Pop Culture and Science: Do They Play Nice?

In partnership with Melbourne International Film Festival

A panel of cultural and scientific experts lock horns over the way cinema and other forms of entertainment have advanced or regressed popular attitudes towards science. In a post-truth world, how have the big and small screens helped or hindered the way we perceive science and technology? Are we more engaged with science or more likely to dismiss it? Are we more likely to dismiss fact-based evidence or are we now questioning assumed facts in ways that are useful? Are we entering a new age of heightened accountability or are we going backwards into an era of misinformation and ignorance?

Guests:

Will Dayble: Founder of the online entrepreneurship and impact school Fitzroy Academy, and lecturer for Monash University’s Global Challenges Advanced Honours Degree. He was founded startups in digital, education and social enterprise, and also works at a mentor and consultant.

Professor Angela Ndalianis: Research Professor at the Swinburne University of Technology. Her research focuses on film entertainment media technologies with an outlook on how they mediate our experience of the world around us.

Lauren Rosewarne: Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne and co-host of ABC Radio National’s Stop Everything pop culture show and Mamamia’s Sealed Section podcast. Lauren has written nine books about gender, sexuality and pop culture.

Sarah-Jane Woulahan: a filmmaker whose films include the AI themed short, A Terrible Beauty (MIFF 2016). She’s currently developing her first feature, and her PhD research, as a candidate at RMIT, investigates the adaptation of film language to live action, cinematic, virtual reality.

Rahul Soans (moderator): Engineer with a Masters in International Business with a background working for social enterprises and startups. He runs The Disruptive Business Network and he is the co-founder of Balancingact3, a consultancy that works in the human rights and human services sectors.