Dr. Cyclops (1940) & Downsizing (2017): Tiny Terrors | EP07

Dec 5, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Mar 10

Science fiction has often imagined radical changes to the human body, from invisibility to artificial life. One of the genre’s most intriguing concepts is miniaturisation — the idea that scientific technology could shrink people to tiny proportions.

In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi, we explore two films that approach this idea in very different ways: the colourful mad-scientist thriller Dr. Cyclops (1940) and the modern social satire Downsizing (2017).

Although separated by nearly eighty years, both films use shrinking technology to explore how scientific breakthroughs can reshape society — and sometimes create entirely new problems.

LISTEN BELOW:

Discussion Points from the Episode

In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi, we explore:

how Dr. Cyclops helped establish the shrinking-human trope in science fiction
the pioneering colour cinematography used in the film
how Downsizing reimagines miniaturisation as a social experiment
why changes in scale remain such a powerful storytelling device in sci-fi

Dr. Cyclops (1940)

Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writers: Tom Kilpatrick & Malcolm Stuart Boylan

Producer: Merian C. Cooper

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Starring: Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan

Release Year: 1940

Dr. Cyclops is a science-fiction adventure film that follows a group of scientists invited to a remote laboratory in the Peruvian jungle by the mysterious Dr. Alexander Thorkel.

Once they arrive, the researchers discover that Thorkel has developed a process capable of shrinking living organisms to miniature size using radiation. When the visiting scientists question his work, Thorkel traps them in his laboratory and shrinks them to just twelve inches tall.

Now tiny and vulnerable in a world of giant insects, plants and animals, the group must survive the jungle and escape before Thorkel hunts them down to silence them forever.

Downsizing (2017)

Director: Alexander Payne

Writers: Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

Producer: Mark Johnson

Starring: Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig

Release Year: 2017

Downsizing is a science-fiction comedy-drama that imagines a radical solution to overpopulation and environmental collapse: shrinking human beings to a height of about five inches so that they consume far fewer resources.

The film follows Paul Safranek, a struggling occupational therapist who decides to undergo the procedure with his wife in the hope of starting a new and more prosperous life in a miniature community. However, when his wife changes her mind at the last moment, Paul finds himself navigating this strange new world alone.

As Paul adapts to life in the downsized society of Leisureland, he discovers that even a supposedly utopian technological solution can create new social inequalities and ethical dilemmas.

Miniaturisation in Science Fiction

The concept of shrinking humans has appeared in many science-fiction stories, often as a way to explore scale and perspective.

These narratives highlight how dramatically our environment changes when size itself becomes relative. A small insect can become a terrifying predator, while everyday objects transform into vast landscapes.

Both Dr. Cyclops and Downsizing show how miniaturisation can be used for very different purposes — from suspenseful survival stories to philosophical reflections on the future of humanity.