All of You that know me well know that I love science fiction movies about expeditions to Mars. I saw a 50-year pattern last night. In every major film there is only one woman astronaut. The actress playing the astronaut is either a Danish woman or a woman of Scandinavian heritage. Let us look at a sampling of classic humans to Mars films as follows:
(1950) Rocketship X-M: The great Danish actress Osa Massen played a bright PhD who was the only woman on board. The character was a brilliant lady who could do all sorts of astronautical calculations without the aid of a computer. Osa was a beautiful and sophisticated Danish actress never appreciated by US audiences.
(1951) Flight To Mars: The American actress Virginia Huston played the only female astronaut on board the flight. Even a casual look at her would confirm that her ancestors came from Scandinavia.
(2000) Mission To Mars: Brian de Palma produced this film. He must have been thinking back 50 years to Rocketship X-M. He picked the Danish Actress Connie Nielsen to play the only woman astronaut on board a rescue mission to Mars.
