Genetics in Film and TV, 1912-2020

Abstract

Dramatic events such as the cloning of Dolly the sheep, the mapping of the human genome, the proliferation of direct-to-consumer genetic testing services, and the promise of genetic science to alleviate suffering and disease have generated much public attention over the past several decades.Although the recent explosion of genetics research has captured the public imagination, the attention to genetics-related issues is hardly a new phenomenon.From the eugenics movement of the early twentieth century to the birth of two gene-edited babies in China in 2019, genetics has long been the subject of intense debate in the public sphere.As the science on the subject of genetics has developed, these debates have played out on screens both big and small.In this article, we seek to explore the various factors which shape the ways in which genetic science and technology are presented on screen.Our investigation was driven by three initial assumptions: first, that the portrayal of genetics in film and television would vary over time in parallel with highly publicized advances in genetic science as well as with broader historical developments.Second, that variations in the constraints and opportunities presented by the different media -film vs. televisionwould also create variation in the representation of genetics.Finally, that different genre conventions would play a role in shaping the ways in which genetics is portrayed on screen and that it would be possible to distinguish these differences from those resulting from medium and release date.The portrayal of genetic science in film and television is important not because it determines the attitudes of the public, but because it furnishes the public debate about genetics with shared images, narratives, and possibilities for the future of genetic science.Research has shown that people do not blindly consume media narratives, but rather use media to make sense of highly technical topics (Condit 175-176; Conrad & Gabe 508-510; Bates 47; .Although descriptive projects on the depictions of science and genetics in popular media have been conducted (e.g., Weingart et al., "Power"; Kirby, "Devil"; Flores, "Scientists"), less work has been done to analyze quantitatively the variation in depictions of genetics in both television and film.Using a unique data set of 238 films and 537 television episodes, this article tracks the depictions of genetics in these forms of popular culture over more than a century.While it is impossible to be certain that we have collected data on every movie and television episode that deals with genetics, we have assembled the most comprehensive data set in this domain to date.These unique data allow us to observe how attitudes toward genetics in film and TV have changed over time and how genre and medium affect the portrayal of genetics.As genetic scientists continue to find more applications for their research and as more of the population has their genetic data analyzed by direct-to-consumer firms, it will be valuable to understand what messages viewers are receiving about genetic science from popular media.By mapping the representation of genetics in film and television in the most comprehensive manner undertaken to date, this study provides an understanding of how two prominent entertainment industries have presented the promise and perils of genetics to the public from the dawn of cinema to the twenty-first century.

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