|
EL 4163 |
Office:
Zink 342 |
|
Sean
Latham |
Hours:
Tu 2-3; Th 10:30-11:30 |
sean-latham@utulsa.edu
Precis
Science fiction is about the
encounter with the alien and the unknown--an encounter that may take place in
the wastelands of a post-apocalyptic America, the cratered surface of a distant
planet, or the infinitely complex circuit-boards of cyberspace. As a genre, it attempts to imagine different
worlds, to construct a future (or sometimes even a past) that might be a heroic
utopia or a nightmarish dystopia. Film
has played a key role in the evolution of science fiction, making the most
fantastic dreams of the novelist assume a concrete shape and sound on the
screen. Over the last century, the
genre has evolved from early experiments showing fanciful trips to the moon,
through the "B" films of the 1950s, to the special-effects driven
extravaganzas which light up the summer movie screens today. This course will examine this genre from a
variety of perspectives, looking at its history, its narratives, and its
technology. What do these alien
encounters tell us about ourselves? and how does Hollywood's image factory
contribute to our own attempts to understand the relationship between the
passionate human body and the cold rationality of the machine?
Grading and Assignments
Short Essays (35%)
Over the course of the
semester you will write three one page essays examining one of the films we
screen in class. These papers should
have a well developed thesis and should attend carefully to both the visual and
narrative aspects of a specific scene or shot.
Though you may single-space the papers, they must not exceed one
page. The goal is to achieve brevity
and clarity.
Long Essay (30%)
A more traditional essay of
8-10 pages on a topic of your own choosing.
You should feel free to develop one of your shorter essays for this
assignment, but you are also welcome to select an entirely new topic. Again, you will be expected to focus on at
least one of the movies we study in the course, attending to its cinematic as well
as its narrative elements.
Final Exam (30%)
Short answers and essays
drawn from the material we cover over the course of the semester.
Class Participation (5%)
You will be expected to
attend class regularly and participate in the discussions. There may be quizzes and in-class writing
assignments which cannot be made-up if your absence is unexcused. More than one unexcused absence from this
class will result in a failing grade.
If you think you might have to miss a class, please come and talk to me
about it well ahead of time.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism is the
unacknowledged borrowing of ideas or quotations for other authors. Whenever you paraphrase another's work or
quote directly from it you must document your sources and use quotation marks properly. Because plagiarism can result in a failing
grade for the course, I strongly encourage you to contact me with any
questions, problems or doubts.
A Note on Papers
All papers should be
double-spaced and printed in a 10- or 12-point font. The papers are due by 5pm on the date listed on the syllabus, and
must be turned in to my office in the English department. Late paper will be penalized 5% per day for
the first day and 10% per day thereafter.
Required Texts
Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation
Billson, The Thing
Bukatman, Blade Runner
Elsaesser, Metropolis
Frayling, Things to Come
Gibson, Neuromancer
Kuhn, Alien Zone
Sobchack, Screening Space
Additional required readings
marked (R) are on reserve at McFarlin Library.
Given the number of students in this class, make sure that you allow
yourself plenty of time to find and read these items.
Schedule of Readings and Screenings
Introduction: "The Cinema of
Attractions"
Week One (8/29)
Screenings:
Selections from the Lumière
brothers and Edison’s Kinetoscope films
Méliès, Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902)
Dali and Buñel, Un Chien Andalou (1929)
The Cinema of Wonder
Week Two (9/5)
Readings:
Elsaesser,
Metropolis (BFI)
Desser,
"Race, Space, and Class" in Alien Zone II (R)
Telotte,
A Distant Technology, 1-27 (R)
Screenings:
Fritz
Lang, Metropolis (1926)
Week Three (9/12)
Readings:
Frayling,
Things to Come (BFI)
Telotte,
A Distant Technology, 139-61 (R)
Screenings:
William
Menzies, Things to Come (1936)
Week Four (9/19)
Readings:
Alien Zone, 1-18
Sobchack,
1-63
Biskind,
Seeing is Believing, 123-136
Screenings:
Gordon
Douglas, Them! (1954)
Sept. 20 PAPER DUE by 5:00pm
Alien Invasions
Week Five (9/26)
Readings:
Sobchack, 64-145
Alien Zone, 53-57
Ruppersberg,
“Alien Messiah” in AZ
Screenings:
Jack
Arnold, It Came From Outer Space
(1953)
Week Six (10/3)
Readings:
Pratt, Projecting Paranoia, 7-47 (R)
Biskind, Seeing is Believing, 137-144 (R)
Sayre, Running Time, 191-214 (R)
Screenings:
Don
Siegel, Invasion of the Body Snatchers
(1956)
Industrialized Light and Magic
Week Seven (10/10)
Readings:
King and Krzywnska 58-94 (R)
Sobchack, “The Virginity of Astronauts,” in AZ
Bukatman,
"The Artificial Infinite" in Alien Zone II (R)
Michelson, “Bodies
in Space: Film as Carnal Knowledge” in The Making of 2001 (R)
“Stanley Kubrick
Raps” in Making of 2001 (R)
Screenings:
Stanley
Kubrick, 2001:A Space Odyssey (1968)
Week Eight (10/17)
Readings:
Sontag, “The Imagination of Disaster” (R)
Ryan
and Kellner, "Technophobia" in Alien
Zone (R)
Screenings:
Kubrick,
2001
George
Lucas, THX-1138 (1971)
Oct. 18 PAPER DUE by 5:00pm
Armored Bodies
Week Ten (10/24)
Readings:
Alien Zone, 91-95
Bukatman,
“Who Programs You?” in AZ
Byers, “Commodity Futures,” in AZ
Stern, “Making Culture into Nature: in AZ
Ryan and Kellner, “Tecnhophobia” in AZ
Screenings:
Paul
Verhoeven, Robocop (1987)
James
Cameron, T2: Judgement Day (1991)
Week Nine (10/31)
Readings:
Franklin,” Visions of the Future” in AZ
Telotte, “The Doubles of Fantasy” in AZ
Jameson, “SF Novels/SF Film” (R)
Sobchack 223-305
Alien Zone, 145-151
Screenings:
James
Cameron, T2: Judgement Day (1991)
George
Lucas, Star Wars (1977)
The Alien Within
Week Eleven (11/7)
Readings:
Billson, The Thing
(BFI)
Neale, “You’ve Got To Be Fucking Kidding,” in AZ
Screenings:
Carpenter,
The Thing (1982)
Nov. 8 PAPER
DUE by 5:00pm
Week Twelve (11/14)
Readings:
Alien Zone, 53-57
Creed,
"Alien and the Monstrous Feminine" in AZ
Newton,
“Feminism and Anxiety in Alien” in AZ
Cranny-Francis,
“Feminist Futures” in AZ
Constable,
“Becoming the Monster’s Mother” in Alien Zone II (R)
Screenings:
James
Cameron, Aliens (1986)
The Hyperreal
Week Thirteen (11/21)
Readings:
Bukatman,
Blade Runner (BFI)
Bruno,
“Ramble City” in AZ
Stern,
“Making Culture into Nature” in AZ
Baudrillard,
95-105
Screenings:
Ridley
Scott, Blade Runner (1982)
Week Fourteen (12/5)
Readings:
Baudrillard,
1-42, 121-128
Gibson,
Neuromancer
Screenings:
Steven
Lisberger, TRON (1982)
The Matrix
(1999)
Dec 6 PAPER DUE by 5:00pm
Dec 12 FINAL EXAM 6:00-8:30pm