Once a staple of horror, the lab-coated crew has since fallen more into the realm of cartoons and Halloween season spoofs. My theory as to why is that the archetype of the scientist driven to the edge by a lust for knowledge is simply out of touch with the reality of the modern age.
We now know the value of science in discovering the truth, saving the planet, putting humans in space, and curing diseases. If anything, the past year has demonstrated the importance of believing in science. But in the 1920s and 30s, much of the public was still skeptical of science. At the same time that technological advances seemed to be moving at a breakneck speed, theories like evolution came up against more traditional beliefs. Social tension always begets horror. And in the pre-code era of the 20s and 30s, before the rules of the Hayes Code really kicked in, that horror got pretty weird and wild. All of this paved the way for the golden era of that stalwart horror icon, The Mad Scientist.
