Evolution and Popular Culture: Darwin on the Box

Adrian Desmond and James Moore begin their new book Darwin’s Sacred Cause with a straightforward assertion: “Global brands don’t come much bigger than Charles Darwin. He is the grizzled grandfather peering from book jackets and billboards, from textbooks and TV – the sage on greeting cards, postage stamps and commemorative coins.” To some extent this is certainly true. The “Darwin Industry” continues to produce books for academics and for niche audiences, and Darwin remains the patron saint of biologists. But how extensively has Charles Darwin penetrated the world of popular culture, and what image of Darwin is being projected to mass audiences?

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