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Peter Malone
Scientific inventions, future societies and ‘end of the world’ scenarios are often portrayed in films. Many people begin to appreciate moral and ethical conundrums when they first see them in the cinema. The following annotated listing explores points to recent films that include science-in-the-making.
- Issues of science generally appear in science fiction and science fantasy. The plot usually centres on something that will happen in the future whether it be cyborgs coming to destroy the future saviour of the human race in The Terminator series or exploits in the battle between good and evil in the galaxies far, far away in the Star Wars films.
- There are the archetypal 19th century stories of scientists and hubris, whether the Frankenstein experiments in creating life or the Jekyll and Hyde stories of scientists and self-experimentation. It is interesting to note how many variations of these stories continue to be told.
Modern issues include stories of mutations, the development of robotics, the morally challenging issues of bioethics, cloning and life, as well as newer issues of brain experimentation and the altering of states of consciousness, ‘neuroethics’.
Since Blade Runner in 1982 the stories of Philip K. Dick, which focus on robotics and altered states of consciousness, have become ever more popular and have set a standard for this kind of science fiction and speculation.
- They don’t make so many films these days about the famous scientists as they did in Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s. That is more for television programmes and documentaries. But now and again we see a film about science, about such ventures as the Manhattan Project or about the exploration of space and the search for intelligent life.
- Television, once again, provides audiences with channels where they can discover the worlds of geography, of biology and zoology. Sometimes, a beautifully photographed study of animals and plants will make it to the theatre screen and draw the crowds. This is especially true of films made in the IMAX format.
- The following is a selected list of films of recent decades that dramatise some of these themes.
- THE SIXTH DAY (US, 2000, d. Roger Spottiswoode)
- Backed by an unscrupulous millionaire, scientist (Robert Duvall) experiments with cloning humans. The scenario confirms our worst fears about abuses for personal survival and commercial gain, especially when family man (Arnold Schwarzenegger) confronts a clone of himself and issues of identity and humanity are raised.
- THE ISLAND (US 2005, d. Michael Bay)
- In the guise of an action movie, The Island dramatises the cloning ‘selfishness hypothesis’, that the rich and powerful can clone themselves to survive ageing and illness. By showing the effect on the clones discovering what they are and their reaction to the deception, the drama asks questions about identity and personality.
- GODSEND (US, 2004, d. Nick Hamm)
- An eerie thriller based on the supposition that parents grieving at the death of a child can apply to have a clone created to take its place. As with the Frankenstein story, this film warns about the potentially evil motives of the clone creator (Robert de Niro).
- JURASSIC PARK (US, 1993, d. Steven Spielberg)
- Michael Crichton (a doctor and novelist) speculated on the use of DNA of long dead creatures to make replicas. Jurassic Park is the classic story of arrogance and the destructive consequences of scientists assuming that they can be creators of life. While it is a dinosaur adventure, it is also a cautionary allegory about what can go wrong with experimentation.
- MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN (US, 1993, d. Kenneth Branagh)
- A 1990s telling of the often filmed classic story. With a somewhat breathtaking pace, the film is broad in scope and reminds us of the glamour of scientific fame and ambition and the disastrous results of ‘playing God’ in trying to create life. With Kenneth Branagh as the doctor and Robert de Niro as the pitiable creature.
- MARY REILLY (UK, 1996, d. Stephen Frears)
- There have been many versions of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story of altered states and experimentation with personality affecting chemicals, Mary Reilly gives the background to the 19th century curiosity and laboratory work of scientists like Dr Jekyll (John Malkovich) and his servant Mary Reilly (Julia Roberts) and the warning that the Mr Hyde who emerges from Dr Jekyll can be a depraved and brutal side of personality.
- THE ANIMAL (France, 2005, Roselyne Bosch)
- While futuristic, this film, a variation on the Jekyll and Hyde story, looks much more like a contemporary scientific drama. A young neurosurgeon can alter genes to remove the drive to violence and decides to experiment on himself with disastrous and cautionary results.
- ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (US, 2004, d. Michel Gondry)
- Is it possible to develop procedures for brain surgery that will eliminate memories? Kate Winslett as a young woman who breaks a relationship by undergoing the process and Jim Carrey as the bewildered man whose emotional crisis makes him want to do the same and start again.
- PAYCHECK (US, 2004, d. John Woo)
- Adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story which moves from science of erased memories to action thriller. The special feature is the hero leaving clues in one state so that he can recover his memories. With Ben Affleck.
- ALTERED STATES (US, 1980, d. Ken Russell)
- With William Hurt as a scientist who experiments with consciousness-altering drugs and isolation chambers to study its genetic effects and regression. The film finally moves towards psychology and emotion as a means of counterbalancing laboratory testing and risks.
- LAWNMOWER MAN (US, 1992, d. Brett Leonard)
- A contemporary version of the Frankenstein story as a simple gardener (Jeff Fahey) is transformed into a mental genius by scientist (Pierce Brosnan). The cautionary element this time is the intrusion of the Pentagon into the experiment to turn the gardener into a weapon. From a Stephen King story.
- AI – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (US, 2001, d. Steven Spielberg)
- Spielberg inherited this Stanley Kubrick project from a story by Brian Aldiss. Not only have robotics developed to make the creations more realistic and human, some of them desire human feelings. A questioning of the cerebral dimensions of scientific developments.
- I, ROBOT (US, 2004, d. Alex Proyas)
- Based on Isaac Asimov’s story, this is a thriller that speculates on the development of robots but also on the exploitation by scientists and by commercial interests. Will Smith investigates a crime that may have been committed by a rogue robot.
- OCTOBER SKY (US, 1999, d. Joe Johnston)
- True story of Homer Hickham who was destined to be a miner but who was encouraged by teachers to study science and eventually became a rocket scientist. A morale booster for those who teach science and students who want to pursue a scientific career.
- CONTACT (US, 1997, d. Robert Zemeckis)
- Adaptation of Carl Sagan’s story of the search for intelligent life beyond earth with its scientific, religious and political consequences. The star is Jodie Foster. While it is a sober look at the issues, it ultimately moves towards a more ‘mystical’ ending.
- FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY (US, 1989, d. Roland Joffe)
- A serious drama about the group of scientists working at Los Alamos on The Manhattan Project. Starring Paul Newman, the film portrays the events and characters, especially Robert J. Oppenheimer, as well as the science and morality issues which culminated in the dropping of the atomic bomb.
- Mutations
- THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU (US, 1996, d. John Frankenheimer)
- The most recent version of H.G. Wells’ story of the insane scientist who experiments with DNA and attempts to change animals into humans. Wells’ cautionary tale about experiments has been filmed many times, as Island of Lost Souls with Charles Laughton in the 1930s, with Burt Lancaster in the 1970s. This eccentric version has Marlon Brando as the most insane of the Moreau’s.
- HUMAN NATURE (US, 2001, d. Michel Gondry)
- Human Nature has been described as a ‘philosophical burlesque’ where scientists take a wild man and try to civilise him by education and by drugs with some dire consequences, especially for the female scientist (Patricia Arquette). With Tim Robbins.
- SPIDERMAN (US, 2002, d. Sam Raimi)
- An archetypal story of a comic-book action hero. However, the film uses a scientific base for its action. Peter Palmer (Tobey Maguire) is bitten by a mutant spider in a science museum and absorbs the powers of the arachnid. He confronts a megalomaniac industrialist (Willem Dafoe) who plays fast and loose with scientific experimentation and testing.
- MICROCOSMOS (LE PEUPLE DE L’HERBE) (France, 1996, Claude Nuridsany, Marie Perennou)
- A study, in extraordinary detail, of insect life in pools and fields. Extensive use of close-ups, slow motion and time lapse photography.
- WINGED MIGRATION (LE PEUPLE MIGRATEUR) (France, 2001, d. Jacques Perrin, Jacques Luziard)
- Filmed over three years on all continents, with breathtaking photography, a study of the migratory patterns of birds.
- MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (LA MARCHE DE L’EMPEREUR) (France, 2005, d. Luc Jacquet)
- A year’s filming in Antarctica, over all the seasons, gives a detailed portrait of the mating habits and rituals of penguins, the birth and nurturing of the young and the ways of survival in the snow and ice.
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