This paper illustrates how the depiction of science and
scientists in films and other popular media has long been characterized either by fear and anxiety at scientists' potential
power or by wild acclaim for their accomplishments. It examines through a review of several films how there are variations on the basic stereotypes of the
mad and the benignly inspired
Scientist and how filmmakers tend to express general societal concerns in their choice of type. It reviews films such as "Pi", "Contact" and "The Absent-Minded Professor". It also looks at portrayals of the most famous scientist Albert Einstein in "Insignificance", "I.Q." and "Young Einstein' which all address the problem of a public that idolizes what seems incomprehensible, but powerful, to them.