We have no doubt that back in 1905 when Albert Einstein submitted a paper with his now famous equation E=Mc2 relating to mass and energy, he had no idea that over 100 years later a digital platform called Netflix would be creating an original series based around that world-changing formula, aimed at young girls.
Yep, a new show called ‘Project Mc2’ is a series featuring four high school girls interested in STEM (science, tech, engineering and math) in an attempt to create a new generation of role models for the younger generation.
So far there are only 3 episodes on Netflix, but that’s 3 more episodes of the type of show we need to see more of when it comes to media aimed at young women.
In an age where, by the pre-teen and teen stage in a girl’s life, she is already bombarded with messages from industries that seek to change, manipulate, prey on and damage women’s self esteem, it is high time we see more empowering messages cut through the noise to take the emphasis away from a girl’s appearance and put it on her brain instead.
The TV series is based about four girls appropriately named McKeyla McAlister, Adrienne Attoms, Camryn Colye, and Bryden Bandwedth who all possess brilliant science skills and are recruited to a top-secret spy organization. Aside from the Netflix series, the show will feature other short videos on Youtube made in conjunction with Awesomeness TV and Dreamworks TV.
The series is based on a collection of dolls with the same name. They were created to be the antithesis of Barbie, who’s over 100 career resume still hasn’t been enough to capture the spirit of empowerment for the younger generation.
Mc2 dolls are the brainchild of 61 year old Isaac Larian, the billionaire CEO of MGA Entertainment, the company which also created Bratz dolls. Each doll, priced at $15 USD comes with her own DIY science kit. Bandwedth’s kit shows kids how to make a glow stick necklace from household ingredients, while Attoms’ kit lets girls create an erupting volcano with items found in the kitchen.
Isaac told Business Insider there was a good reason for creating this line of dolls, who are distinctly different from most other dolls available out there on the market today.
“I graduated in 1978, and there was only one girl in the class. And frankly, she was the smartest,” he admitted. Larry studied civil engineering at California State University, Los Angeles. He wants these dolls to change the way an entire generation of girls think about certain subjects at school.
“I hope girls get inspired. to take science classes, take math classes, pursue careers down the road that break down the taboo that only engineers are boys, or mathematicians are boys, or chemists are boys,” said Larry before adding “It’s really cool to be smart. I mean, smart is the new cool right now in today’s age.”
He’s not wrong there. With the massive popularity of Goldieblox engineering toy sets and now mini-figurines for girls, and LEGO stepping it up in creating STEM characters for girls, it seems smart really IS the new cool, and we hope it is much more than a trend. We’d like to see this as the new normal, where girls grow up thinking their brains are what is going to get them ahead in life, rather than their looks.
And how has it taken so long for a show of this kind to be made? The only other similar series we can think of, featuring a lead female who relies on science-y skills to navigate her complicated teenage world whilst also solving crime, is ‘The Secret World of Alex Mack’.
Larry may have been shocked that there was only one girl in his civil engineering class back in the ’70s, but the needle hasn’t moved much toward equal gender representation since then.
Studies show that while women may earn more than half of all bachelor degrees in the United States today, specific fields of study such as computer science, engineer, physics and mathematics see the percentage of women hover between 10-20% on average. By the time they enter the workforce, the numbers do not improve. Although women now make up half the workforce, there are underrepresented in all areas of the STEM industries.
The other inspiration for Larry, who as a 61 year old male probably has more experienced being around dolls than the average girl, was his own daughter Jasmin who is 26. She is an entrepreneur and founder of fashion brand Cult Gaia, reports Fortune.
“I’m really proud of her. If Jasmin can do it, why not every other girl out there?” he asks while adding he would like to see the next Apple or Facebook be founded by a woman. With his emphasis on drumming it into young girls’ heads the importance of science, tech engineering and math, he may be responsible for whoever that woman may be in the future.
“Hopefully, this is just the beginning. We’d like to expand the project even further. Because if you’re [studying STEM] and your girlfriend is doing it, and your sister is doing it, how long before everyone is doing it, and then STEM becomes cool?”
If you are a parent, ditch the other dolls and look to the STEM ranges that are now available for your daughters. Whether it be the Mc2 Dolls, Goldieblox or LEGO, as long as they have a significant STEM influence in their life, you are doing the right thing!
And if you have Netflix, please support this show by giving it a high rating and watching all three episodes so that more entertainment of this kind will be made in the future.
