Biotech Industry Goes Hollywood
August 31st, 2009
District 9 is a fantastic science fiction movie set in an alternative future where a group of alien refugees have settled in South Africa. Unlike most alien invasion films, the aliens in District 9 are treated as outcasts, put into concentration camps, and experimented on by corporations hoping to mine their weapons technology for financial gain.
Science and technology play a big part in the film, and while scientists and corporations are clearly the antagonists, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has launched an interesting blog that focuses on the real-life science behind film. District9facts.com offers some loose blog posts, answers questions about the film, and attempts to connect the science of D-9 to the promise of the biotechnology industry.
BIO also maintains a similar site with the same focus for the Eleventh Hour TV show: eleventhhourfacts.com.
Even though scientists and corporations are usually cast as “the baddies” in science fiction movies, it’s interesting to see biotech industry groups leveraging their popularity to promise the promise of science. The EleventhHourFacts.com site provides a scientific fact guide for every episode—providing real-life information on topics ranging from cloning to biosafety to fashion-induced violence.
The biotech and pharmaceutical industries face a number of complex public relations problems. While very few industries hold as much promise for our future, general public fear, perceived corporate greed, and the nefarious nature of new science lead to them being portrayed as bad guys (in movies and in real-life). I think it’s interesting and smart for industry groups to look to Hollywood as a new platform to get the real messages out there in an engaging and light-hearted way.
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