It is no surprise science fiction has many great examples of fictional scientists. When science is an integral part of the story, so are scientists. So, it is unavoidable to have a character or two mastering the ways of scientific practices.
Scientists are so common in the sci-fi genre that some of their portrayals become stereotypical archetypes. And we’re here today to discuss the main ones.
You know, I don’t want to brag, but I’m something of a scientist myself (of the quantum kind).
As such, I find these stereotypes very amusing. And as a historian of science, I can see where they come from. Let’s explore the richness of fictional scientists and pick our favorite examples.
Shall we begin?
The mad scientist
Of course I had to start with this one. I’m a hundred percent sure that those who would dress as a scientist for Halloween would go for this look: messy hair, white lab coat, wide, flaky eyes, and maybe a pair of goggles, etc.
The mad scientist usually comes in all shades of crazy: eccentric, overly energetic, self-centered, and/or unethical. They might even test their discoveries on themselves and not fret too much about the consequences of their doing.
The mad scientist is the most cliché scientist stereotype. And I get why. Scientists can get really involved in their research, and other aspects of life become secondary. It makes it hard for people to relate to them and, thus, label them quirky or plain crazy.
And, like it or not, peculiar characters work well for fiction. Think about Doc Brown in Back to the Future or Jeff Goldblum’s character in The Fly. They’re fun!
My pick to represent this category is none other than the OG mad scientist, Dr. Victor Frankenstein.
The evil scientist
Can science be used for evil? Absolutely! It is not by chance that the war industry is one of the major investors in basic scientific research. So, we can see how the evil scientist trope came to be.
These are the people who got corrupted by knowledge, for knowledge is power. They abandoned all ethics and lived only to see the success of their experiments.
This gray morality can be alluring for a character. I mean, Breaking Bad, for example, has excellent ratings (and anyone who knows Werner Heisenberg’s story could predict the main character’s fall from grace when he chose this alias).
Other evil scientists are straight-up villains. Seriously, how many Spiderman opponents have a Ph.D.?! Many times, they are admittedly bad guys with no redeeming traits.
I will switch media here to point to my favorite evil scientist. Dr. Robotnik from the Sonic the Hedgehog game series brings me nostalgic feelings. My childhood would have been boring without him.
The greedy scientist
With great power comes great greed!
The greedy scientist often forgets about their responsibilities in pursuit of climbing the success ladder. Success, of course, is not always synonymous with money. Recognition among their peers and prestige, like, say, receiving a Nobel prize, are common goals of the greedy scientist.
Naturally, scientists are humans too (it’s true!), and humans are greedy. So, this archetype makes sense on its own.
Jurassic Park is perhaps the best example of greed science put together. Reviving long-extinct species for entertainment purposes? Why not? What could go wrong?
The coerced scientist
This trope is reminiscent of an era in American history when people were trying to excuse the behavior of some scientists during the war and to justify the hiring during the Space Race.
American rockets were designed by Nazzi scientists. Things would have been easier if these people had been coerced to break their ethics during the Nazzi regime, but history is not that clean.
In reality, scientists have an ethical guide to follow, so stripping away the responsibility for their actions from their hands is not good.
Kubrick wrote the best subversion of this trope I can remember. Dr. Strangelove was supposedly coerced by the Nazzis when he worked for Hitler, but his hand often betrays him.
The hot female scientist
What’s the worst way to fetishize women working in STEM? Yes, the hot female scientist was born from the horny minds of male storytellers, who could not fathom having a capable woman in their stories without mentioning their boobs.
She dresses provocatively, her voice is smooth and seductive, and she’s innocent about the world because she can only focus on what’s important: science. These ladies are treated as more valuable damsels in distress because they have bodies AND brains.
Are women scientists hot? Hell yeah! But, let’s be honest, the hot female scientist cliché was not always about an intelligent woman and her sex appeal. Fortunately, this version of the hot scientist seems to be dying out, and we’re leaning toward more sensible portrayals of female scientists.
The best examples of this archetype are the ones where women do have personalities. My pick for this entry is Dr. Atsuko Chiba (and her alter ego) from the animated movie Paprika.
###
That’s it for today, folks. Which archetype do you prefer? Which are you sick of? Let me know in the comments.
See you next post,
Ra.
Carla Ra is a scientist by day, sci-fi writer by night.
You can check out her anthology ARTIFICIAL REBELLION here.
