Engineering on the Silver Screen

When I was younger, I was obsessed with forensic science and wanted to be a forensic scientist. The reason for this? Why, CSI of course. The television series has been credited with huge increases in enrollment to forensic science programmes across the United States. Take West Virginia Universitys forensic and investigative sciences programme. From just 4 graduates in 2000, enrollment swelled to 500 undergraduates in 2006. Whats more, while the profession used to be male-dominated, this is changing as women now form the majority in forensic science programmes. So all this got me thinking, could a television programme encourage more girls to take up engineering? As my colleague Daisy Daivasagaya pointed out in her article on girls in engineering, there is a need to raise awareness of engineering professions. The public perception of engineers is still steeped in stereotypes. To the general public, engineers are really just the grown up versions of the geeky kids picked on in schoolyards. And portrayals of engineers in popular culture arent helping either. Arguably the most famous engineer on TV right now is Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory. Wolowitz fancies himself to be a Casanova, and in the tried-and-tested classic comedic device, routinely fails at it. Coupled with his fanboy interests (comics, trading card games, sci-fi TV series etc.) and dependence on his mother, Howard Wolowitz does not stray very far from being a stereotypical engineer, much as people may love the character. What engineering needs is not a comedy that plays on its stereotypes, but rather, a drama or action-oriented series, something more along the lines of CSI or even Grays Anatomy. CSI has already proven that scientific concepts can be effectively conveyed to a wide audience. Unfortunately, the nature of engineering itself is somewhat problematic. A show starring engineers would inevitably include their projects as well. However, most engineering projects have long timescales (at least a couple of years), unlike criminal investigations or medical cases. It would be a challenge for a screenwriter to condense all this into an episode or even a season, while still retaining dramatic tension and suspense in the plot. In addition, the subject matter will likely be glamorized with only the fun and exciting bits shown, and will therefore not be an accurate portrayal of the field. This has come to be known as the CSI Effect, in which the skewed portrayal of forensics on TV has led to laymen believing physical evidence to be infallible and the most important aspect of a criminal trial. So, what now? The ambitious ideal of increasing awareness of engineering as it truly is seems inherently at odds with the glitz, glamour, and gloss of Hollywood. Documentary-style shows are a nogo, as such shows generally appeal to those already with an interest in engineering. Perhaps social media could help. As anyone who has Liked a TV show on Facebook will know, producers actively use these groups to raise viewer interest. It could thus be promising to utilize it instead to go into more depth about the real engineering principles behind a show. Thus, perhaps there is some hope for an engineering-centric TV show after all.

References http://www.mcdb.ucla.edu/Research/Goldberg/HC70A_W10/pdf/CSIReality.pdf