Configuring Epistemic Authority

The Significance of Film Style in Documentaries about Science

Bibliographic Data

ID4516347
AuthorsFelicity Mellor (NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume31
Issue1
Pages39-59
Publication date2018-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience in Context (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0269889718000042
PMID29580311
OpenAlexW2795198532
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited13

ArgumentAmong the many limitations of the deficit model of science communication is its inability to account for the qualities of communication products that arise from creative decisions about form and style. This paper examines two documentaries about the nature of time - Patricio Guzmán'sNostalgia for the Lightand the first episode of the BBC'sWonders of the Universeseries - in order to consider how film style inflects science with different meanings. The analysis pays particular attention to the ways in which authority is assigned between film author, narrator, and depicted subjects and the degree to which different film styles promote epistemological certainty or hesitancy

Aesthetics · Art · Certainty · Epistemology · Literature · Sociology · Chemistry · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Empathy and Medical Education · Philosophy · Psychology · Science Education and Perceptions

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