The Depiction of Cloning in the Movies

PodBlack Blog made an interesting post about science in the movies that points to a 2006 study at Biotechnology Australia that focused on cloning in the movies (report PDF). Their concern is that one of the major sources of information on human cloning is the movies, and the way that the science and scientists are portrayed can have a significant influence on public opinion.

They looked at 33 different movies and divided them into five categories:

1. "Contemporary Social Realism": set in the present or near future, presented as realistic
   Example: The Boys from Brazil, Jurassic Park
2. "Future Social Realism": set in the future, presented as realistic
   Example: The Island
3. "Science Fiction/Fantasy": set in the far future or a distant galaxy
   Examples: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Star Trek:Nemesis
   
4. Comedy
   Examples: Sleeper, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
5. "Gone and Forgotten": Movies that tanked at the box office or are rarely seen
   Examples: The Clones of Bruce Lee, Replikator: Cloned to Kill
   

The movies were rated for scientific accuracy and their "key message" - whether the science or scientists are evil and the social implications of the cloning. Not surprisingly, they found that the most common message in the movies is that "corporations or scientists operate in their own interests and outside of regulation, and are willing to kill to cover up what they've done." Cloning is portrayed as unnatural, with the moral "mess with nature and it will mess with you."

The best of the bunch science-wise:

	Boys from Brazil (1978), staring Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and James Levin, and based on the novel by Ira Levin. Type: Contemporary Social Realism
	Cloned (1997), starring Elizabeth Perkins and Bradley Whitford. This movie is "one of the few films that has a fairly accurate portrayal of he science of cloning." Type: Contemporary Social Realism
	Blueprint (2002). This German film is more focused on the ethical and social issues of cloning, rather than the science. Type: Contemporary Social Realism
	Clone High (2002), an MTV animated series. Type: Comedy
	Anna To the Infinite Power (1982), based on a novel by Mildred Ames Type: Gone and Forgotten
	Creator (1985), starring Peter O'Toole. Type: Gone and Forgotten
	The Cloning of Joanna May (1991), a British Granada Television program, based on the Fay Weldon novel. Type: Gone and Forgotten
	The Third Twin (1997), based on a Ken Follett thriller. Type: Gone and Forgotten

I don't think that it's particularly surprising that the most scientifically-realistic movies are those set in the near future, and have few science-fictional elements other than human cloning (does that make them mundane SF?). Scientific accuracy isn't what makes a box office hit, though. Blockbusters like Jurassic Park and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones end up influencing popular culture simply because so many people have seen them. That's which is why their science is worth discussing, even if it has little basis in real life.

Biotechnology Australia followed up with a second report, "Biotechnology at the Movies", which looks at a wider range of movies, from The Andromeda Strain (1971) to Children of Men (2006). Their conclusion:

"The study concluded that the science was, for the most part, seriously flawed, and that while the films may raise awareness, the quality of public debate on biotechnology is not generally enhanced by its depiction in films."

I'm doubt that will change any time soon, since stories with scientists oblivious to the ethical implications and potentially dangerous consequences of their experiments sell movie tickets.