{"id":199,"date":"2015-09-10T15:16:25","date_gmt":"2015-09-10T15:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/?page_id=199"},"modified":"2015-09-11T18:18:27","modified_gmt":"2015-09-11T18:18:27","slug":"film-media-and-sf-at-gt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/film-media-and-sf-at-gt\/","title":{"rendered":"Film, Media, and SF at GT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jay P. Telotte<\/em><\/h4>\n

Film and Georgia Tech seem a natural pairing. \u00a0Film is, after all, a technologically-based art form, in both its creation and its audience reception\/appreciation. \u00a0And its evolution into perhaps the dominant contemporary art form\u2014a claim slightly challenged by its near kin, television\u2014is manifest by a series of technological developments that have left their mark in many other areas of our lives\u2014concerns with image reproduction, sound capture and amplification, color processes, screen development, computer-generated imaging\u2014enabling various other entertainment and educational technologies that are today a pervasive part of human experience. \u00a0The history of film and other visual media simply opens onto many dimensions of our technological experience, as well as of a modern technological education.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But in today\u2019s world, big-time science is constantly developing big-time and sometimes quite dangerous technology that we cannot help but run into and be surprised by.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The study of film involves more than just understanding the history, theory, and criticism of a highly significant art form. \u00a0It also requires that we develop some understanding of certain scientific principles and technological processes that can help us to understand the extent to which, even when thoroughly engrossed in the work of art, our enjoyment and even education are technologically-enabled. \u00a0Of course, donning 3-D glasses at the local multiplex to watch a computer-animated film makes that context at least momentarily obvious to us, but multiple variations on that technological context condition every movie experience, and we need to become more mindful of how other aspects of our lives and cultural experience are also technologically enabled, as we always, in various ways, see through the lenses and on the screens that society provides. Focusing on films\u2014and television\u2014about technology, particularly on science fiction in its various media forms, can facilitate such an awareness.<\/p>\n

LMC has offered multiple media courses focused on the world of science and technology, among them, \u201cFilm and the Machine Age,\u201d \u201cThe Science Fiction Film,\u201d \u201cScience Fiction Television,\u201d \u201cAcross the Screens: Adapting Science Fiction,\u201d and \u201cGlobal Science Fiction.\u201d \u00a0These courses allow students to explore a variety of technological depictions and track how cultural attitudes have changed towards the machine, space exploration, urban design, the robot\/android\/cyborg, the scientist (mad and otherwise), and even research itself. \u00a0Through them we can observe how in various ways our culture has sought to address issues of both technophobia and technophilia, even to suggest ways of balancing such attitudes.<\/p>\n

These courses also reflect the larger popularity of the genre, and allow us to explore why SF has such a prominent place in today\u2019s media landscape. \u00a0I want to suggest three very simple reasons that might help explain that popularity, and in turn, reasons why we should be paying closer attention to, even, as part of our interest in film and television, studying SF\u2019s history and characteristics.\u00a0 The first, and perhaps somewhat superficial answer, is because we can do it; funding and technology have both changed, allowing for the genre\u2019s proliferation. \u00a0A second is that we have to do it; science and technology, it seems, keep getting in the way of our lives, popping up in full view and practically forcing us to take notice. \u00a0And a third is that we simply should do it; it makes sense and helps us make sense\u2014of ourselves, our world, and our futures.<\/p>\n

We can do more and better SF for many reasons, not the least of which is the sheer availability of both equipment and outlets. \u00a0Films (and more broadly video) have become relatively easy to make thanks to the impact of computing power and low-cost, high-quality digital cameras\u2014even cameras available on smartphones and tablets. \u00a0Various independent film festivals offer a ready audience\/outlet for material, as do established venues like the Syfy Channel and a proliferation of cable\/satellite channels. \u00a0And with that increasing number of venues and broadcast slots there comes more potential money available for developing SF films and programs. \u00a0If you have an idea for a show that might have an audience, and if you know the right people, you can get a hearing; if you\u2019re convincing and have skill, you could get seed money or turn to Crowdsourcing; and if that pilot is any good, there is a strong chance for an airing before a national audience, for at least a try-out. \u00a0But even smaller ambitions\u2014and smaller resources\u2014also stand a chance of reaching fruition and finding an audience in an age of i-phones, laptap-loaded editing tools, and YouTube. \u00a0\u201cBroadcast yourself,\u201d in fact, is the come-on for YouTube, suggesting not only the ability to make films, but the alluring possibility of almost instantly showcasing the self, speaking directly to an audience of millions.<\/p>\n

I also suggest that we almost have to do more SF and learn more about it. \u00a0That perhaps strange assertion comes from the recognition that we live in a highly technologized society, in a world where we cannot get away from technology, as well as the science that creates it and the reason that conceives it. \u00a0In fact, that triadic relationship\u2014of reason, science, and technology\u2014is one that we live with, that informs all that we do today, and that finds its way into so many of our films and programs. \u00a0So we have to recognize how the elements of science and technology invariably show up more and more, working their way into our narratives just as they are worked, almost imperceptibly, into our lives. \u00a0And of course we need only note how often science is becoming woven even into many popular films and programs that make no pretense to being SF, including television shows like Modern Marvels<\/i>, How Do They Do It<\/i>, and Rocket City Rednecks<\/i>. \u00a0But in today\u2019s world, big-time science is constantly developing big-time and sometimes quite dangerous technology that we cannot help but run into and be surprised by. \u00a0\u00a0What our media renditions of those run-ins help to do is prepare us for such encounters, make them somewhat less surprising or discomfiting, clearly a part of our world.
\nSo I would suggest that this inevitable encounter is a good thing and gives reason to my even stranger-sounding third suggestion that we should be viewing and studying more SF. \u00a0That \u201cshould\u201d has almost a moralizing ring to it, as if implying that SF were somehow good for us. \u00a0But it may well be. \u00a0If we accept some of the previous premise, that we are going to keep tripping over science and technology anyway, then it follows that trying to understand it for our individual mental health and for our larger cultural health is important. \u00a0Genre stories serve as important cultural highlights and problem solving devices. \u00a0Through their central concerns those stories echo our cultural anxieties, and through their conventions help us make sense of those things. \u00a0The more popular media genres in any period have that status, that level of popularity, I would argue, largely because their trappings are best suited for helping us make sense of, better understand, or simply find some way of being reconciled to the culture of the period. \u00a0And in this technologically and scientifically-driven era, SF film and television, especially as we deal with it at GT, helps in this task.<\/p>\n

Back to Table of Contents<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jay P. Telotte Film and Georgia Tech seem a natural pairing. \u00a0Film is, after all, a technologically-based art form, in both its creation and its audience reception\/appreciation. \u00a0And its evolution into perhaps the dominant contemporary art form\u2014a claim slightly challenged by its near kin, television\u2014is manifest by a series of technological developments that have left … Continue reading “Film, Media, and SF at GT”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-199","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":311,"href":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/199\/revisions\/311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leading-edge.iac.gatech.edu\/humanistic-perspectives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}