Natural sciences as part of daily occurrence: books and movies

The modern person lives in the material and information environment penetrated by the natural-science knowledge. Actually, it becomes part of daily occurrence even if the person does not think of it. Today's food, medical care, household appliances are inseparably linked with this knowledge. The information environment by means of mass media constantly offers the person news about valid scientific achievements, discoveries in the sphere of natural sciences and at the same time false sensations; it immerses the person in the parascientific representations that pretend to be truly natural-science representations. Such conditions generate the need for orientation in the natural-science knowledge for the thinking person. Media environment responds to this requirement, creating media products that help natural sciences to enter the daily occurrence context. It is possible to allocate at least three key directions of this process. The first direction is the release of special popular scientific books that describe the natural-science basis of various natural-science objects, phenomena and processes, which are the cornerstone of household reality, in a clear and entertaining form. The second direction is the emergence of feature films and publication of popular scientific books after them that explain the natural-science phenomena shown in the films. What is important is that the initiators of such films and books are outstanding scientists, that is big science is available for the watching and reading person straight from the source. The third direction is the reader's and creative activities connected with the designing of book trailers to popular scientific editions on the topics of natural sciences stimulated in modern society, that is it is not publishing houses, advertizing agencies or any other organizations, but readers that create such transmedia products. The considered directions of advance of natural sciences in daily occurrence reveal two interconnected phenomena characterizing this process: the mediatization of natural sciences, when natural sciences influence media and media influence natural sciences, and the transmedia nature of screen works, which assumes coexistence of literary and screen works within one creative form. This refers to the mentioned feature films and the related books, as well as to book trailers on the basis of the editions. Thanks to efforts of authors, editors, directors, marketing specialists, the modern person not only acquires quite concrete natural-science knowledge, but also has opportunities for increasing the level of one's media education, which is very important in the conditions of the changing material and information environment.

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