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In the present day, many movies related to the field of Astronomy are made and seen by large audiences. However, some of them are loaded with incorrect facts about Science and Astronomical knowledge that can negatively affect their viewers. One such example is the movie Armageddon made in 1998 based on an asteroid’s collision with the Earth which is alleviated by a team of oil drillers sent by NASA who plant nuclear explosives to the asteroid so it blows up, sliding past Earth. The first factual wrongness is depicted when the spacecraft crashed on the asteroid the astronaut walks over the debris and there is fire all around him, which is incorrect since combustion needs oxygen and there isn’t any on an asteroid. In a scene when the astronauts run through the space station that is falling, a piece of it crashes and falls while they are still running. This is impossible since if it crashed they would be sucked into space. Then in the opening scene of the movie where the 65-million-year-ago-scenario was being shown with places like Cuba and Yucatan, the incorrectness lies in the locations since the Earth’s continents were quite different that long ago. In addition, in the movie the ‘fuel’ used for the station is briefed as oxygen, whereas oxygen cannot be the fuel, it is hydrogen!
Although this movie is not one that can affect adults, it surely can influence children. It can instill fear that the earth will be hit by an asteroid causing extinction, which is not as close to happening as it seems. The incorrect scientific knowledge can distort their preexisting information about science, and since movies are the perfect medium of influence for youngsters, this can ruin their concepts and perhaps disfigure them to a large degree.
These kinds of movies also play with common sense and knowledge of laymen as they start believing that such events may actually occur, and hence they start fearing and become superstitious for no reason.
References
Bad Astronomy. (2001). Armapitageddon. Retrieved from http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/movies/armpitageddon.html
Business Insider. (2012). Physics students rip apart the science behind the movie Armageddon. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/physics-students-rip-apart-the-science-behindthe-movie-armageddon-2012-8
Movie mistakes. (1996-2007). Film/Factual 80 http://www.moviemistakes.com/film80/factual/pageall 1996-2014
Today I found out. (2010). Nasa uses the movie Armageddon in their management program. Retrieved from http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/01/nasa-uses-the-movie-armageddon-in-their-management-training-program/
