Writers, directors, producers, and actors in the Hollywood film industry play major roles in shaping how millions around the world perceive architects and the architectural profession. Television shows, too, create stereotypes of professions that are repeatedly drummed into the brain with each successive episode. Both make long-lasting impacts that may encourage or dissuade young people from pursuing architecture as a career.
In her chapter, “Tall Buildings, Tall Tales: On Architects in the Movies” in Mark Lamster’s anthology, Architecture and Film (NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000), Nancy Levinson examines how Hollywood has assigned certain stereotypic character traits to architects. The following graphic builds upon and updates her work, showing a snapshot view of how architects are portrayed in 20th and 21st century film.
