***Warning: Post contains spoilers for the films Avatar (2009) and Transcendence (2014)*** Death is a staple of human existence and it should come as no surprise that throughout history, human communities have developed narratives and practices to cope with death and imagine and enact a possible afterlife. Today, one arena where such narratives are acted out is popular culture and… Read more →
On a recent trip to this year’s Film & History conference I presented my current research in a paper called ‘From Sacred to Scientific: Charlton Heston’s Second Golden Age’. The fascinating post-paper discussion revolved around eco dystopian cinema, with a focus on my work on Soylent Green and Omega Man. Following a discussion of the connections between epics and science… Read more →
The members of the Science and Entertainment Lab have been working for the past year on a project associated with a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award. The goal of the Playing God Project is to examine the intersections between the biosciences, religion and entertainment media. We have posted a summary page on our website explaining what the project is about as… Read more →
Uncertainty is an important aspect of scientific work and it is no secret that progress is a less straightforward path than what is presented in research councils’ calls for proposals, or national and EU strategy plans. The conflict between actual research output and expectations that are raised can be difficult to articulate, unless one finds stories that can make the… Read more →
A version of this post originally appeared on the Science and Entertainment Exchange’s X-Change Files blog. One of the more intriguing, and controversial, thematic aspects of Ridley Scott’s film Prometheus involves its overt discussions of science and faith. The character of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw is a scientist whose father was a Catholic missionary.She retains her religious faith even after she… Read more →
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