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Public Understanding of Science
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Scientists on the Set: Science Consultants and the Communication of Science in Visual Fiction

David A. Kirby

Duke University, Durham, dkirby{at}duke.edu

By exploring the relationship between the scientific community and the entertainment industry in the construction of fictional films, this paper investigates the impact that fictional representations, created with the assistance of scientists, have on the construction of scientific knowledge and the public understanding of science. I discuss the nature of science consulting on fictional films, including compensation, consultants’ role in the filmmaking process, and the scientific elements consultants can impact in the films. By questioning the nature of fictional "accuracy, " I demonstrate that the scientific community’s focus on "scientific accuracy" in fiction is flawed. Fictional film naturalizes both "accurate" and "inaccurate" science by presenting both as "natural" via a perceptually realistic framework.

Public Understanding of Science, Vol. 12, No. 3, 261-278 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0963662503123005
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