# Episode 13: Media & Representation of Space

https://vimeo.com/121504349 Over the past few years it seems we have seen a burst in films about space exploration, often including a plot involving the destruction of our planet and our need to get somewhere else fast. (Gravity. The End of the World. World War Z. and more) What’s going on? Are Hollywood filmmakers in collusion? Or are other elements in our lives making the topic more relevant? On this episode of Media Inside Out we probe this alien and often-apocalyptic universe and discuss how these films influence our understanding of the galaxy and how our perceptions influence the films that get made. Guests: Barry Vacker, PhD Associate Professor, Temple University <https://www.mediaanddestiny.org/barry-vacker/> [Osei Alleyne](https://africana.sas.upenn.edu/people/osei-alleyne) Graduate Student, University of Pennsylvania [Derrick Pitts, Hon.D](https://www.fi.edu/scientists/derrick-pitts-hond) Chief Astronomer, The Franklin Institute