Chambers, A., 2018.

Screening Women in STEMM since 2000

Historically, women scientists have limited representation on screen regardless of whether they are real or imagined, and they are often defined by their male counterparts and framed as 'sci-candy' rather than fully realised scientists. Whether as protagonists or secondary characters, women scientists are still relatively infrequent, thus the popular dialogue surrounding them tends to focus upon specific examples, such as Dana Scully (The X-Files) and the so-called 'Scully Effect', rather than quantitative analysis that is possible when considering the pervasive depiction of men in science. Recent examples such as Hidden Figures (2016), Black Panther (2018), and Annihilation (2018) position women scientists as protagonists within a community of professional, capable women showing that women scientists and women-led science-based stories do not constitute a barrier to critical and financial success.