Science Fiction Cinema
and Social Criticism
Prof. Langdon Winner
STSS-2962 and STSH-2962
Mon. & Thurs., 4 – 5:50 in Sage 3705
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Fall
2012
Dept. of Science and Technology Studies
Office hours: Wed. 10-11:00 & Thurs.
3-3:50 in Sage 5709 and by appointment: winner@rpi.edu
This class
studies relationships between science fiction films and serious works of modern
social criticism. Through a careful
reading of texts, analytical viewing of films and comparison of the two
experiences we will explore some of the most significant issues in modern
society. As in all your classes, the
real subject is: How to think!
Meetings.
We will meet twice a week. Roughly
half of our time will be spent viewing the films, the other half discussing
them in relationship to the readings you be doing. Everyone should come to class fully prepared
to discuss the readings, films and their own ideas about them. Regular, active participation is required
and is an important part of your grade. Attendance
will usually be taken. You are responsible for putting initials next to your
name in the day’s attendance sheet.
Please arrive promptly and be seated so we can view the lengthy films
and discuss them. [Note: Because we will focus upon the material and
each other – rather than the vast world of outside distractions -- this class
will strictly maintain a “no laptop, no tablet, no smart phone” policy.]
Readings:
Some of the books
for the class are available in the Rensselaer Bookstore. Others are online or on reserve in digital
format (indicated by * on this syllabus) at Folsom Library listed under the
course name and “Winner”. http://library.rpi.edu/setup.do
Readings will
usually be discussed on the day they are listed. Readings listed as “optional” readings often
can be found by online search, in Folsom or through inter-library loan. They are not required and have not been
placed on reserve, however.
Weekly short
papers: For many (but not all) weeks of the term
there will be short papers to help clarify and express your ideas, one page,
single spaced (no longer!). Usually
these will be due at the Thursday session. These writings should be thoughtful,
neat and printed. The goal is to make
sure you keep up with readings and ideas, making sure that when asked about the
readings and films, you will have interesting things to say to the group. [Note: Weeks in which there are no papers due will be
announced in class, in advance.] Grades
on these papers will be on a 5 to 1 scoring scale (5 = very good, 4 = good, 3 =
average, 2 = poor, 1 = very poor, 0 = did not submit.
Three essays: I ask you to write three short essays, five pages
double spaced (no longer!). These essays
will discuss the connection between the readings and films you have been
studying. Sample topics will be
distributed, but you may propose topics and approaches to writing of your
own. Grades will be given on and A
though F scale with “+” and “–“ as
appropriate. Excellent: A; Good: B; Average: C; Very
poor: D; Failing: F. Due dates: Sept. 27; Oct. 25; and Nov. 15. No
short essays are due on any of these due dates. However, you must have done the readings for
the day and be fully ready to discuss them.
Final exam: On December 6 there will be an in class
final exam consisting of several short answer questions and one short essay.
Writing
standards: To help you understand and anticipate the standards I will use to
evaluate your writing, three items will be useful to you. First is the “Key to the Marginal Notes”
which provides an arcane code for understanding my notes on style,
organization, and other features of your writing. Thus, the code “UC” means “This passage is
unclear.” Second, you will receive a
list of key features I’m looking for in your written work, each one arrayed on
a sliding scale from Very Good to Needs to Improve. Third, is the wonderful essay, “Politics and
the English Language” by a writer, George Orwell, whose novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, we’ll read during
the term. URL for the essay: http://orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/
Grades.
Your grade for the semester will be determined by:
(1) attendance
in class and active participation in discussions 20%;
(2) weekly short
papers with your comments on course materials, 20%
(3) three short
essays: 45%
(3) in class
final exam: 15%
Absences: You
may miss any two daily sessions without excuse and skip any one week’s short paper without penalty. If you
miss more than that, your grade will suffer. Excused absences will be recognized for
illness, family emergency, required varsity sports travel, and other crucial
matters with written notification.
Usually, a simple email will suffice.
Late
papers: ALL PAPERS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN
CLASS and on time. There will be NO
EMAIL OF PAPERS at any time during the term.
(Don’t ask. If you miss turning in a paper for any reason, just bring it
to class the following session. The
grade will be necessarily lower, but often better than zero.) Your weekly short papers are due on Thursday
unless notified otherwise.
Other
materials on the Web: As
the course moves along some additional course writings and illustrations from
the web may be assigned.
Academic
integrity: All work submitted must be your own. If you borrow ideas or information of any
kind (which is always essential to learning and creativity), please just give a
clear reference to the original source, a footnote or endnote, for
example. This is easily done, expresses
gratitude and is a good habit to cultivate.
Evidence of plagiarism, borrowing materials or ideas without credit as well
as other forms of cheating, will be dealt with severely – a grade of “F” for
the course.
Learning Outcomes:
With any luck, students
in this class will improve their ability to:
(1) understand and interpret important works
of social criticism and corresponding themes in modern movies;
(2) read books and watch films in an active,
engaged (rather than passive) manner;
(3) recognize contrasting ideas and arguments
crucial in debates about politics, policy and ethics
that
involve scientific technologies;
(4) grasp the ways that film makers express
ideas and concerns about humanity’s present
and future prospects;
(5)
improve their ability to think and write clearly;
(6) ponder ways in which their own lives and
careers might include reflective artistry in
professional work or other pursuits:
(7)
fathom and anticipate ways in which bureaucratic strictures such as Orwellian Newspeak
“learning outcomes” statements tend to infringe upon academic freedom in ways
that commodify, degrade and infantilize the process of becoming a thoughtful,
well-educated person.
Schedule
Week 1: Introduction
August 27: Discussion
of the aims and requirements of the course.
Introductory comments
about Fritz
Lang’s “Metropolis.”
Readings:
Roger Ebert, “How to
Read a Movie,” http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/08/how_to_read_a_movie.html
“MacGuffin,” [a plot
device in films]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin
August 30: “Metropolis” -- vision of a technological
future
Readings:
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, “The
Communist Manifesto”
Available in
several formats: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61
“Metropolis (film),” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_%28film%29
Week 2: Interpreting Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”
September 3: Labor Day holiday (no class)
Readings:
(to be discussed on Thursday, Sept. 6)
*Edgar Jung, “The
Organic German Nation” in Roger Griffin ed., Fascism
*Ernst
Junger, “The Emergence of a New Type of Human Being,” in Griffin
*Martin Heidegger,
“National Socialism as the Custodian of European Being”
Joseph Stiglitz, “The
Price of Inequality,” interview with Amy Goodman
September 6: Workers, robots, class struggle, and the
search for redemption
Readings:
Adam Call Roberts,
“Metropolis: A Proto-Fascist Anti-Utopia”
Optional reading (for
the truly inspired): Siegfried
Krackauer, From Caligari to Hitler
Week 3:
The Bomb, Scientists and Paranoia
September 10: Alien invasions – a message for planet Earth
Film: “The Day the Earth Stood Still”
Readings:
*Cyndy Hendershot, “The Atomic Scientist,
Science Fiction Films, and Paranoia:
The
Day the Earth Stood Still, This Island Earth, and Killers from Space”
*Albert Einstein,
“Survival is at Stake”
*Lewis Mumford,
“Gentlemen You are Mad”
September 13: Science fiction films as expressions of
social unrest
Readings:
Cyndy Hendershot, “Monsters at the Soda
Shop: Teenagers and
Fifties Horror Films”
Seth
D. Baum, et al, “Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm
Humanity?
A Scenario Analysis”
Ian Sample, ““Aliens may destroy
humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists”
Optional reading (for sci-fi pulp
magazine fans): Henry Bates, “Farewell to the Master”
[the 1940s short story that inspired
“The Day the Earth Stood Still”]
Week 4:
The Total State and Technologies of Control
September 17: George Orwell’s vision of humanity crushed
Film:
“Nineteen Eighty-Four” (Michael
Radford’s adaptation)
Reading:
George
Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
September 20: How many of Orwell’s fears are being realized
today?
Reading: Orwell, Nineteen
Eighty-Four (to the conclusion)
Glenn
Greenwald, “Extremism Normalized”
Newt Gingrich, “Language: A Key Mechanism of
Control”
Week 5:
Supreme Rationality and/ or Utter Madness
September 24: America’s technocratic era
Film: “Dr. Strangelove”
Readings:
Ida Hoos, *Systems Analysis and Public Policy, (selections
on reserve)
“Robert MacNamara,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McNamara
September 27 [First
essay is due in class.]
Films: “Dr. Strangelove” (conclusion) and a BBC
documentary: “Pandora’s Box”
by Adam Curtis
Readings:
Louis Menand, “Fat Man:
Herman Kahn and the Nuclear Age”
Optional reading (for the
curious): “Herman Kahn,” in wikipedia
Week 6:
Humans and Androids in a Dystopian World
October 1: The imagination of Philip K. Dick
Reading:
Philip K.Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
[Note today we will
discuss Dick’s novel fully and look only at the very
beginning of the
film.]
October 4: Artificiality and the “other”
Film: “Blade Runner” (the final cut, 117 min.)
Optional reading: (for the
philosophically minded)
Stanislaw Lem, “Philip
K. Dick: A Visionary Among the Charlatans”
http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/5/lem5art.htm
Week 7:
How to Read a Movie
Tuesday, October 9 – [Note: Monday becomes a
Tuesday session this week]
Film: A scene-by-scene analysis of “Blade Runner”
in “cinema interruptus” mode
Reading:
Roger Ebert, “How to
Read a Movie,”
[Read the some of the comments
that follow Ebert’s essay as well.]
October 11 – Cinema Interuptus: “democracy
in the dark” continues
Week 8: Philosophy of Technology in Cinema
October 15
Reading: Jacques Ellul, The Technological Society, pp. xxv-xxxvi
and pp. 3-107
October 18
Film, “Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out of
Balance)”
Week 9:
Mass Media, Reality and Illusion
October 22: Is everybody happy? Oh, yeah!
Film: “The Truman Show”
Reading:
Chris Hedges: Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and
the Triumph of Spectacle,
chapters I and IV
October 25: An illusion called “America”
[Second
essays are due in class.]
Reading:
Empire of Illusion, chapter V
Week 10:
Reinventing Discrimination (and Blasting It into Space!)
October
29: The origins and dynamics of
inequality
Film: “Gattaca”
Readings:
*Derrick Bell, “After We’re Gone:
Prudent Speculations on America
in
a Post-Racial Epoch”
*Sun Ra, This Planet is Doomed: The Science Fiction Poetry of Sun Ra,
selected poems
with
Introductions by Amiri Baraka and Bhob Steward
Film: “Sun Ra Arkestra live at Montreux 1976” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7j-Hm2NgFM
November 1: Genetic engineering and social policy
Readings:
“Racial Segregation in
the United States,” Wikipedia
“Eugenics in the United
States,” Wikipedia
Week 11:
Is High Tech Civilization Inherently Violent?
November 5: Earthlings as the alien invaders
Film: “Avatar”
Reading:
*Derrick Jensen, Endgame, Vol. I, selections to be
announced
November 8 Beings in harmony with nature
Reading:
Endgame, selections to be announced
Week 12:
Post-Apocalyptic Visions I
November 12: concluding discussion of “Avatar” and Jensen
readings
Reading,
Endgame, selections to be announced
November 15: Environment and society collapse
[Your third essay is due in class.]
Film: “The Road” [Note the film will be show in its entirety
today.]
Reading:
Begin reading Cormac
McCarthy’s The Road
Week 13:
Post-Apocalyptic Visions II
November 21
No film today. Continue your reading of The Road, now and over the Thanksgiving holiday.
November 24 – No class, Thanksgiving
feasting!
Week 14: Post-Apocalyptic Visions II (continued)
November 26
Discussion of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in comparison with the movie,
“The Road,” based upon the novel
Weeks 14 and 15: Technology and Narcissism (a pungent
combination)
November 29
Reading: Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion, chapter II, “The Illusion of Love”
Film, “15 Million Merits” (from the
Black Mirror series)
December 3
Readings: James Rivington, “Project Glass: what you
need to know”
Sherry Turkle, “The Flight from
Conversation”
Film: “The Entire History of You,” (from the Black
Mirror series)
December 6: Final
exam in class
