Description

"Our society has undergone a paradigm shift. In the information age, you and I are the alpha males," Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, experimental physicist and protagonist of the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, assures himself and his fellow scientists. The success of this show and similar works in American popular culture proves his point: Science has finally discovered the formula for cool. This interdisciplinary study examines how "cool," a key aesthetic and affective category in the American imagination, informs contemporary representations of science and technology. Analyzing selected audiovisual productions, Judith Kohlenberger sheds light on the interaction between science and popular culture, two pivotal sources for change in post-industrial America.