Category Archives: Class Discussion

Class Discussion: ‘Blade Runner’

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This is a space to continue our class discussion of Blade Runner.

Here are the group discussion prompts from yesterday’s class, as starting points (though you can address anything you want in relation to the film here):

  1. Consider the novel and the film together. While you should certainly take stock of similarities and differences between them, this is only a first (brainstorming) step. Your discussion here should not only note key similarities and/or differences but also (and this is the crucial part!) discuss the significance of these similarities and/or differences. Putting two texts in dialogue with each other allows you to create a more nuanced argument about themes/conflicts/characters/symbols, etc.
  1. Consider the scene in J.F. Sebastian’s apartment, where the replicants encounter other automata (his “toys” and creations). In particular, consider the scene where Deckard uncovers Pris (before she attacks him).
  1. Consider the scene in which Roy encounters his various creators (first “Chew” with the eyes, then J.F., and then Tyrell).
  1. What’s up with the “unicorn” dream & origami figure at the end of it?
  1. Consider the theme of “eyes” in the movie.
  1. Consider the theme of memories in this movie.

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Also, check out Eugene’s great class notes from 3/5, for more themes of what we discussed. Let’s engage with the notion of the “cyborg,” and also “prosthesis” (remember to check out the great scene, starting at minute 43, where Deckard enhances his vision to see into Leon’s photography through the use of the Esper machine).

Chris, I know, as our presenter/discussion facilitator, you had a list of themes/moments to discuss. Perhaps you can also leave them as a comment here (or make a separate post, which I can then link to from here), and we can address them as well?

 

[The Logistics]

Just a reminder that you should make your at least one comment (just hit “reply,” either to my original post or to another comment on it) by Sunday (3/8). Then go back/read through all comments and extend the conversation by making at least two more comments (of course, more are always welcome!) in response by Tuesday 3/10. 

Your comment (reply) can be just a few sentences: provide the quote/citation and a quick explanation of how/why it functions in the context of some larger issue/question (or you can raise questions, complicate issues, extend discussions, analyze a character, or setting, etc. &/or discuss central conflicts/values/themes through the use of your evidence/analysis). Feel free to post multiple comments, and also to respond to others. If you’ve already discussed some of these instances in your previous blogs or in class, you should feel free to draw on that material.The goal is to have some good virtual discussions here to help you think critically about important themes/questions raised by this complex novel, and to find/analyze/synthesize various pieces of evidence in support of claim.

The goal in all cases is to provide specific examples from the film (quotes/scene + citation – use the minute:second format) with discussion/analysis and some connection to a larger claim/argument. You must cite currently in MLA format (in-text citation).

Class Discussion: MoMA exhibit & ‘Metropolis’

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Ok, we’re going to re-boot and have a discussion about the MoMA exhibit, Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities, and how it connects to the texts we’ve been discussing this semester, and to the genre of Science Fiction more broadly (so feel free to also bring in other SF texts). However, you should definitely have part of your discussion about Metropolis. Perhaps you need a refresher? Re-watch Metropolis (with the original score) before commenting on this discussion (and maybe even go see it on the big screen again at the Brooklyn Public Library this coming Wednesday!)

Remember to think about the big themes, central conflicts, and competing values in the exhibit (and its content) and also the texts/SF. Remember that part of the critical power of the genre is to think about alternatives to the present, and to imagine radically different ways of living/structuring the world.

Check out the last part of Eugene’s great class notes from Th 3/5 for some thoughts about how to approach the connection between the exhibit and the other texts we’ve been discussing.

(and remember, if you haven’t seen the exhibit yet, you have until this Sunday, 3/8, to get up there and see it and post about it–for credit!)

[The Logistics]

Just a reminder that you should make your at least one comment (just hit “reply,” either to my original post or to another comment on it) by Sunday (3/8). Then go back/read through all comments and extend the conversation by making at least two more comments (of course, more are always welcome!) in response by Tuesday 3/10. 

Your comment (reply) can be just a few sentences: provide the quote/citation and a quick explanation of how/why it functions in the context of some larger issue/question (or you can raise questions, complicate issues, extend discussions, analyze a character, or setting, etc. &/or discuss central conflicts/values/themes through the use of your evidence/analysis). Feel free to post multiple comments, and also to respond to others. If you’ve already discussed some of these instances in your previous blogs or in class, you should feel free to draw on that material.The goal is to have some good virtual discussions here to help you think critically about important themes/questions raised by this complex novel, and to find/analyze/synthesize various pieces of evidence in support of claim.

The goal in all cases is to provide specific examples from the exhibit & film (quotes/scene + citation) with discussion/analysis and some connection to a larger claim/argument. You must cite currently in MLA format (in-text citation).

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Graphic Novel)

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Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to share this graphic novel collection I found of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Almost everything is copied right from the novel; dialogue is spot on for each scene. The main difference here is that there is no text that describes scenes and locations, obviously, since the graphics do that for you. Its another interesting take on how to view the world and its characters, especially the characters. If you had a specific visualization for the characters in your head, be prepared to have those images changed yet again.

The Graphic Novel is separated into twenty four chapters, over six volumes. If you’re interested in getting this work you can buy it from Boom! the publisher, Amazon, or better yet Comixology. Of course I got this from a completely reliable and legitimate source *wink*.

Below are some preview screen captures to give you an idea of what I’m talking about:

DADoES pc1 DADoES pc2 DADoES pc3 DADoES pc4 DADoES pc5 DADoES pc6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crowdsourcing what constitutes the “human” and the “authentic”

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As part of our reading of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, we are exploring what it means to be human, in a world where both people and animals have their fake/electric/mechanical/non-living counterparts.

We are also exploring what authenticity means in a world where everything, including emotions (think the Penfield Mood organ), empathy (Mercerism), beings, products, etc. can be simulated. You might consider the andys, the Penfield Mood Organ, notions of empathy,  the implantation of false memories, the Voight-Kampff test, (etc.), as well as the following questions:

  • What defines a “human” or “humanity”?
  • What distinguishes the real/genuine/authentic from the fake/simulated/ersatz? What is missing/lost/sacrificed (if anything) in these replicas?

(You can think about all of these questions, but especially the first two, above, in relation to the article, “Japanese professor creates uncanny, human-like robots, exhibit website, Android: What is Human? that we’re looking at for this coming week)

 

  • Who/what serves who/what? Who are the masters and who are the slave? Who are the superiors and the inferiors?
  • What are the relationships (colleagues, friendship, sexual, love, etc.) between different types of beings?
  • What is a real “emotion” if it can be simulated on a Penfield mood organ and what is real empathy if it can be simulated through Mercerism (and tested, perhaps, by the Voight-Kampff)?
  • What about fertility/reproduction (with Deckard’s neighbor’s horse, with the regulars/specials, with Mercer bringing dead things back to life, with having to deal with a post-apocalyptic world that is mostly dead)?
  • What kinds of competing sets of values are at play?
  • What are central conflicts of the novel?

I am also particularly interested in us tracing how, through their interaction with andys (and their particular positions in the world: Bounty Hunter and special/chickenhead, respectively), Rick Deckard and John Isidore D-503 move from merely embodying values/norms of their society that they have have already internalized, to developing individual, (perhaps rebellious?), free-thinking understanding about the world and their places in it, and the hierarchy of beings (living and otherwise).

[The Logistics]

Just a reminder that you should make your at least one comment (just hit “reply,” either to my original post or to another comment on it) by Sunday (3/1). Then go back/read through all comments and extend the conversation by making at least two more comments (of course, more are always welcome!) in response by Tuesday 3/3. 

Your comment (reply) can be just a few sentences: provide the quote/citation and a quick explanation of how/why it functions in the context of some larger issue/question (or you can raise questions, complicate issues, extend discussions, analyze a character, or setting, etc. &/or discuss central conflicts/values/themes through the use of your evidence/analysis). Feel free to post multiple comments, and also to respond to others. If you’ve already discussed some of these instances in your previous blogs or in class, you should feel free to draw on that material.The goal is to have some good virtual discussions here to help you think critically about important themes/questions raised by this complex novel, and to find/analyze/synthesize various pieces of evidence in support of claim.

The goal in all cases is to provide specific examples from the text (quotes/citation) with discussion/analysis and some connection to a larger claim/argument. You must cite currently in MLA format (in-text citation).

Class Discussion: “The Machine Stops”

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We are continuing our  class discussion of “The Machine Stops” online this week. Just a reminder that you should make your at least one comment (just hit “reply,” either to my original post or to another comment on it) by Sunday (2/22).

Then go back/read through all comments and extend the conversation by making at least two more comments (of course, more are always welcome!) in response by Tuesday 2/24. 

The goal is to have some good virtual discussions here to help you think critically about this short story. Therefore, your comments need not be very long: for example, you can provide a quote/citation and a few sentences of explanation of how/why it functions in the context of some larger issue/question (or you can raise questions, complicate issues, extend discussions, analyze a character, or setting, etc.) &/or discuss central conflicts/values/themes.

The goal in all cases is to provide specific examples from the text (quotes/citation) with discussion/analysis and some connection to a larger point.