In some activities that almost guarantee not to die in a movie: embarking on a last-chance space mission, being the old mentor of the hero, or simply renting a haunted house. More surprisingly, the profession of geologist presents a particularly high mortality rate on screen, 1 in 3, as reported by Science. This is the conclusion of a study published last April in Geology Today and cited by the American magazine.
“Out of 202 geologist characters identified in 141 films released between 1919 and 2023, 69 die on screen or are found dead.” The four authors, “film-loving geologists,” started their analysis over a decade ago and have regularly updated it, but this is the first time it has been published in a scientific journal, the journalist humorously notes.
In the study, the researchers specify that they only considered “English or American films that were shown in cinemas” and recount how they combed through various databases in addition to those they had watched themselves. To establish the statistics, only characters explicitly identified as geologists were counted.
And, a new unexpected discovery highlighted by Science, the inherent risks of this profession only appear as the second, distant cause (12 out of 69). The first is unrelated to quicksand or landslides: it’s murder (30 out of 69). Among the examples cited is Professor Dent in “James Bond 007 against Dr. No,” one of the secret agent’s enemies.
Nevertheless, most geologists fall into the category of good guys rather than villains. Moreover, the narrative functions of these fictional scientists have evolved significantly over a century.
“The early films featuring geologists were largely Westerns, in which the characters are often in search of oil. More recent films focus more on natural disasters, monsters, and alien threats,” Science summarizes. A reflection of the changing concerns of each era.
Finally, the study highlights the significant underrepresentation of female and racially diverse characters in these roles.
