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Re: I take offense at the mad scientist stereotype.

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I haven't seen enough films depicting "mad" scientists, but those that I have don't do it very well. There is a "genius", an abnormality, in the mad that those movies don't seem to portray very well. They are rather normal people's fantacy of what geniuses would do if the go mad, to reassure what they already believe or to self-satisfy with wonders of what they might be capable of. Not that I understand what really constitute the state of being genius, though. For example, Good Will Hunting is particularly bad of portraying an abnormal and brilliant mathematician.

Pi is another film which depicts a mad scientist and gives no explanation or interpretation, as far as I understand. Now, this is a step better than those films which feel the burden to explain the mad in 'mad scientists'. However, with careful research, I think people can depict interesting aspects of 'mad scientists, without trying to explain or understand.

Dr. Lecter in Silience of The Lambs is not a "mad" man because his portrayal is or can becompletely reasoned out by human; his evil comes out of normality and reason. ANd that's why I think its agreat movie.


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