents a man’s world, especially since the 1990s, the figure of the woman geneticist is on the rise. The coexistence of multiple representations of geneticists in films demonstrate that cinematic images of geneticists constitute an important narrative tool that helps moviemakers in reconstructing the social promises and perils related to biotechnology. Thus, films should be understood as a site for the examination of how popular culture fuels hopes and anxieties related to the scientific revolution that permeate culture and how these hopes and fears change over time from horror to hope and from fiction to reality.