Presentation Dates

Here are the remaining presentation dates, for this semester. If you've not yet emailed me with your preference, please do so asap!

Weds 3/22: Film: The Conversation

Jason L.

Mon 4/10: Film: Blade Runner

Lani
Shadi

Weds 4/12: Film: Tron

Mark
Van

Mon 4/17: Reading: George Orwell, 1984

Brandon
Daniel

Weds 4/19: Film: War Games

Aaron
Jason H.

Mon 4/24: Reading: Marshall McLuhan, "The Medium is the Message"

Randy

Wed 4/26: Film: Videodrome

Silvia
Lindsay

Althusser Reading Prompts

I really enjoyed our discussion of Walter Benjamin's essay and I hope that we can carry forth that level of analysis and some of the questions raised into our discussion of the upcoming Louis Althusser reading. Though you might find Althusser a bit more direct in his approach to his thesis, it's still a very complex essay. I thought I'd raise some points or questions for you to consider, in preparation for our discussion of the essay, on Monday. Feel free to incorporate your thoughts on these into your response papers...

* In discussing Benjamin, we talked about how economic and socio-political systems can beget or inscribe aesthetic systems. How might this idea carry over into Althusser's essay?

* Compare & contrast how Althusser and Benjamin understand history & historicization, in relation to (re)production. In so doing, you might consider the relation of time and space and how they are represented by the authors.

* How does Althusser's use of words like infrastructure, system, and machine relate to the ways we've been using them, in class, thus far?

* Is there a machine metaphor at play in Althusser's characterization of the State and/or is machine culture the product of the State?

* How does Althusser describe the relationship of the individual to the State, the law, authority (intellectual as well as legal), religion, other individuals, the machine, etc? How does this compare to the portrayal of these relations in the films that we've watched, this far?

That's a start. I'd like you to come to some conclusions on your own. This essay had a very deep impact on me when I first read it as an undergrad, and I'd like to hear your initial responses. It's been very influential in contemporary political, philosophical, and art (ie film, lit, semiotic, etc) theory, and is worthy of very close reading.

Upcoming Assignments

Prospectus for essay #1 (Due Weds. 3/22):

This will be a 1-page paper proposal outlining your topic/film, thesis, the main points you anticipate making in support of your thesis, and two potential research references, both of which must be from outside of the syllabus and not from the internet. Ungraded, but mandatory. Failing to turn one in will effect your participation grade.

Essay #1 (6-8 pages, Peer Review Mon. 4/3; Due Weds. 4/5):

The paper must be 6-8 pages long. (As always, it should have a title, your name, and page numbers, and it should be stapled.) This paper will require you to reflect critically on one of the films we've watched to date, offering a coherent thesis in relationship to the interpretation of the work. Formulation of this argument should be dependent upon the formal components or elements of the work, including a close-reading of the rhetorical relationship between the narrative and the filmic structure, which will also entail contextualizing the relationship between form and content.

I will be evaluating your ability to formulate a clear thesis, to argue in favor of this thesis, to identify and analyze the work's
formal elements, and to synthesize and apply the vocabulary we've established through our readings and discussions. Your thesis should make a concise statement about what the work signifies and the way in which it does so.

As noted above, your paper must cite at least two references, in addition to our assigned readings.

Related Art Projects...

Hello. I wanted to give you a link to Joy Garnett's Bomb Project, which I mentioned during out discussion of Dr. Strangelove. The site has all kinds of great info on the history of the bomb and related art projects.

I also wanted to point you to one my favorite internet art projects, which is a piece by Jennifer & Kevin McCoy, called 201: A Space Algorithm. The McCoys created a master list of every single shot in 2001: A Space Odyssey and made a site at which you can remix and watch the shots, according to certain parameters. (Of course, one combination of options just lets you watch the whole film 'normally,' online.) It's very interesting.