Lab Coats in Hollywood: Science, Scientists, and Cinema

摘要

Scholarly books dealing with the role of science or scientists in Hollywood film have, historically, been hit-or-miss. Early studies merely cataloged long lists of science fiction films; others provided plot synopses or fawning fan tributes; and still others labored over esoteric textual analyses. With David Kirby's Lab Coats in Hollywood: Science, Scientists, and Cinema, however, the topic seems to have come into maturity. The book is one part ethnog raphy of "science consultants" working in Hollywood, one part sociological analysis of the symbiotic relationship between movies and science, and one part textual analysis of select films. All parts hold together well, the analy ses are intriguing and smart, and the parts of the book that deal with the behind-the-scenes of filmmaking in Hollywood are, well, fun to read.