A good movie or tv show can make nearly anything seem interesting. From board games to math, postal work or palaeontology. With the right music and a gripping story line even accounting might sound fun – wait, isn´t there something called The Accountant? This kind of cinematic glorification is created by portraying a specific topic from its most favourable and dramatic angle, letting it function as crucial plot element and building an emotional connection to the viewer through a particularly charming or driven protagonist, that is vastly personified by it. Even though we are watching ´just a film´, a well written and produced line of moving images is able to shape our perception of the world and fill us with admiration, care, enthusiasm or desire.
Chess is probably not among the top five popular free time activities. Nonetheless, a seven episode long limited series about a girl who is obsessed with pushing little white and black figures across a wooden board, captivated millions of audiences on an international scale. Of course, The Queen´s Gambit largely owes its success to Anya Taylor-Joy´s award winning performance, but then again, she was given a role that lend itself to complexity and dramaturgical range. Beth Harmon is America´s most gifted female chess player. Chess is her life and she dedicates it to tournaments and competitions – supported by addictive mind-enhancing pills. Therefore, the relevance of a checkmate is almost lifted to the stakes of a bullet wound, which is demonstrated by close-ups of rooks, bishops and tensed facial expressions. Originally, I was hesitant to join in the hype, but then I did add it to my watch-list and was not only hooked, but also not surprised of the massive increase in chess-set sales shortly after the show´s release. Legally Blonde on the other hand, is centred around the complete opposite of a Beth Harmon. At first law does not seem to be the primary focus of the pink-loving sorority girl, who makes her way into the ivy-league only to impress her snobby ex-boyfriend. However, as Elle lets go of her attachment to Warner, turns her academic efforts into a means of self-improvement and bonds with the innocent murder-suspect that she gets to defend, the beloved comedy becomes a feminist source of inspiration. Elle Woods glamourizes the perks of practicing law as if it were one of her sparkling accessories and presents it as accessible opportunity for everybody. Although the transformation from high school graduate to accomplished attorney is not that simple, Reese Witherspoon and her cheery life-action version of ´Barbie in court´ still keeps encouraging numerous women to apply for law school, as the actress herself stated in a 2017 interview with Wall Street Journal Magazine. Where the nerdy image of Ross Geller teaches us that any deeper mention of fossils or dinosaurs is a short-cut to boredom-ville, the Jurassic Park series allows palaeontology to be ´cool´. Admittedly, Spielberg´s futuristic trilogy is unlikely to have very much in common with the actual work of scientific researchers. Nonetheless, he took a prehistoric field that beforehand was deemed unremarkable by the majority of people and brought its members close to resembling action-figures. Moreover, in an online article by The Verge, Steve Brusatte, author and professor at the University of Edinburgh, said that Hammond´s failed experiment “led to an explosion of public interest in dinosaurs”, adding that many of his colleagues “got jobs specifically because of Jurassic Park, because a museum or university wanted to hire a palaeontologist after that”.
What makes the content of these pop cultural favourites so compelling is that they are not actually about chess or law or palaeontology. The Queen´s Gambit is no elaborate commercial, trying to sell you on chess pieces and boards (even though in this case, that´s exactly what happened). They are about people, personal journeys and thought-provoking realizations. Settler and Grant stand in awe of the past while faced with the consequences of the ever-increasing potential of science, Beth plays chess because she finds security and satisfaction in following clear rules and establishing strategies and Elle is determined to become a lawyer, because she recognizes that she can do more than she expected. Just like the animated Christmas movie Klaus isn´t the story of a postman doing his job, but a person who discovers the joy of selfless giving and the ability of a mere parcel to comfort a lonely soul and paint a smile onto a child´s face.
As long as the filmmakers´ and characters´ true devotion to the topic is reflected on screen, the audience is likely to be persuaded, because as Emma Stone wisely told Ryan Gosling in Lalaland: “People love what other people are passionate about”.
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