Bad Geology Movie of the Month: Four Quick Updates

Those of you who read my inaugural November Bad Geology Movie of the Month post may be wondering why I forgot to write about a bad geology movie in December and why I haven't yet written about a bad geology movie in January. I apologize. Watching and reviewing bad geology movies takes time, and I am a busy graduate student. I think that my bad geology reviews may have to be a little more sporadic than once a month, at least until I graduate. We'll see, though! Maybe some months I'll review more than one movie. I'll just write the reviews as I have time. I am also working on refining my format. For my first movie review I think I spent too much time describing the plot (humorous as the plot may be) and too little time analyzing the science (or lack thereof) in the movie.

For now, here are four quick updates relating to bad geology movies:

1. Since the AGU Sciences Meet Hollywood session back in December, I have been thinking about why I want to review bad geology movies. I realize that much of what I want to do is simply point out the scientific inaccuracies. Although pointing out errors may seem mean, I will try to do so in good spirit. I understand that Hollywood geology will never be completely accurate, nor should it be. If someone in Hollywood made a movie about how I do geology, I think it could be terribly boring. More often than not, I spend hours picking crystals and reducing data. Even when I am in the field, the pace of research is often painfully slow. I measure rocks for hours. I meticulously collect rocks. I find maps far too interesting. None of my usual science activities done at their usual pace would make for a good Hollywood plot. So, I understand why Hollywood has to "spice up the science" in order to make a film interesting.

Bad Geology Movie of the Month- Magma: Volcanic Disaster

Above photo (of DVD cover) taken from Amazon.com.

I just realized that today is the last day of November and that I have yet to post my Bad Geology Movie of the Month! I can't let November pass by without a movie, so for this month's movie I've selected one of  my all-time favorite Bad Geology movies- "Magma: Volcanic Disaster."

Before I give my review, let me explain a little more about the Bad Geology Movie of the Month. First of all, what is a bad geology movie? A bad geology movie is any Hollywood-style flick with a geological theme. Many bad geology movies are mainstream films such as "The Core", "Deep Impact", "The Day After Tomorrow", "2012", and "Dante's Peak". Others are made-for-TV (often for the SciFi or SyFy channel), low budget flicks that often copycat mainstream movies. For instance,  there were several copycat, made-for-TV "Journey to the Center of the Earth" movies made the same year that the high-budget Brendan Fraser flick was released.

So, why do I call these movies bad geology movies rather than just geology movies? This is because, in most cases, Hollywood geology is just that- bad geology. Scientifically inaccurate geology. Exaggerated geology. Stereotypical and skewed geology (and geologists). Some geology movies do better than others at staying true to geological science, but most do fairly poorly. Many geology movies have completely ridiculous geology- giant crystals growing in cavities deep in Earth's mantle,  dinosaurs living at the center of the Earth, Hawaiian-style lava erupting from a Cascade-type volcano, complicated geophysical models programmed in mere seconds by hero geologists, neutrinos heating up Earth's core, and so on.