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Scientists Sharing Secrets Online

Posted by The Exchange on 06/17/2010 | 0 comments

Maybe the success of The Big Bang Theory started a backlash. Because now there seems to be a campaign underway to sell the public on the notion that scientists don’t have to be geeks, nerds, or white men. The latest assault on the stereotype comes from the new PBS online-only series, The Secret Life of Scientists, the title co-opted from the critically acclaimed ABC Family network show The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

So far, more than a dozen profiles of scientists have been posted, with the promise of more in a few months. Viewers are entertained by clicking on four brief video segments for each scientist, one of which features answers to 10 questions.

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Big Bang Theory: Plus or a Minus?

Posted by The Exchange on 05/13/2010 | 1 comment

Scientists didn’t exactly rejoice when The Big Bang Theory got picked up by CBS a few years ago. Actually, they probably weren’t paying attention and may still be unaware of the show’s existence, even though it’s now become a major hit for the network. During the three seasons Big Bang has been on the air, it’s been pretty easy to dismiss as just another silly TV show with no mission other than to entertain. Never mind that most people spend a lot of time being entertained by watching TV.

As a result, TV is where most people learn whatever it is they know about science. But not from watching PBS or one of the Discovery networks, which have relatively small audiences. They’re far more likely to be viewing entertainment programming, including sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory.

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Tony Stark's Science

Posted by The Exchange on 05/10/2010 | 0 comments

If you're one of the millions of people who flocked to the cinema this weekend to see Iron Man 2, you're no doubt wondering how much of the plot is based in fact, and how much is pure science fiction.

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2010 PRISM Awards Recap

Posted by The Exchange on 05/04/2010 | 0 comments

The annual PRISM Awards are given out by the Entertainment Industries Council to honor the creative community for accurate portrayals of substance abuse and mental health in entertainment. The list of supporters for this program and awards ceremony span over many of the top names in Washington and Hollywood and the event has been celebrating entertainment's ability to educate through art for the past fourteen years.

The Awards, held this year on April 22nd at the Beverly Hills Hotel, truly highlight film and television's ability to get it right and to teach. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi summed it up nicely when she praised, "[the PRISM awards recognize] imperative topics to explore creatively, and [the Entertainment Industries Council] have truly helped raise the consciousness of the American people."

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The Technology Behind 'Minority Report'

Posted by The Exchange on 05/03/2010 | 0 comments

Audiences flocked to to the futuristic thriller Minority Report when it debuted in 2002, impressed not just with thefilm noir mystery, but also the visually stunning futuristic world depicted onscreen. So naturally there was a packed house at the Hammer Museum on April 22 to hear a talk called "Beautiful Tools" by artist/scientist John Underkoffler of Oblong Industries -- part of a series of lectures sponsored by 5D on the future of immersive design. Underkoffler (who is an advisory board member of the Science & Entertainment Exchange) consulted on Minority Report, and drew on some of his own groundbreaking research at MIT while doing so. (He's also consulted on The Hulk, Aeon Flux, Stranger Than Fiction, and Iron Man.)

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TV Weathercasters Get Colbert Treatment

Posted by The Exchange on 04/21/2010 | 0 comments

Weathercasters have long held a special place on our local news teams. Culturally, they are perhaps best known for inaccurate forecasts and questionable fashion statements. To the untrained eye, it may seem that their only job requirements are neon smiles and a working knowledge of how to place cartoon graphics of altostratus clouds.

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Event Recap: Obselidia Screening with Film Director Diane Bell

Posted by The Exchange on 04/12/2010 | 0 comments

The Science and Entertainment Exchange, along with Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences, sponsored a special advance screening of the film Obselidia in Washington, D.C., this past Tuesday (April 6th). The film was directed by Diane Bell and played at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival where it won of the Alfred P. Sloan Prize - an award given to a feature film that has science or technology as a major theme or a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a main character in the storyline.

Obselidia explores our attitudes toward technology and how we think about a future that’s bound to be severely altered by environmental change. In the film, George, an encyclopedia salesman, shuns new technology. After the Internet wipes out his livelihood, he endeavors to write The Obselidia, a compendium of everything that is obsolete - including love.

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Even Superheroes Need Their Science

Posted by The Exchange on 02/13/2010 | 0 comments

This past weekend, the Science and Entertainment Exchange headed to San Diego for the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Our session was a panel discussion entitled "Watching the Watchmen and Cheering the Heroes: The Science of Superheroes," bringing together two physicists, a biologist, a film screenwriter, and two TV writers.

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C is for 'Caprica'

Posted by The Exchange on 02/11/2010 | 0 comments

Fans of Battlestar Galactica are avidly following the brand-new "prequel" series,Caprica, which explores the genesis of the Cylon race that is created by, and then rebels against, their human creators. The series' technical script consultant, Malcolm MacIver, is an ideal person to provide insights on a fictional world that grapples with the implications of human consciousness, virtual worlds, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

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Small Town Science

Posted by The Exchange on 02/08/2010 | 0 comments

The Science and Entertainment Exchange found itself in Berkeley last week for Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's first-ever Science Cafe. The event featured Jaime Paglia, co-creator and showrunner for SyFy's hit TV series, Eureka, with a special Skype appearance by Colin Ferguson, who plays Sheriff Jack Carter on the show.

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