The Oxford English Dictionary defines science fiction as “fiction in which the setting and story feature hypothetical scientific or technological advances, the existence of alien life, space or time travel, etc., esp. such fiction set in the future, or an imagined alternative universe” and dystopia as “an imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad as possible.”
Essential Questions
- How do our understanding and anxieties about our contemporary society manifest in cultural products?
- How is our understanding of the world both impacted by and reflected in images?
- How are media messages constructed using a creative language to convey unique points of view?
- How does the study of combined media enhance our understanding of timeless social and personal issues?
Outcomes
- Identify how society and contemporary issues are translated in science fiction films
Wed 4/25
Intro to unit & final assignment
Societal Context for Sci-fi
- Using devices to research Japan after 1945-1955
- Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Godzilla (1954)
What are the anxieties in our culture today?
Intro to Children of Men (2006).
Thurs 4/26
What apparent anxieties does the culture that created Children of Men have? Are these the same or different than our current anxieties we discussed yesterday?
cont. Children of Men
HW: Response on google classroom. What stood out to you today in the viewing of Children of Men? What did today’s viewing reveal in terms of anxieties and how did the director use specific film techniques to reveal those anxieties?
https://soundcloud.com/bullseye-with-jesse-thorn/nick-stoller-children-of-men
Fri 4/27
Drop
Mon 4/30
Finish Children of Men
- What are your thoughts about the way this film is made?
- What are the anxieties and fears that created this film?
HW: prepare for discussion
Tues 5/1
Children of Men discussion
Arri Weeks 