Abstract
This chapter examines the genetic imaginary of computer-generated imagery depicting microscopic entities or interior bodily spaces. Bull shows that this type of digital animation has a particularly long and prominent history on television, tracing its use in science documentaries such as Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, Ascent of Man, and The Human Body, and across the forensic crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the hospital procedural House M.D. Coining the term ‘microscopic CGI’, Bull analyses the play with size and scale in such visual effects, arguing that the accentuation of smallness contributes to a cultural process of geneticisation. Finally, she considers what impact TV’s oppositional tendencies towards pedagogic simplicity and spectacular televisuality has had on microscopic CGI and its figuration of the DNA molecule.
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Notes
- 1.
However, by magnifying the miniscule, they can also, in a way, be understood in continuation with the traditional fascination with oversized special effects. These are images that make something very small appear very big.
- 2.
Other examples include How Your Body Works (BBC, 1958), Eye on Research (BBC, 1959), The Science of Man (BBC, 1963–1965), What is Life? (BBC, 1968), Ascent of Man (BBC, 1973), Incredible Human Machine (National Geographic, 1975), Life on Earth (BBC, 1979), The Human Body (BBC/TLC, 1998), Superhuman (BBC, 2001), DNA: Threads of Life (BBC, 2002), DNA (PBS, 2003), Incredible Human Machine (National Geographic, 2007), Inside the Living Body (National Geographic, 2007) and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (Fox/National Geographic, 2014).
- 3.
Episodes such as Eye on Life (BBC, 1969), Brave New Babies? (BBC, 1982), Miracle of Life (PBS/SVT/BBC, 1982), Is GM Safe? (BBC, 2000), Life’s Greatest Miracle (PBS, 2001), The Ghost in Your Genes (BBC, 2005), Who’s Afraid of Designer Babies? (BBC, 2005), Miracle Cure? A Decade of the Human Genome (BBC, 2010) and The Cell (BBC, 2011).
- 4.
For example, Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (BBC, 2009), The Great Sperm Race (Channel 4, 2009) and The Gene Code (BBC, 2011).
- 5.
This type of show first emerged in the USA in the 1950s, and there are a number of UK programmes from the 1960s that can be identified as part of this subgenre, but it wasn’t until ‘the second wave’ of forensics-themed shows hit UK and US television in the mid-1990s and early 2000s that the genre term ‘forensic crime drama’ started circulating widely (Bull 2012, 44–46).
- 6.
Other key examples of this type of programme include Diagnosis: Unknown (CBS, 1960), Police Surgeon (ITV, 1960), Silent Evidence (BBC, 1962), Thorndyke (BBC, 1964), McCallum (ITV, 1995–1998), Dangerfield (BBC, 1995–1999), Bliss (ITV, 1995, 1997), and Waking the Dead (BBC, 2000–2011), Crossing Jordan (NBC, 2001–2007), CSI: Miami (CBS, 2002–2012), Without a Trace (CBS, 2002–2009), Cold Case (CBC, 2003–2010), NCIS (CBS, 2003–), CSI: NY (CBS, 2004–2013), Bones (Fox, 2005–) and Numb3rs (CBS, 2005–2010).
- 7.
Other medical dramas include City Hospital (BBC, 1952–1953), Dr. Kildre (NBC, 1961–1966), Ben Casey (ABC, 1961–1966), Dr. Finlay’s Casebook (BBC, 1962–1971), Marcus Welby M.D. (ABC, 1969–1976), The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (NBC, 1969–1973), St. Elsewhere (NBC, 1982–1988), Casualty (BBC, 1986–), Chicago Hope (CBS, 1994–2000), ER (NBC, 1994–2009), Gideon’s Crossing (ABC, 2000–2001), Nip/Tuck (FX, 2003–2010), Bodies (BBC, 2004–2006) and Pure Genius (CBS, 2016–2017).
- 8.
The voice-over specifically states: ‘There is so much we don’t know, but logic tells us that at this moment the zygote contains specific information for one homo sapiens of given sex and colour and potential size, perhaps even intelligence, personality, health, the contributions of ten thousands of generations. A blueprint for a creature of 16 trillion cells in a package no bigger than the point of a pin.’
- 9.
Hight (2008) is correct that this type of special effect often articulates an unequal relationship of power by staging a medical gaze that observes an often dehumanised and seemingly unknowing subject.
- 10.
Abbott (2006) acknowledges the role that CSI has played in popularising microscopic CGI, though she places more emphasis on filmic iterations. She argues that these shots were pioneered by the action film Three Kings (David O. Russell, 1999), and mentions subsequent examples such as Hollow Man (Paul Verhoeven, 2000), Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (McG, 2003), Underworld (Len Wiseman, 2003) and Blade: Trinity (David S. Goyer, 2004). I would point out that there are also considerably earlier filmic forerunners to this type of shot, using other forms of special effects to create the illusion of the camera entering into the human body. One key example is Fantastic Voyage (Richard Fleischer, 1966), the cult classic science fiction film where submarine crew are miniaturised and enter a scientist’s body to remove a blood clot in his brain.
- 11.
Gattaca’s titles did not use digital animation, but imitated the look of microcinematography by filming oversized models of the biological material.
- 12.
The use of microscopic CGI in title and credit sequences to signpost that genetics is a key plot point in a film also has some intriguing precursors in the opening titles of the British psychological thriller Twisted Nerve (Roy Boulting 1968) and Brian de Palma’s slasher film Sisters (1973). Twisted Nerve superimposes optically morphed footage of (1) a scientific poster of ‘chromosomal constitution’, (2) child-like, expressionistic drawings of colourful X and Y shapes and (3) a wooden bead maze in a toy store, structurally reminiscent of Watson and Crick’s double-helix model, to foreshadow that the duplicitous personality and violent tendencies of its main character might be caused by ‘chromosomal damage’. Similarly, the use of a series of Lennart Nilsson photographs of foetuses in utero in the title sequence of Sisters points to the protagonist’s murderous rage at being linked to her genetic origin as a (formerly) conjoined twin.
- 13.
Caetlin Benson-Allott (2011, 14) has analysed Contagion’s avoidance of the kind of microscopic CGI where the camera enters the body and the choice to keep ‘its computer-generated models on monitors and within frames’, arguing that it contributes to the film’s wider insistence on ‘the limits of visibility’. In Contagion, the time spent studying visual illustrations of the virus itself does little to ‘explain the catalyst behind the epidemic’ (14). It is, however, relatively rare that feature films place such narrative emphasis on microscopic CGI; Contagion’s conscious use of this type of imagery to stage an investigation into scientific visualisation practices and medico-scientific knowledge stands out.
- 14.
This is not surprising considering that the series creator, Anthony Zuiker, has described his initial idea for this type of effect as specifically wanting the camera to zoom into, or travel through, the body (Longworth 2002). Interestingly, the first CSI shot did not include any use of CGI, but was produced by inserting an endoscopic camera into a prosthetic body, but a vast majority of the microscopic CGI in the show is digital animation.
- 15.
Another example of a drama programme that prominently features microscopic CGI is the Canadian science fiction show ReGenesis (TMN, 2004–2008).
- 16.
Writing about the popularity of CGI effects, ‘depicting, for instance, the interior of tombs and graves and the insides of bodies of dead animals and humans, as well as […] the reconstruction of bodies’ in science documentaries, Campbell (2016, 50–51) has argued that there has been ‘something of a forensic turn in factual entertainment programmes’ that has filtered through from the rise in popularity of forensic science within popular culture—a development significantly augmented by the CSI franchise (Weissmann 2010; Bull 2012; Steenberg 2012).
- 17.
In both science documentaries and procedural dramas, microscopic CGI sequences have often been given the same status as both live-action material and scientific imagery (produced by actual microscopes, X-rays and endoscopes). The digital imagery is, on occasion, explicitly presented as a ground-breaking scientific achievement in itself. Inside the Human Body, for example, begins with Dr Michael Mosley telling the viewers that the programme uses ‘sophisticated imaging technologies to illustrate the latest medical research’. This type of claim partly rests on the now relatively long history of digital imaging technologies being used in the fields of science and medicine. In the 1970s, the film and television industries were by no means alone in trying to find ways of utilising the development of new digital imaging technologies. And as Markus H. Gross has outlined in some detail, by the late 1990s, computer graphics had found advanced applications in a wide range of medical fields, including ‘radiation and operation planning, prosthesis design, dental treatment, education and training’ and had fundamentally changed the way medical data were analysed (Gross 1998). Even though the microscopic CGI sequences I study in this chapter tend to have been created specifically for television (i.e. not for the purpose of actual scientific analysis), some are not that different from their medico-scientific counterparts. The digital 3D animation of body parts, skeletons and organs featured in The Human Body is , for example, reminiscent of The Visible Human Project: an effort to create three-dimensional and anatomically detailed digital representations of a male and a female human body, which was completed only a few years prior to the premiere of The Human Body and had been widely publicised as ‘a revolution in anatomy’ (van Dijck 2005, 120).
- 18.
As Annabelle Honess Roe (2013, 42–45) and Vincent Campbell (2016, 36–38) summarise, documentary uses of CGI have often been met with feelings of unease resulting from the prevalent idea that digital images lack the indexicality, and, by extension, the verisimilitude of the photographic image. In anticipation of digital animation becoming increasingly more lifelike and photorealist, there are also those who fear that the ontological boundaries between digital and life-action footage will become progressively blurred (Roe 2013, 54–55). Science pedagogy scholar Anneke M. Metz (2008, 336) has, for example, warned against the use of CGI technology in ‘edutainment’ documentaries such as Walking With Dinosaurs (Discovery, 1999), Walking with Cavemen (Discovery, 2003) and Alien Planet (Discovery Channel, 2005), which she fears might trick viewers into believing that the scientific theories they present are ‘real’ or, at least, uncontested scientific facts. For more discussion on documentary uses of CGI see also Mark J.P. Wolf (1999) and José van Dijck (2006).
- 19.
The unaided human eye can, under the right circumstances, see objects as small as 0.1 mm long (roughly the equivalent of one-fifth the size of a grain of salt).
- 20.
A light (optical) microscope uses a system of lenses, and the magnification is limited by the wavelength of visible light, thus only allowing for a useful magnification of approximately 500–2000x. In turn, an electron microscope uses an electron beam, which can produce a photographic magnification of 1,000,000x.
- 21.
More recent estimates suggest that there are probably only 19,000–20,000 human genes, but this figure could continue to drop further with more research.
- 22.
The CSI franchise, in particular, favours bold and expressionistic uses of colour, which also play a crucial role in its microscopic animation: the inside of the human body is not only figured using the expected red hues (typically used to image blood and muscle tissue), but the molecular world is also filled with fluorescent greens, yellows and blues. This, I would argue, is part of what Hannah Landecker (2012, 395) has described as a more general ‘rise of the fluorescent aesthetic in the public visual culture of science’, which she links to recent developments in cellular imaging, especially genetically engineered fluorescent probes. Taking an example from cinema, Landecker points out that ‘where The Hulk once glowed green due to gamma radiation, he now transgenically fluoresces’ (395). Even though in Landecker’s view ‘the penetrance of the complexity of systems biology, epigenetics, cell signalling or proteomics into the public presentation of science is to date rather insignificant’ (395), some programmes contribute to the emergent post-genomic structure of feeling implicitly by embracing the fluorescent colour scheme associated with new genetics.
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Television Programmes
Alien Planet (Discovery, 2005).
Ascent of Man (BBC, 1973).
Ben Casey (ABC, 1961–1966).
Bliss (ITV, 1995, 1997).
Bodies (BBC, 2004–2006).
Body Story (Channel 4, 1998).
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (NBC, 1969–1973).
Bones (Fox, 2005–2017).
Brave New Babies? (BBC, 1982).
Casualty (BBC, 1986–present).
The Cell (BBC, 2011).
Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (BBC, 2009).
Chicago Hope (CBS, 1994–2000).
City Hospital (BBC, 1952–1953).
Cold Case (CBC, 2003–2010).
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (BBC/PBS, 1980).
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (Fox/National Geographic, 2014).
Craig Kennedy: Criminologist (Weiss Productions, 1952).
Crossing Jordan (NBC, 2001–2007).
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS, 2000–2015).
CSI: Miami (CBS, 2002–2012).
CSI: NY (CBS, 2004–2013).
Dangerfield (BBC, 1995–1999).
Diagnosis: Unknown (CBS, 1960).
DNA (PBS, 2003).
DNA: Threads of Life (BBC, 2002).
Dr. Finlay’s Casebook (BBC, 1962–1971).
Dr. Kildre (NBC, 1961–1966).
ER (NBC, 1994–2009).
The Expert (BBC, 1968–1976).
Eye on Life (BBC, 1969).
Eye on Research (BBC, 1959).
The Gene Code (BBC, 2011).
The Ghost in Your Genes (BBC, 2005).
Gideon’s Crossing (ABC, 2000–2001).
The Great Sperm Race (Channel 4, 2009).
Horizon (BBC, 1964–present).
House M.D. (Fox, 2004–2012).
How Your Body Works (BBC, 1958).
The Human Body (BBC/TLC, 1998).
Identity (ITV, 2010).
Incredible Human Machine (National Geographic, 1975).
The Incredible Human Machine (National Geographic, 1975).
Incredible Human Machine (National Geographic, 2007).
Inside the Human Body (BBC, 2011).
Inside the Living Body (National Geographic, 2007).
Is GM Safe? (BBC, 2000).
Life on Earth (BBC, 1979).
Life’s Greatest Miracle (PBS, 2001).
Marcus Welby M.D. (ABC, 1969–1976).
McCallum (ITV, 1995–1998).
Medic (NBC, 1954–1956).
Miracle Cure? A Decade of the Human Genome (BBC, 2010).
Miracle of Life (PBS/SVT/BBC, 1982).
Miracles in the Womb (Channel 4, 2007).
NCIS (CBS, 2003–present).
Nip/Tuck (FX, 2003–2010).
Nova (PBS, 1974–present).
Nova: Life’s Greatest Miracle (PBS, 2001).
Numb3rs (CBS, 2005–2010).
Our Secret Universe: The Hidden Life of the Cell (BBC, 2012).
Police Surgeon (ITV, 1960).
Pure Genius (CBS, 2016–2017).
Quincy M.E. (NBC, 1976–1983).
ReGenesis (TMN, 2004–2008).
Science International (BBC, 1959).
The Science of Man (BBC, 1963–1965).
Science on Saturday: Human Biology (BBC, 1961).
Silent Evidence (BBC, 1962).
Silent Witness (BBC, 1996–present).
St. Elsewhere (NBC, 1982–1988).
Superhuman (BBC, 2001).
The Thread of Life (NBC, 1960).
Thorndyke (BBC, 1964).
Thorndyke Waking the Dead (BBC, 2000–2011).
Walking with Cavemen (Discovery, 2003).
Walking With Dinosaurs (Discovery, 1999).
What is Life? (BBC, 1968).
Who’s Afraid of Designer Babies? (BBC, 2005).
Without a Trace (CBS, 2002–2009).
The Wonder of Man (ATV, 1960).
Your Living Body (ATV, 1969).
Films
127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2011).
Blade: Trinity (David S. Goyer, 2004).
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (McG, 2003).
Contagion (Steven Soderbergh, 2011).
Fantastic Voyage (Richard Fleischer, 1966).
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999).
Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997).
Hollow Man (Paul Verhoeven, 2000).
The Hulk (Ang Lee, 2003).
The Matrix (the Wachowskis, 1999).
Prometheus (Ridley Scott, 2012).
Sisters (Brian de Palma, 1973).
The Theory of Everything (James Marsh, 2014).
Three Kings (David O. Russell, 1999).
The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011).
Twisted Nerve (Roy Boulting 1968).
Underworld (Len Wiseman, 2003).
X–Men: The Last Stand (Brett Ratner, 2006).
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Bull, S. (2019). Microscopic CGI: Imaging Molecular Worlds. In: Television and the Genetic Imaginary. Palgrave Studies in Science and Popular Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54847-4_2
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