Empirical Ideologies

September 2018 Issue

Much as past generations of scientists may have idealized a "pure" science, free of political or social implication, it is increasingly clear that such a thing is a myth. In the past, as much today. No information is free from political valence, and any discovery can be manipulated or seized to to advance some ideology, for better or for worse. Realizing this, then, should scientists acknowledge their roles as potential activists? In these days of climate denial and big business control of information and national narratives, it seems increasingly difficult to keep to the sidelines of socio-political discourse. In many of these films, that discourse, as much as the science or science fiction that may inform it, is central.

This is Cosmos

Anton Vidokle Kazakhstan, Germany, Russia, United States 2017
FILM

Nano

Mike Manning United States 2017
FILM