Have you ever wondered how James Bond could drive a speedboat off a ramp, flip it in midair, pierce your soul with his blue eyes, and ride away with hair still perfectly coiffed? What about that amazing parkour (PARKOUR!) scene from Casino Royale, arguably the best Bond scene of all time! Haven’t you ever been curious about whether or not that was even remotely possible? Have you ever taken a QR that has made you bang your head against the wall until you doubt every decision that you made that lead you to this point in your life?
Well have I got the class for you!
Movie Physics, my friends, is a gift from the god that is Professor Frank Robinson. Not only is it a QR, but also it’s a QR that is actually interesting (Look, math is not my thing guys, sorry)! Robinson got the idea for the class while reading a review for a book called Physics in Hollywood Movies, and has taught the class five times now. When Robinson started, he aimed to get students interested in analyzing movies in a quantitative way, instead of just saying, “Hey, that’s a crap movie.”
“It’s empowering to be able to make a quantitative argument,” Robinson explained.
Robinson began his research for the class by binge watching all 36 James Bond movies in the Film Studies Center.
“I came out of that genuinely feeling like I was James Bond for a while; it took almost a week to shake it.”
Next he picked just basic action movies: the Speed movies, Transporter, Marvel comic stuff. He also focuses on Sci-Fi movies, which allow him to discuss some of the physics of space like the black hole in Interstellar. He went through over 150 movies last summer to prepare for the class. One of his favorite movies to teach is 2001: A Space Odyssey. In his estimation, the physics in the movie is totally accurate, and he feels that is one of the reasons people respond so strongly to the film. One of the other films he likes to teach is Hancock (Yes, Hancock, the movie with Will Smith and the totally out of place ending.) Apparently the physics in that is really good too! When he jumps in the air the ground rips up behind him, which actually makes sense in terms of the physics. In class they actually measured the strength of asphalt and … you know what, I’m giving too much away. That’s just a little preview for you guys.
One of the blessings of the class for Robinson is that it allows him to change his material every year, which normally doesn’t happen in a physics class. However, every year the major aim of the class is always to teach students the skill of “guestimation.”
“When you watch a movie clip you’re not given any starting information like you get in a physics problem, you have to guess that initial information and then move forward.”
Robinson hopes that students don’t see the QR requirement as a burden, but actually something useful. If years from now one of his former students can watch an ancient Bruce Willis flip over flaming garbage cans onto a motor boat and accurately explain that that “actually is total bullshit” to his friends then Robinson has done his job.