Sara: First, where did you get the inspiration for this module? As in, why teach Physiology through film?
Áine: I've been teaching a module in integrative physiology for about 20 years. I developed this module because students often tend to think about different physiological systems in isolation and struggle with bringing various aspects of physiology together, which is essential for understanding how the body functions as a whole, integrated organism—the key to physiology.I designed the module to engage students in broad questions or case studies that challenge them to integrate their entire knowledge of physiology. In recent years, I've introduced questions about film into the module.
I was inspired by Professor Mike Tipton, a brilliant physiologist specializing in extreme environments. He mentioned that he served as the physiology consultant for the film Everest. His impressive lab in Portsmouth allows researchers to model extreme environments—different atmospheric pressures, temperatures, and more. Remarkably, he even brought in the film’s actors to simulate altitude conditions, helping them deliver more realistic performances. First, I thought, ‘What a cool thing to do!’ Then I realized it could be an engaging integrative question for my students.First, I thought, ‘What a cool thing to do!’ Then I realized it could be an engaging integrative question for my students.
As part of this approach, students watch assigned films and analyze what would actually happen physiologically in those scenarios, evaluating whether the portrayals are scientifically accurate. I’ve structured it so that students tackle these film-based questions at the end of the module, presenting their findings through individual oral presentations. This encourages them to think about physiology in a novel, enjoyable way.
Sara: What was your students' consensus when you asked them how they found this particular way of learning physiology? What was their response to it?
Áine: Yeah, they love it. I surveyed them and made a word cloud of their responses; the word that came up most often was "fun". The students prepare really good PowerPoint presentations and often put in little clips and diagrams. It helped them to think about Physiology from a different angle. Some of them did believe that it was a lot of fun, but maybe they didn't learn as much as they did from some of the other sessions that were a lot more structured. But generally, they like it as a way of finishing off the module with something a bit different.
Sara: Let's talk about your talk at the Physiological Society meeting at Salford. It was titled 'What Volume Is Ryan Reynolds?'. I read that title in the programme book and asked, "Hang on a minute, why are we talking about Ryan Reynolds?" Can you tell our readers the story behind your talk?
Áine: Yeah, I have great fun trying to think of new films every year. Physiology encompasses everything, and many movies focus on particular diseases, while some concentrate on extreme events. Buried is one of them. It's about an American in Iraq who is kidnapped for ransom and buried alive in a coffin. He wakes up inside the coffin with only a phone to communicate. The film is shot in real-time over 90 minutes—you spend the entire 90 minutes with him in the coffin.
The challenge for the students is to determine if the portrayal of what happens to him is physiologically accurate.
The title for the talk came from a slide that a student, who studied the film last year, included in her presentation (Figure 1). It read, 'What volume is Ryan Reynolds?' because she needed that information to figure out how long his oxygen would last, when he would become hypoxic, when he would start hyperventilating, and so on. She calculated the volume of the coffin and how much air it contained, but it's not just air—Ryan Reynolds displaces some of it. So, the question is: What volume is Ryan Reynolds? When you take him into account, how much air is left, and how much oxygen is available?
Spoiler alert: in the film, Ryan Reynold’s character dies because the coffin collapses, and sand comes inside and suffocates him. But according to her calculations, he should have been unconscious within an hour and therefore the film couldn't have been 90 minutes long. But that's just according to her calculations - the class then had a discussion to determine whether we thought her conclusion was correct.
Figure 1: Photograph of Professor Kelly’s student, presenting her talk titled “What Volume Is Ryan Reynolds?”, duly inspiring Prof Kelly’s talk at The Physiological Society meeting at the University of Salford in May 2024. Photo Credit: Professor Áine Kelly.
Sara: Do you think Physiology is depicted accurately in films?
Áine: I think it depends. Some films do it better than others. Everest did it very well because they got Mike on board as an expert to discuss things. Sometimes, some aspects of Physiology are depicted well, but not others. So, for example the reactions to changing temperatures, activation of the sympathetic nervous system, etc. Sometimes, these things are plot devices if you like, and other times the film is trying to depict something real. Some of the films I chose are based on real-life events, and again, the extreme Physiology ones are usually the coolest. We can compare 127 Hours and Titanic, for example. In some films, they try to depict the Physiology well, because that tells part of the story or helps to tell the story. Sometimes it's just sort of an incidental little plot point.
Sara: If we were to look at general public education of physiology using films, would these depictions be ethical, with the potential of the assumption that the physiology depicted is wholly accurate?
Áine: The module has raised a few surprising ethical questions in the years I've been doing this. I think if the filmmakers are portraying a disease or a real-life situation that people can find themselves in, an attempt really should be made to be accurate. If it's something like the HIV AIDS as depicted in Dallas Buyers Club or dementia or Parkinson’s Disease, that really does impact on people's lives, I think the film makers should try to be as accurate as they possibly can in terms of depicting diagnosis and symptoms and drug treatments etc.
Sara: Having them talk about the ethical side of physiology, has it enhanced your students as student scientists, do you think?
Áine: I did not ask that that question directly, but I would hope so. Hopefully they already have a lot of skills and a lot of knowledge by that stage as the students who take this module are final year students. They can draw on a lot of knowledge in these discussions. I think it's important to think about things like ethics because science doesn't exist in a vacuum - it has to apply to society. So I think it's important that we think about these issues and how we use science to better society.
I've tried to keep the films I choose realistic. So I haven't gone into zombie Physiology or superhero Physiology. You could go down that road in terms of what might be physiologically possible for humans above and beyond what's possible for us now. But I've sort of stayed away from that. I mean, I've tried to keep it within the realms of realistic physiology, but that's not augmented in any way.
Sara: Do you think using films with augmented physiology could be something you would be willing to experiment with?
Áine: Definitely. I’m interested to see what the students come up with because, of course, the students are the ones doing all the work! I just assign the films and then sit back to see the brilliant work they've done, followed by an interesting discussion.
Sara: would you like to leave our readers with any final thoughts? Which films would you recommend, to help people learn about physiology? And what approach would you recommend they take?
Áine: I like some of the extreme Physiology ones like ‘ 127 Hours ' or 'Buried' . That might not be everyone’s cup of tea,physiology is present everywhere. You can probably find some physiology in any film, as long as it features living beings moving around in the world, rather than just animations.
Sara: Thank you so much, Áine. I loved learning about the inspiration behind your use of film to teach physiology. Thank you so much for joining me today. I appreciate your time.