But beyond this classic ISIS bent was the interesting twist of how Hollywood portrays those issues. The films included The Matrix, Good Will Hunting, Silkwood, Gorillas in the Mist, Lorenzo s Oil, Sneakers, and A Civil Action . Most of us are familiar with these films and their science-based stories, but we may not have taken the time to explore what they could imply if they were our real lives rather than the film world. Indeed, our lives are enough of a whirlwind of scientific activity with which we rarely have time to fully reckon. Hollywood may not have the most lucid grasp on reality, but our daily bombardment by pop culture images is part of what defines our reality.
Film reflects society, and vice versa.
It is not difficult to be lulled by these glamorized visions of the past and future of technology. Our audiences brought up and discussed a variety of good questions. One point brought up after Pi , an excellent film about a sociopathic mathematician, was about the obsession with new information. On some level, we may all be similarly driven by the things we don't know, and we rely on that uncertainty to propel us to discovery. It's certainly a more substantive thought than most posed as the crowd is shuffling out of the theater.