This course will examine the genre of dystopian sci-fi film focusing on its common tropes and techniques as well as its sociopolitical underpinnings and historical specificity. Although the term "dystopia" predates 1900, dystopia became a recognizable genre during the twentieth century and has not lost its hold on our imagination in the twenty-first, as indicated by recent films such as The Matrix, Children of Men, and Blade Runner 2049. Cinema is inextricably linked to visions of a dystopian future, providing artistic imaginings of what could happen and where humanity may go. Yet these apocalyptic visions generally tell us more about the conditions in which they are made than about any anticipated future. They function as registers of social fears and anxieties. Students will examine how different filmmakers adapt and adjust generic characteristics to respond to different socio-political circumstances and concerns, and how this adjustment is re-inscribed back into the genre. Special attention will be given to questions of race, class, gender, sexuality, and technology. We will also explore the ecological, scientific, economic, and ethical debates on industrial pollution and climate change. Moreover, we will focus on the films' technical features, especially montage and spatial manipulation, and examine how themes, narratives, affects, and cultural meanings are embodied in the cinematography, editing, location shooting and set design of dystopian cinematic cities from different geographical/cultural regions.HAAVC 3000 seminars continue developing students' visual analysis and research skills while providing students the opportunity for in-depth study of the visual/structural artifacts associated with a particular topic, region, or movement. Students will also engage with the relevant primary/secondary literature for the specific topic/theme. Courses will pay particular attention to the larger cultural, historical, and theoretical/ideological contexts in which the visual artifacts and structures under consideration were created. This course cannot fulfill the HAAVC 2000 requirement.

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