Scientists dissect sci-fi classics
New SFJCC series pairs movie screenings with talks by experts
It should come as no surprise that a lot of scientists were science fiction fans in their youth, and may well have remained so long into adulthood. Now the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco is trying to do its part to turn on the next generation of scientists with “Science on the Screen,” a series of Saturday evenings pairing beloved sci-fi films with talks by prominent scientists. Also available are some interactive activities hosted by the California Academy of Sciences.
“We really wanted to demystify the scientific themes in the movies, so we’re pairing the movies with a science professional in a related field, and they’ll be able to explain some of the reallife science behind these classic sci-fi films,” says Maggie Grabmeier, associate producer of Arts & Ideas at the JCCSF.
The series kicks off Saturday with Hayao Miyazaki’s “Ponyo,” with Austin-based ocean scientist Juli Berwald on hand to explain the marine biology depicted in the movie. On Feb. 10 is “WALL-E,” with UC Berkeley professor and robotics engineer Ken Goldberg to discuss the Pixar film’s depiction of robots. March 3 brings the 1983 computer hacker classic “WarGames,” with game designer Jane McGonigal in the house to talk about video game development
then and now.
“The series is targeting specifically middle and high school students,” Grabmeier says. “San Francisco is such a hub for scientific innovation and tech innovation, and kids that are growing up in this hotbed of innovation don’t get how accessible it can be. Also at this moment a lot of the funding for after-school activities is being cut in the Bay Area. The scientists we’re working with could be cool role models; they’re really hip and they’re working on really interesting and cutting-edge things in their respective fields. We chose them with the intention that the students will see these people and be able to relate to them and maybe want to pursue some of these same fields.”
Goldberg looks forward to talking about “WALLE,”
which shows a much more benign, even heroic, view of robots than we typically see in pop culture. At Berkeley, Goldberg leads the People and Robots Initiative, a research initiative involving four UC campuses focused on the beneficial relationship between robots and humans. He thinks robots tend to get a bad rap in the media.
“‘WALL-E’ is a great example of the genre of a robot that teaches us something about ourselves,” Goldberg says. “I think all robots do that to some degree. They’re reflections of ourselves. We can identify with WALL-E’s diligence and determination, the idea of this robot that’s essentially trying to carry on despite all the negatives around it.
“It’s a positive view of robots that’s so valuable, especially today. There’s a huge amount of negativity and fear around robots and this idea that they’re going to steal our jobs or somehow become our overlords.”
And the folks at Pixar really did their homework, Goldberg says.
“The general idea of the series is to use these films as a starting point, then talk about some of the technology — where it is, and where it isn’t. One of the nice things about ‘WALL-E’ is it was based to some degree on real robots, so it has a lot of beautiful engineering in-jokes, and a lot of the mechanisms are familiar from a robotics perspective.”
The monthly nature of these first three events doesn’t mean that the series will continue past March. These three films are the entirety of the series planned for this year. Where it goes from there is up in the air.
“It depends on how it goes and what our audience says,” Grabmeier says. “This is a new frontier for us, and the demographic is also kind of a new frontier for us. It’s exciting to be able to welcome people into our space and show them all of the great stuff we have to offer.”