Between Mad and Mundane: Mixed Stereotypical and Realistic Portrayals of Science in Contemporary Fiction Media
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abstract
The representations of science in the mainstream and literary science novels that have been amassing over the past few decades (see chapter 1) appear to depart from earlier cultural representations in at least two interrelated ways. First, they represent science in its social, political, and economic contexts, drawing a seemingly more realistic picture than we saw in novels and films during most of the twentieth century. Second, they seem to have replaced prototypes of isolated, obsessed, generally dangerous, and sometimes foolish, mad, power-hungry, or downright evil male scientists with protagonists who more closely resemble the diverse assortment of down-to-earth individuals...
