Geologists in films face 35 percent death rate
The Fatal Profession on Screen
Geologists in films die at a rate that rivals minor characters in action sequences. A study published in Geology Today by Erik Sturkell at the University of Gothenburg and his team analyzed 141 movies spanning 1919 to 2023, featuring 202 geologists. The researchers found that between 31.6 and 35.7 percent of these characters die, depending on the decade. Out of 202 geologists, 69 are killed, with 30 dying by murder.
The deadliest film for geologists is “The Money Jungle” from 1967. In that movie, five geologists are murdered during a conflict over oil field control. The methods include electrocution by a golf cart, poisoning through medicine, gassing by a fireplace, and death when a toy train explodes. Sturkell’s team describes this as “the worst serial slaughter of geologists in any movie.”
Work-related deaths account for 12 additional geologist fatalities. These include being hit by a volcanic bomb, falling into a crater or opening fault, drowning in quicksand or lahar, and incineration in an oil pit. Deaths involving extraterrestrials are equally common, such as the geologist in “Prometheus” who is assimilated by aliens and killed by former colleagues.
Before this study, no systematic analysis existed of on-screen geologist deaths. The research reverses the assumption that scientists in films typically survive. Sturkell and his colleagues now document that geologists are among the most endangered professions in cinema.
The Next Step: Comparing Other Scientists
Sturkell’s team has not yet compared geologist death rates to other scientific fields. The researchers themselves name this as the logical next step. They have documented that geologists mostly appear in adventure, drama, action, and science fiction films. Only 11 percent of movie geologists are female, though this percentage has increased since the 1990s.
The study notes that cinematic geologists are “at least not guilty of any professional misconduct.” This contrasts with their high death rate. The researchers suggest that paleontologists might face even worse odds, as they only appear in stories where extinct creatures return and eat people. Solid-state physicists, by contrast, probably have safer cinematic lives.
Other research groups could now examine death rates for biologists, chemists, or physicists in films. The University of Gothenburg team has provided a methodology that can be applied to other disciplines. This would reveal whether geologists are uniquely endangered or if all scientists face similar risks on screen.
The Next Measurement: Death Rates by Decade
The study already shows that geologist death rates vary by decade, ranging from 31.6 to 35.7 percent. The next measurement needed for certainty is a decade-by-decade breakdown of causes. Sturkell’s team has documented that 30 geologists die by murder, 12 from work-related causes, and the remainder from other means including extraterrestrial encounters.
The researchers have not yet calculated whether murder rates have changed over time. They have not determined if modern films kill geologists differently than older films. A detailed temporal analysis would show if the methods of on-screen geologist death have evolved with special effects and storytelling trends.
This measurement would require examining each of the 141 films individually. The team has already done the groundwork by cataloging every geologist appearance. The next step is to connect death methods to film release years, revealing whether geologists are now killed more creatively or more frequently than in the past.