What a treat to meet Dr Ingrid Ockert at the University of California, Berkeley, and to chat about science in pop culture and technology! As a historian of science, Ingrid is fascinated by the ways science and technology circulate through film and media (among many other interests!). Together with Prof David Kirby, Ingrid co-authored the chapter “Science and Technology in Film” in the Routledge Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003039242-5/science-technology-film-david-kirby-ingrid-ockert) – a text we use in Popsicule teaching and research. It was therefore a real pleasure to meet Ingrid in person and discuss the ideas that continue to shape thinking and scholarship in this field. 🤓 😎
All of this, set against the backdrop of Berkeley’s beautiful campus, made the encounter even more special. And fittingly, this is a city that currently hosts a major KAWS exhibition – and is home to one of the strangest techno-curiosities in popular entertainment history: Laffing Sal. A giant laughing robot? A slightly terrifying clown puppet? An early attempt to humanise technology? She’s a fascinating reminder of how long we’ve been imagining – and performing – the relationship between humans, humour and machines.
A wonderful meeting of scholarship, pop culture and technological imagination!