Science, Entertainment and a Digital World
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Transcript of Science, Entertainment and a Digital World
Science, Entertainment and a Digital World
Jovana J. Grbić, PhDSloan Colloquium, UCLA School of Film
October 24, 2009©ScriptPhD.com, all rights reserved
Overview
Part I: The History of Science in Entertainment
Part II: Jurassic Park and the Dawn of the Internet
Part III: The Good, the Bad and the Influential
Part IV: The ScriptPhD Philosophy: L.A.B.
Timeline I: 1900-1930
1902:Le VoyageDans La Lune
1910:Frankenstein
The Silent Film Era: An Era of Firsts
1912:Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde
1916:20,000 LeaguesUnder the Sea
1926:Metropolis
1929:Frau im Mond
Timeline II: 1930-1950
1933:King Kong
The Invisible Man
1949:CaptainVideo
1936:Flash Gordon
The Man Who ChangedHis Mind
Feel Good + Propaganda Movies
1945:Strange Holiday
1930:Just Imagine
Timeline III: 1950-1970
1961:Dr. Kildcare
1969:Marcus Welby
1963:Dr. Who (BBC)
The Outer Limits
1966:Star Trek
1950:BuckRogers
1959:The TwilightZone
The Cold War and the Nuclear Age
1950:DestinationMoon
1953:War ofThe Worlds
1956:ForbiddenPlanet
19682001:A SpaceOdyssey
Timeline IV: 1970-1980
1972:M*A*S*H
Solaris (USSR)
1978:BattlestarGalactica
1974:NOVA
Space Travel
1971:The AndromedaStrain
1975:The RockyHorror Picture Show
1977:Star Wars
Close Encountersof the Third Kind
Timeline V: 1980-1990
1982:St. Elsewhere
Blade Runner
ET
1983:V
1989:Star Trek TGN
Doogie Howser, MD
1981:Raiders ofthe Lost Ark
1984:1984
GhostBusters
Terminator
Rise of Gadgets
1985:Back to the Future
Cocoon
Weird Science
1987:Spaceballs
What Science Entertainment Used to Be
• Sparse content compared to today’s era (many more science-oriented films and shows)
• Heavy on science FICTION, light on science• Thematic in nature – very little corellation to
scientific vs. social/political advances of the time• Nothing that revolves around technology save
for nuclear destruction and outer space travel• Hopeful, unrealistic, meant to titillate not really
engage
Jurassic Park: Before + After
• Assumed audience knew or would understand cloning – complex science
• Written by a medical doctor (Michael Crichton)
• Thematic Elements: Reprecussions of bioengineering and technology revolution
• Game changer for future film and television content
Jurassic Park – 1993 Universal pictures$900 million gross – still in top ten
Dolly the Sheepcloned in 1996
The Dawn of the Internet
Internet visualization map for routes of information exchange
Number of internet users:1995-2010
The internet is exploding and there’s nothing
to stop it!
Nasdaq
Hosts
Sites
The market might go up and down, but the Internet growsforever
•Late 1994: Mosaic released, WWW is born•1996: The word ‘Internet’ is common
Science is EVERYWHERE
• Academic, government and industry labs have websites
• Most newspapers/magazines have a science + technology section
• The birth of the blog• Twitter, Facebook, other
social media – news travels fast
2008: At least 2,000 science blogswritten by PhD scientists (Technorati)
Science + Technology in Entertainment post-Internet
• More science/sci-fi/technology/medical content on television (and movies)
• Better (more) informed audience
• More sophisticated contentThe Internet
# of Zombie movies (from io9)
The Good
• ER Surgical Checklist scene from Season 15, episode 19 – based on WHO recommendations
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IG8ItaTTzY
• ‘Breaking Bad’ chemistry– Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsgGEgkNZ1E&– Accurate– Doesn’t dwell on the Big Picture, rather inserts details that contribute to story
The Bad
• ‘Outbreak’ – opening scene during title credits where government agent walks through BSL labs
– Access to BSL3 and BSL4 labs is EXTREMELY restricted– No personal protective equipment– Takes tube with bare hands – never!
• ‘Impact’– People around the world can’t all see it in the dark at the SAME time– Meteor that desctructive could NEVER hide behind another body – the asteroid
would have to be enormous– Energy required to move the Moon from its orbit is… well… astronomical– Dishonorable mentions: ‘Armageddon’ ‘Deep Impact’ and ‘The Core’
(unobtainium?)
Misconceptions/Positive Effects
YES
NO
‘The CSI Effect’• The belief that juries demand more
physical evidence
• Police collecting more physical evidence, in turn inundating crime labs
• More forensic programs in colleges and universities
• Jurors wanting DNA tests performed more frequently
The problem?
About 40% of the forensic science on
CSI doesn’t actually exist!
CSI premieres
Medical Shows Affect Your Health
• Epidemiological studies conducted by the Kaiser Foundation
• Presence of blogs amplifies this effect
• Study in journal Resucitation: Med students copy bad intubations from TV
Purposefully embedded a health message in an episode then tested select group of viewers
Health on Prime Time Television
947 episodes33 series2204-2006
Geek Chic To Reality I
Flying Cars
Communicators
Dick Tracy’s wrist phoneeBooks from Hitchhiker’s
Guide to the Galaxy
Geek Chic to Reality II
L.A.B.: The ScriptPhD Philosophy
“People bring ideas to life”
Media+Entertainment Science
The Public
BuildingRelationships
ExchangingInformation
L.A.B.: Listen
Scientists• Watch movies and TV• Know how your material
is being represented• Make yourself visible!• Give and write feedback• Keep it simple: small
bites are easier to swallow for non-scientists
• Communicate effectively
Writers• Seek out advice• Ask SPECIFIC questions
and involve the scientist• Attend a lecture/seminar• Shadow a scientist or
doctor• Read blogs + tech
publications• Communicate effectively
L.A.B.: AdviseStart a Blog For Your Area of Expertise•Start with short, simple posts•Guest post for other bloggers•Invite colleagues to post on your site
Increase Your Web Presence•Let out an occasional Tweet•Set up a site for your lab/research•Write the occasional supplement to scholarly articles
Work For a Science Movie/TV Show•On staff or freelance•Fringe: Neurobiologist Ricardo Gil da Costa•BSG and Eureka: Physicist Kevin R. Grazier•CSI: Engineer Naren Shankar•Grey’s Anatomy: Dr. Zoanne Clack
Write Your Own!Michael ChrictonArthur C. Clarke
L.A.B.: Blog…
• Sample Topics Covered Recently in ScriptPhD.com:– “The Last Beekeeper” Documentary: Colony collapse disorder– “Star Trek”: The Physics of Star Trek– “Adam”: Asperger’s Syndrome– “Three Rivers”: Organ Donation– “Moon”: Lunar Facts 101– “Breaking Bad”: Chemistry 101
• In-Depth Means:– Interviews (Leading science experts, screenwriters, producers)– Panels + Roundtables– Original pieces– The science behind your favorite shows
…And Blog Some More
Science Fiction: io9.com
Astronomy+Physics: BadAstronomy.com
Medical Reviews: PoliteDissent.com
Popular (Layman) Science: popsci.com
…and many more!
Writers’ Resources in L.A.
• Science and Entertainment Exchange– http://scienceandentertainment.org
• Hollywood, Health and Society– http://learcenter.org/html/projects/?cm=hhs
• The Science Network– http://sciencenetwork.org
• ScriptPhD.com– Here to help you write creative science!
AcknowledgementsHosts: UCLA School of Film, Hal Ackerman, Etana Jacobsen
Fellow Collaborators/Idea Generators:•Media + Entertainment subsidies (present and future) •Bloggers (ScriptPhD.com “sites we like” blogroll is a great resource!)•Scientists, Engineers, Innovators, Techologists, Geeks, and Nerds
ScriptPhD.com Design and Concept Branding: Zookeeper Industries, LLC
YOU! Engage and collaborate with ScriptPhD.com to expand the conversation about science and technology in entertainment, media and pop culture:
•Twitter: @ScriptPhD •Vimeo: ScriptPhD•Facebook: ScriptPhD •SlideShare.net: ScriptPhD•LinkedIn: Jovana Grbić •Email: [email protected]
Presentation and content ©2009 ScriptPhD.com. All Rights Reserved.