2010-2011 Academic Catalog

May 11, 2024

2010-2011 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

SCRN 215 - Science Fiction Film: City of the Future

Beginning with an historical overview of different theoretical approaches to the study of science fiction film, this course examines the ways in which the genre articulates social questions and experience. Through the examination of cinematic form and style, this course focuses specifically on the array of utopian and dystopian representations of the “imagined city of future” in Hollywood science fiction cinema. Analyzing science-fiction films from the 1950s to the present, this course explores issues including: 1) futuricity and the increased representation of apocalyptic visions of the future; 2) the role of technology in the imagined future; 3) the shifting registers of humanity in the future (cyborgs, aliens, robots, droids, hybrids, etc.); and 4) social stratification, hierarchy, and marginalization of future society in terms of race, class, and gender. Through critical reading, thinking, and writing, students will gain insight into the cinematic (visual and aural) constitution of the urban landscape in relation to the social construction of the future city in terms of racial, classed, and gendered dynamics.

Prerequisites: SCRN 101 or COMM 101, and Permission.

Cross Listed: COMM 219

Instructor: Ms. Larrieux

When Offered: Offered periodically.

Faculty: Stephanie F. Larrieux, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Screen Studies