Student Activity Packet

Activity #3: Synthetics Go To the Movies: A Class Discussion of "The Man in the White Suit"

Alec Guinness stars in "The Man in the White Suit," 1952. Courtesy of Photofest, New York, NY.

Description

You will watch the popular postwar film, "The Man in the White Suit," which portrays, in a very funny way, the development of a "miracle fiber" that doesn't wear out and how fabric manufacturers try to get and destroy this invention.

Discussion or Essay Questions

1. What does the film tell us about popular understandings of "miracle fibers" after World War II?

2. How does "The Man in the White Suit" compare with the interpretation of the scientific research and development presented in "The Nylon Drama?"

3. Which aspects of the film were "myth" and which were closer to "reality?"

4. How are scientists presented in this film? How are they presented in current popular culture? In what ways are scientists like or not like their popular-culture images?