The image of scientists has transitioned over the course of decades. In the earlier 1900s during the development of science fiction and comic books, scientists were depicted as the “Dr. Frankenstein” type or ones that were evil or violent. Scientists could also be considered “powerless pawns” which were ones that were easily manipulated to complete work for the evil party. The more common view of scientists happens to be the image of the eccentric anti-social geek which are those that tend to have difficulty engaging socially. (Nisbet 2010). More recently, the view of scientists has taken a drastic shift and are now depicted as heroes in certain media sources (Nisbet 2010). I must say that I don’t necessarily agree with all of the classifications of scientists or physicians have been classified in the past. I think that it takes a  versatile person to pursue this type of career, and for that reason, I don’t think that they belong boxed in a certain category. From the outside looking in, it may be easier to classify people this way because of their career of choice but it grinds my gears when people want to classify me this way at times. As I always say “I am just me!” which encompasses many different qualities.

One of my favorite pieces of material in the third unit of this course was watching “The Big Bang Theory.” This was my first time watching this particular show and I must say that I actually enjoyed it mainly because there was humor created behind scientific knowledge. Discussing the difference between the terms “geeks” and “nerds” is something I have never really thought about, but I was forced to consider it here. Some of the most memorable moments during this episode “The Alien Parasite Hypothesis” were the ones between Amy and Sheldon when they were addressing her obvious physical attraction to the character Zack. These characters exhibited traits of the anti-social geeks for the most part with a few exceptions. There were moments that this stereotype was antagonized, such as the friends having a conversation with friends at what appeared to be a bar. According to the previously painted picture, anti-social geeks spend most of their time engorged in laboratory work and therefore do not have many friends. For the two characters to completely act out a scene in which they reenacted composing a medical record, including differential diagnoses and vital signs, to come to a conclusion about her sudden change in bodily functions tickled me pink. This is probably because I have seen this time and time again working in the emergency department so it really hit home. After watching this show, I realized that I have more nerd and geek like qualities than I realized. I think this was mainly because I found myself giggling at certain scenes in this show that others may not have found humorous.

When I thought about how science was portrayed in the media, I instantly gravitated toward one of my favorite shows to watch when I was younger was “Saved By the Bell.” This show was very good at displaying the typical stereotypes that were common to see in a high school atmosphere. In this particular show, the character Screech, played by Dustin Diamond was the scientist of the group of friends. He had nearly all of the qualities of an anti-social geek, that being the deviation from the normal dress and looks, few romantic interests, and generally socially awkward. You could also consider him to be a powerless pawn when he used to engage in devious acts for Zack’s sake. His character was even known for building and programming an artificial robot, Kevin, who displayed similar traits as he did. Also, despite his extreme intellect, he appeared to lack common sense which is also another trend that I see grouped among brilliant scientists. There were also other groups of “nerds and geeks” that resembled his image as well. This included the possession of pocket protectors and taped glasses. Now given that this show was filmed in the late 1980s, this image was expected at the time. 

References

Nisbet, M. C. (2019, January 30) Reconsidering the Image of Scientists in Film & Television. Big Think. Big Think. https://bigthink.com/age-of-engagement/reconsidering-the-image-of-scientists-in-film-television

Screech Powers. Saved By The Bell Wiki. https://savedbythebell.fandom.com/wiki/Screech_Powers