Strong, determined women are often misunderstood. She is also full of uncertainties and always looks at her work from a feminine point of view. Novels and popular works have brought female scientists to the public.However, it was the movies and television series that contributed the most to the expansion of his career or to develop a profession above the gender prejudices that still weigh on science. Here is a selection of films from female scientists, some of them more or less inspired by real characters, but all fictional.
1. Gorillas in the Mist
Diane Fossey was a real character, a zoologist who debunked one of the well-established myths in society in the sixties that gorillas are very dangerous creatures to humans. Yilmaz’s character and his mission, almost alone to go to the mountains of Uganda and research these animals, made him a cornerstone of the time. of the book gorillas in the fog, Based on his experience, it was a success that was later made into a movie, still three years after his unsolved murder. He had made many enemies in his gorilla hunting business. The movie of the same name starred Sigourney Weaver and was released in 1988. You can see it in the movie
2. Melania, the girl with all the gifts
Scientific models are also found in horror movies. Glenn Close, scientist who researched the brains of hybrid children who had survived a viral infection that infected them and also made them immune. The actress who plays Caroline Cladwell. In their research, there is hope of finding a cure for humanity. The doctor exemplifies scientific rigor, the preservation of medical purposes, and stubbornness against the elements in finding a cure, even if it means setting aside emotions.
The film, based on the novel of the same name by Mike Carey, who took over the script, was released in 2016. You can watch it on Amazon Prime and Film.
3. Destroy
In a loose adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s bestseller, director Alex Garland brings to the cinema the story of an expedition to a region where the laws of physics change their face and create both new fears and wonders. The main character is Lena, played by Natalie Portman, a biologist, also a scientist, trying to explain what happened to her vegetative partner from a previous expedition. The plot paints a fictional world filled with sensitivity and scientific curiosity. Doctor Adam Rutherford. The geneticist advised the director of the film to give believable looks that would form the basis of the work, which featured many colorful moments and leaps of imagination. You can watch it on Netflix.
4. Hidden Figures
Mathematicians Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan and engineer Mary Jackson, three African-American women, were at the center of the project that brought astronaut Scott Glenn into orbit around Earth. Her story is a classic on the invisibility of women, both in her own time and over the years, because her work has not been recognized at the level of merit achieved. The movie, which was released in 2016, stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe. you can rent in Apple TV, Rakuten and Google Play.
5.Next
There is also this film by French filmmaker Alice Winetour, which is about NASA but mostly focuses on motherhood and resignations due to the reconciliation problems experienced by women who become mothers. Próxima’s protagonist is an astronaut chosen to embark on a mission in which she has to face pure professional challenge, as well as distrust in the abilities of her mostly male colleagues, and must confront her emotional contradictions between happiness and happiness. to be with her daughter and realize her dream career. It’s in the movie.
6.Contact
Jodie Foster plays an astronomer devoted to the search for extraterrestrial signals in the 1997 film directed by Robert Zemeckis. The story was based on the life of Jill Tarter, a true scientist reinterpreted in Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan’s novel that led to the film’s screenplay. The premiere served as an abomination to promote professions and to spur research on possible intelligent life in other parts of the Universe. you can rent in Rakuten TV.
7. Arrival (Arrival)
Another science fiction movie in which the vision of the scientist woman has a significant weight, in this case played by actress Amy Adams. Released in 2016, the story also depicts an encounter with aliens from the perspective of a group of experts trying to communicate with them. The highlight of the subject is the role played by the protagonist, a linguist who transfers his knowledge to science in a way that allows for a multidisciplinary approach to the problem they need to solve. She fights for it with a blatant misunderstanding of traditionally organized structure, but moves forward with her groundbreaking vision. you can see it here RakutenTV.
8. Agora
We can go even further back in time to find scientists with a history from whom we can learn. Alejandro Amenábar chose Rachel Weisz to play Hypatia of Alexandria, the famous mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer who was brutally murdered in 415 BC because she was misunderstood in a highly masculinized world and was also blind to everything that came out of the dominant. customs and truths in the hands of religion. The film was based on a historical novel by author Pedro Gálvez. You can watch it on Rakuten TV.
9. Developers
The protagonist of the science fiction series directed by Alex Garland is computer engineer Lily, anxious to discover what’s behind the disappearance of actress Sonoya Mizuno and her boyfriend. The company they work for promises only imagined scientific advances, and the plot moves through episodes that raise ethical questions and alternative reality possibilities, debates about free will, and the limits of physical exploration. You can watch it on HBO.
10. Chernobyl
The Chernobyl series (2019) is inspired by Nobel laureate Svetlana Aleksiévich’s book Voices of Chernobyl and features Belarusian scientist Ulyana Khomyuk among its characters. Nuclear physics is played by Emily Watson, and while her research, interrogation, and confrontations with her knowledge are a working model to illuminate the truth behind the causes and effects of the nuclear disaster, her portrayal of the character is certainly one of the best. those who are more reserved than they should be true in that USSR of the Iron Curtain. In fact, the character herself never existed, but was instead shaped to represent the female scientist of the time. You can watch it on HBO.