Science in the movies

I really really like this idea!

"Fewer and fewer students are pursuing science and engineering. While immigrants are taking up the slack in many areas, defense laboratories and industries generally require American citizenship or permanent residency. So a crisis is looming, unless careers in science and engineering suddenly become hugely popular, said Robert J. Barker, an Air Force program manager who approved the grant. And what better way to get a lot of young people interested in science than by producing movies and television shows that depict scientists in flattering ways?"

It's true: all too often scientists are depicted in less-than-flattering ways in the movies and on TV and making science "cool" again is part of the solution. Another part would be funding more science education and not messing with science classes by trying to be "fair" to creationists, but that's another issue entirely.

Update: Come to think of it, better benefits for scientists just out of grad school would be another way to get more people interested in choosing science as a career...hmmh...