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Film festival promotes scientific thinking at early age
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Save this place: "Earth to Future: A Future Without Plastic" is one of the films to be screened during the Science Film Festival (SFF) in Indonesia. (Goethe.de/-)
From flat earth to ancient aliens, the supernatural and various conspiracy theories, pseudoscience has never been more popular.
Perhaps pseudoscience has become so popular due to the ease of internet access, which allows “pseudoscientists” to spread their theories like gospel, gathering fanatic followers. Pseudoscience affects everyone, even those who have actually graduated with engineering degrees.
Such a trend is apparent in Indonesia. More and more graduates of top engineering schools in Indonesia promote scientifically debunked theories, such as the flat earth theory, through their social media channels. While these graduates are just the minority, their influence cannot be underestimated because they carry with themselves a degree in engineering, which validates their scientific pedigree in the eyes of the common folk.
What pseudoscientists often do better than actual scientists is present their theories in an easy-to-digest manner. Pseudoscience theories are entertaining, intriguing and easily understood. Regardless of the truth behind them, the narratives of pseudoscientists are surely more relatable to most people than those of real academics.
Fortunately, science has always found a way to adapt and, nowadays, there are more initiatives by the scientific community to introduce their theories in a more approachable way to the masses.
One of those initiatives is the Science Film Festival (SFF), organized by German cultural center Goethe Institut Jakarta, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Indonesia, Sahid Hotels & Resorts and Paramadina University.
The SFF began in 2005 and for its 10th iteration in 2019, it carries the theme of Humboldt and the Web of Life, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Prussian scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859).
