[Air-L] suggestions for movies on communication technology and social change

Wed Jul 13 19:58:19 PDT 2016

Don't forget the times when old means of communication were new: *Pillow
Talk* is a classic about the phone and social relations!

Best,
Rainer

On Wed, Jul 13, 2016 at 11:44 PM, Michelle Alexander <malex2xp at gmail.com>
wrote:

> All:
>
> This is a list I made for a different project.  Some of it is a little off
> topic of the original post but I thought I'd share.  A lot of these also
> have communications as a central component or at least the media.  I think
> *Network* is also a good move (among many others here) as well as
> *Surrogates
> *in terms of mediated experiences.
>
> Also, here is a searchable database of Sci-Fi movies which is pretty
> comprehensive and could be a good resource:
>
>
> http://www.scifi-movies.com/english/films-alpha-a-1-browse-movies-by-alphabetic-list.htm
>
> As a warning, though, *Ice Spiders *is on this list.  But you can search by
> theme as well.
>
> Social Structure
> a. *Pleasantville* (1998) (124 mins)
> b. *The Truman Show* (1998) (103 mins)
> c. *Dark City* (1998) (100 mins)
>
> Social Interaction
> a. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) (137 mins)
> b. Short Circuit (1986) (98 mins)
> c. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) (146 mins)
> d. Her (2013) (126 mins)
> e. Big Hero 6 (2014) (102 mins)
>
> Culture, Media, Communication
> c. The Running Man (1987) (101 mins)
> d. The Hunger Games (2012) (142 min)
> e. Galaxy Quest (1999) (102 mins)
>
> Crime, Deviance, Social Control
> a. A Clockwork Orange (1971) (136 mins)
> b. Fahrenheit 451 (1966) (112 mins)  Book works too, is better than movie
> c. V for Vendetta (2005) (132)  Graphic Novel also accepted
>
> Power, Politics and Social Movements
> a. Hackers (1995) (107 mins)
> b. The Matrix (1999) (136 mins)
> c. Ghost in the Shell (1996) (83 mins)
> d. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014) (105 mins)
> e. Rollerball (1975) (125 mins) Most important date on the list.
> f. Logan’s Run (1976) (119 mins)
> g. Other movies on this list: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls055167700/
>
> Race, Ethnicity & Immigration
> a. District 9 (2009) (112 mins)
> b. The Time Machine (2002) (96 mins) / (1960) (103 mins)
> c. Enemy Mine (1985) (108 mins)
> d. Gattaca (1997) (106 mins)
> e. Blade Runner (1982) (117 mins)
>
> Gender & Sex
> a. Alien / Aliens (1979/1986) (117 mins/137 mins)
> b. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) (120 mins)
> c. Tank Girl (1995) (104 mins)  Graphic Novel OK too
> d. Children of Men (2006) (109 mins)  Book OK too, Movie better
>
> Markets, Organizations & Work / Class & Social Stratification
> a. Jurassic World (2015) (124 mins)
> b. Robocop (1987) (102 mins) / (2014) (117) -- Older one is easier to make
> this argument
> c. Resident Evil (2002) (100 mins)
> d. Johnny Mnemonic (1995) (96 mins)
> e. Repo Men (2010) (111 mins)
> f. Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) (98 mins)
> g. A.I Artificial Intelligence (2001) (146 mins)
>
> Environment & Health
> a. Avatar (2009) (162 mins)
> b. Silent Running (1972) (89 mins)
> c. Wall-E (2008) (98 mins)
> d. Elysium (2013) (109 mins)
> e. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) (119 mins)
> f. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) (108 mins)
> g. Immortal (Ad Vitam) (2004) (103 mins
>
> Hope something on here proves useful,
>
> -Michelle Alexander
>
> On Wed, Jul 13, 2016 at 11:00 AM, Beth Corzo-Duchardt <
> bcorzo-duchardt at muhlenberg.edu> wrote:
>
> > Looks like we’re generating a great list, I hope someone compiles a
> master
> > list and shares it. The dystopic versions of these stories are
> particularly
> > interesting to me, so I have lots of examples. I’ve included some that
> > haven’t yet been mentioned below. But I’d also suggest that in addition
> to
> > giving students a list of 5 or so films (and/or TV shows, I think some
> have
> > already mentioned *Black Mirror* and *Mr. Robot*), you encourage them to
> > come up with their own examples. I do a similar assignment and I find
> that
> > students never cease to come up with interesting interpretations of films
> > I’d never have considered in those terms. For example, one of my students
> > talked about how *Gone Girl* (David Fincher, 2014) makes an argument
> about
> > the power of the news media to guide public opinion.
> >
> > Some interesting early examples that mirror today’s discussions about
> > mediated identity construction and the documentary power of moving
> images:
> > *Hoodoo Ann* (Ingraham, 1916). A girl accidentally shots a gun as she’s
> > mimicking a Western star and mistakenly believes she’s killed a man
> because
> > she applies (faulty) movie-logic to interpret the real-life events.
> > *A Reckless Romeo* (Fatty Arbuckle, 1917) A philandering husband is
> caught
> > on film and publicly shamed when he appears in a public service newsreel
> > entitled “Mashers in our Parks Must be Stopped” (in contemporary
> parlance,
> > to *mash* meant to *come on to* someone who was unwelcoming)
> > *Sherlock Jr.* (Buster Keaton, 1924) a boy dreams himself into a movie
> > where he becomes a better version of himself. In the end, he wakes up and
> > in the film’s final seconds kisses the girl of his dreams after learning
> > from the movie exactly what to do.
> >
> >
> > Two films that I often use clips from for in-class examples in advance of
> > the assignment are:
> > *Idiocracy* (Mike Judge, 2006) A pretty terrible and somewhat racist film
> > about a future dystopia where American citizens have become stupefied by
> > evermore vapid TV programming and automated living. Despite, or actually,
> > because of it’s failings, I find it to be very teachable.
> > *Wall-E* (Andrew Stanton, 2008) This popular Disney/Pixar collaboration
> > depicts a future of fat, lazy, stupid and disconnected humans that is
> very
> > similar to the world of Idiocracy, though it does have a feel-good
> > environmentalist message.
> >
> > Has anyone mentioned *Tron* (Steven Lisberger, 1982)? It sort of fits the
> > digital activism mold, though ironically it was funded by a company a lot
> > like the villain on the movie (Disney) to help sell video games.
> >
> > All Best,
> > Beth
> >
> >
> > Beth Corzo-Duchardt, PhD
> > Visiting Assistant Professor of Media & Communication
> > Muhlenberg College
> > bcorzo-duchardt at muhlenberg.edu <mailto:bcorzo-duchardt at muhlenberg.edu>
> > bethcorzoduchardt.com <http://bethcorzoduchardt.com/>
> >
> >
> >
> >
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