Sánchez-Angulo Manuel
Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), Alicante, Spain.
Department of Vegetal Production and Microbiology, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Alicante, Spain.
Microb Biotechnol. 2025 Sep;18(9):e70085. doi: 10.1111/1751-7915.70085.
Microbes are essential for sustaining life in our planet. Also, we use microbes for multiple processes like food fermentation, production of antibiotics and other drugs, biofuel production, biomining and so forth. However, this essential role is scarcely represented in commercial movies. Although films are an artistic recreation of reality, we must not forget that they fix in the public's imagination the cliché that 'microbes are bad'. In this article, some commercial movies that depict the beneficial biotechnological use of microorganisms are discussed as tools to be used in education and to engage general audiences, countering germophobia, and encourage them in the path of 'positive microbiology'.
微生物对于维持我们星球上的生命至关重要。此外，我们在多种过程中利用微生物，如食品发酵、抗生素及其他药物的生产、生物燃料生产、生物采矿等等。然而，商业电影中几乎没有体现出微生物的这一重要作用。尽管电影是对现实的艺术再现，但我们绝不能忘记，它们在公众的想象中固化了“微生物是有害的”这一陈词滥调。在本文中，将讨论一些描绘微生物有益生物技术用途的商业电影，这些电影可作为教育工具，吸引普通观众，对抗恐菌症，并鼓励他们走上“积极微生物学”之路。
