Lab Coats in Hollywood - 9780262518703

Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in 1968, isperhaps the most scientifically accurate film ever produced. The film presented such a plausible,realistic vision of space flight that many moon hoax proponents believe that Kubrick staged the 1969moon landing using the same studios and techniques. Kubrick's scientific verisimilitude in2001 came courtesy of his science consultants -- including two former NASAscientists -- and the more than sixty-five companies, research organizations, and governmentagencies that offered technical advice. Although most filmmakers don't consult experts asextensively as Kubrick did, films ranging from A Beautiful Mind andContact to Finding Nemo and The Hulk haveachieved some degree of scientific credibility because of science consultants. I n LabCoats in Hollywood, David Kirby examines the interaction of science and cinema: howscience consultants make movie science plausible, how filmmakers negotiate scientific accuracywithin production constraints, and how movies affect popular perceptions of science. Drawing oninterviews and archival material, Kirby examines such science consulting tasks as fact checking andshaping visual iconography. Kirby finds that cinema can influence science as well: Depictions ofscience in popular films can promote research agendas, stimulate technological development, and evenstir citizens into political action.