Internships can either go really well or end up as a waste of time. I would say that my experience so far is in between this spectrum. I am an intern for Emporia Studios, which is a pre production and post production entertainment company. This company focuses on photographing and filming anyone that would like to rent the space in the studio. This company works with actors, athletes, and models to help create a personal brand for them. As an intern I am responsible for doing the research about the brand/person that Emporia will be working with. For example I have been working on the research of the craft beer industry because Emporia Studios will be working with a man who would like to start his own craft beer brewery. Before they can create a pitch to the client on how they will market the craft beer to consumers, it’s my job to research the craft beer market, and figure out what will need to be included in the pitch. Emporia Studios has a graphic design team, and a production team, but I work for the marketing department. I would love to work for an advertising company, specifically in the food and beverage industry, which is why the projects I have been assigned to have given me a lot of knowledge that I can use towards an actual career.
They have a website, which is http://emporiastudios.com/. Their Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube channel are all linked on the websites home screen. On their Instagram page, Emporia usually takes photos and videos of the photo shoots that are going on in the studio for that day. They also have other outlets that they run on other social media accounts such as their radio show “Turitmo” and their modeling business “Top Model Latina”. Emporia Studios is in Manhattan, but a lot of their Hispanic events for the company are located in Latin America because everyone is Hispanic. I was interested in this company because they were looking for a marketing intern, which I thought would be helpful and useful for my actual career in Advertising. I would say that I am not doing any marketing in this company; I am only responsible for researching information on different brands. I thought that I would be more involved in creating a campaign for the brands that are interested in working with Emporia on a project, but I am not involved in any of those opportunities.
Even though my position states that I am a marketing intern, I am definitely a researching intern. I have already worked on researching the city of Yonkers, and figuring out how Emporia can help out with the city’s social media pages to make them seem hip towards the younger generation. After Yonkers, I started researching the craft beer industry, which is the task that I am still working on to this day. I find it interesting, but it can also be boring after researching something for 7 hours straight. I am assuming that my next project will involve some sort of research for a different brand/company that is interested in working with Emporia Studios. I would say that I am most interested in the idea of creating an advertising campaign for the brands that we work with because that is what I would like to do when I work for an advertising company. I know that the head of the marketing team is the one who creates the campaigns, but I would like to be part of the action as well.
Working for a media company has taught me that nothing comes easy, and there is a lot of behind the scenes action that takes place before a piece of media is produced. I find it intriguing that a small advertisement can take days to put together, and a full team is really necessary to keep everything running smoothly in the company. If one person doesn’t complete their part of the job, the whole creation of the advertisement process is slowed down. I have learned how to do a proper analysis of a specific market. I have learned how to research the specific market and figure out what is missing from the market. The brand that we are working with should have that special flare that the market is missing, and we create a campaign around what the brand needs to achieve success in the market. I am capable of researching any company/brand using the tools that I have learned so far from this internship. I didn’t expect to be a research intern, which is disappointing because they gave a misleading title to the intern description, but I have learned a lot. I didn’t expect everyone to be so friendly in this company, and I thought that I would be alone at all times. I also didn’t expect that they would have events at this internship, but they have a lot of events at this studio where they work with other brands and host a party. Tonight we are having a Whiskey event that I will be a part of, and I think that is pretty exciting.
Even though this internship is not what I expected and I am exciting to find a new internship for the summer, I am still learning a lot about research that I will be able to take with me when I have my future career.

The company I am interning for is called “Coburn Communications” which is a Public Relations firm in New York City. They work with brands such as AARP, StarKist, Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, Boots, and Juicy Couture. The company handles things like public relations, events, and reports back to them on monthly media activity. I was interested in this company because the CEO is a very impressive woman, and her story on how she started her company was very inspiring. Also, I had read on their website that their employees are one of their most valued assets, and I wanted to be in an environment where that was important.

I was placed in the beauty department which was perfect for me because I am interested in skin care and makeup. My position would be close to an assistant for beauty team. My daily duties include preparation of client mailings, product sampling, creating and updating national and regional media lists, tracking and clipping editorial for clients, researching articles, topics and trends, and drafting pitches and other written press materials. So far I have gotten experience performing all of these tasks. I have sat in on a brainstorming meeting once, so far, for the brand KIND and the interns were encouraged to give their creative insight which I really enjoyed and hope to be part of more in the future. One of the aspects of the company that intrigues me is the media events department. We are all in close quarters so I get the opportunity to hear and be part of all aspects, not only beauty. They are constantly planning fun and interesting events and press meetings with celebrities I am familiar with, and it is fun to be a part of.

What I have learned about Public Relations that I did not know before I interned was, at least regarding the beauty aspect, was that they work with many of the beauty gurus across social media. They send free products to be posted, and some can get paid at least two thousand dollars or more for one Instagram or blog post. It surprised me because I had no idea that this was happening to this extent it makes me question everything I see on social media that it may be a sponsored post. Besides learning that scary fact, what I love most about my internship is that I am actually being productive. I was expecting to be performing tasks that the actual employees themselves would be doing, and I am. The projects that I work on are important to the team and is being sent out to these big companies. I am also learning PR software. I consider everything I am learning valuable because I believe I can take all these skills and apply them to any PR internship or job. One of the aspects I wasn’t prepared for is the amount of work I am given. Some of the other department interns are not always busy, but I am giving a lot of responsibility which is nice but also sometimes seems like a lot since I am not getting paid, but I know the experience is invaluable. I am overall thrilled that I have chosen this company and I was fortunate enough to be part of a great company and a great team that cares. Their website is http://www.coburnww.com.

This spring semester I have been interning at CNN, a 24-hour news channel on cable television. CNN is owned by Turner Broadcasting Systems, a division of Time Warner it was founded in 1980, and is the first all news television channel in the United States. Throughout its 30 plus year run CNN has greatly expanded its reach, creating distinct websites and other specialized circuit channels that include CNN Airport. As the company began to expand they gained over 900 affiliated local stations and reach over 26 different countries. As of 1982 CNN launched a companion channel originally titled CNN 2. The channel began as a continuous cycle of thirty-minute news shows, but has now rebranded and has been renamed HLN. HLN focuses on live coverage, and plays a constant cycle of TLC’s Forensic Files, during primetime. While so many different moving pieces are necessary when driving a billion dollar company, the department I intern for has a direct impact on linear programming affecting the way viewers consume their news.
As an intern for the Program Scheduling department, I’ve been fortunate enough to be exposed to many different aspects of creating and maintaining the best and most effective schedule for programs on both linear and nonlinear. As a part of the Program Scheduling team I must understand the importance of research and the meaning of numbers. This ranges from how many impressions a show reaches, what are the key demographics, and how can we gain the most viewers based on the schedule we create.
On a daily basis I work along Program Scheduling Managers to create, and help track and list new schedules for both HLN and CNN. The schedules are typically done 5 weeks in advance. With so much breaking news and constant changes, especially in this current political climate, we are constantly changing the schedule. Some of my main responsibilities includes tracking the dates and episode numbers of HLN’s Forensic Files. I manage a doc in which we track all dates, and episodes for the show to be able to schedule the episode numbers more accurately. I also work on a building out a listings document, where I create the schedule of the shows given in the week for HLN, and include premieres as well as episode descriptions or storylines. To track both networks and their schedules company wide, we use a scheduling system named Scarlett, which is later released to the CNN headquarters in Georgia. Once I complete filling in episode names and titles, I update a master control grid, with the new episode titles. This grid is incredibly important because whatever is shared on that grid is what the master control room uses to air a show.
Though the bulk of my responsibilities relies around maintaining and building out documents that enables the company to track programming, I have also been exposed to tasks related to the CNNGo app. My team decides what different digital shorts are posted and what topical or relevant news should be posted to grab an app viewers’ attention. I work on a building a document that highlights content inventory that is used to fill in the app with topical information. For example, during a holiday like Easter I look through CNN’s inventory of content that can be used on the app and try to find a film, an original series, or a special that correlates with the holiday. I also work with Anchor schedules, helping track their available dates, while filling in a document with possible anchor replacements. I have also been able to work on a few projects that track important historical events and anniversaries, in order to plan programming specials accordingly.
Throughout my time here I have been fortunate enough to be able to attend meetings with the Senior Vice President of Research, as well as weekly team meetings. I personally feel that being directly exposed to daily decisions made by senior employees gives me a better idea of the way the company works, and their current mission. I recently attended a meeting in which a variety of Research VP’s both in New York and Atlanta created and executed research projects related to the current news climate. With the idea of fake news being such a prominent issue, especially after President Trump took office, the research department at CNN decided to create The Trust Project. The purpose of this project was to quantify the effects of President Trumps claims on average news consuming Americans. This project helped me realize the true importance and magnitude of research in television.
This internship experience has exceeded my expectations. I’ve been able to work on a variety of different projects that actually impact the work being done. When accepting, an internship offer at CNN, I was most excited about being a part of news during a pivotal time in history.

This is the story of a female hero who goes on many adventures. I feel that this movie is meant to be a comedy with many sexual innuendos.

I think this film could be trying to tell us that science fiction films are predictable, with the elements that reappear. Barbarella was different from the typical “hero” we see. And I agree that she was definitely depicted sexually.

I agree with Jimmy, I think this film is definitely trying to tell audiences how predictable a science fiction film can be. I think if you watch this movie seriously you probably wouldn’t like it. It’s one of the movies where you just have to sit back and laugh at what its presenting to you.

I can agree that this movie was definitely crazy. From the beginning this film consisted of many sexual innuendos. Everyone seemed to be obsessed with sex. I think it’s satirical in the way that the heroine is a women when usually it’s always a man who is considered the hero. And then as the heroine, Barbarella is very clumsy and ditzy. I think one of the things that this movie is trying to tell us is that in the present or future what drives any human or species is love and sex. I think this is why the word love is repeated a bunch of times throughout the movie, “make love” and Pygar’s quote too, about love. Would you agree or no?

I have to agree with everyone who commented above me. This film was showing the typical themes of SciFi and how predictable the elements of the genre are. Also, I agree with Limairy when she said the human species is driven by love and sex; the film was very sexual and it’s showing how things were back then – for many females to get a lead role it had to be one that was very sexual.

I agree with most of what is stated above. Barbarella was released in 1968 during the sexual revolution that spread throughout the country. It was also a time of social change and different views of what was traditional culture (Andy Warhol; the feminist movement). Barbarella was a movie that portrayed a woman in a traditional male role. Although it was a campy movie, it did send a message that a woman could use her wits and sexuality to save the Earth. It appeared to be more about sexual freedom than about science fiction, although most of the technology was sexually related.

This was a different film from all of the science fiction movies I have watched. But I believe it is about sexual empowerment and the relationship to women.

I personally have never heard of this film, but by the reading it seems like a very interesting film. The idea of creating a virtual reality is an idea I find quite frightening. I feel the first person to test that out is playing with fire for there will always be a glitch in technology. I also find it interesting that this film was created in the 90’s showing us that virtual reality premises have been around for a while now.

I found this very interesting- as virtual reality is the closest form of sensing the unreal. Interestingly enough, I find that this is quite prophetic, like Kailey says. It seems everyone has gotten those virtual reality goggles, and now 360 videos seem to be taking off, to make on feel more apart of the videos and events. The line between the two are clear, but the movie can express the fear in which the line becomes blurry. I think it is talking of how connected we are to our media, and how it can delude our reality.

I agree with daninaps’ point of view. Maybe somewhere down the road technology can get to the point that we wont be able to tell reality apart from virtual reality. It was a little mind twisting that the game appeared to continue. It was like being taken into one world, only to have that world come back with you into reality. Though it seemed reality no longer existed.

This movie was definitely a confusing one to watch. I think it’s a clever movie that just makes you keep on guessing what will happen next. The blog post states “The objective of the game is also unclear. So it’s like life.” and I think that’s a really great way of wording what this movie is.

In “The Matrix”, the original virtual reality movie, humans lived in the virtual world without ever realizing it. “Inception” went one step further, where the virtual reality is a dream within a dream. “eXistenZ” went even further. It started off as a virtual reality, then the players entered a second level of virtual reality, and in the end, it appeared as if they were even on a third level of virtual reality. Although it seems confusing, I think the point was to make the audience wonder where reality begins and where it ends.

I have never watched this film or even heard about it before this blog but it seems complicated. I agree with Jennifer where in the blog it mentioned that the objective of the game is unclear and relates that to life. Im not sure how much I agree with that quote but it makes me interested to watch

I agree with Jennifer on this one, I thought this was a confusing movie to watch.

OK so granted, I did not watch this film but I did watch Crash and I can only imaging that as jarringly disturbing as Crash was that this would be equally eerie to watch. I did watch the trailer and it looks like a cross between The Dark Backwards with Matrix mixed in Reanimator.

I’ve only watched the first movie and read none of the books. I really enjoyed the film. The games being a reality show with an audience willing to watch young children be brutally murdered express how the current viral society works. People have gone onto FB Live or Instagram to capture people being attacked instead of helping the situation. Reminds me of the series finale of Seinfeld. (SPOILER ALERT)….. When the group witnesses a crime and Kramer films it as they make jokes. A finale ahead of its time.

The Hunger Games are one of the most interesting films to me. It really made me on edge to find out what happens next and to see the minds of others during dramatic times. It is also interesting because they sort of incorporated futuristic technology but the setting and clothing seemed like it was part of the past.

The Hunger Games has become such an influential film as its popularity took over the globe. I feel a big factor to the popularity of this world wide phenomenon stemmed from the novels that were written before it. In my eyes, any movie that becomes as big as The Hunger Games usually comes from a book that was written before it like Harry Potter. And due to the characters being younger it became very popular to a younger age group.

I remember watching the first movie and really liking it but I never watched any of the other films in the series that follow. Some may disagree but I find the Divergent series a little more interesting than it. In my opinion Catching Fire just seems boring and the only scenes I really could pay any attention to without feeling uninterested were the action sequences.

A reality show about fighting to the death, it’s kind of like the Romans. The Hunger Games is a great way to depict the wealthy vs the poor, much like reality shows. You get a bunch of young people with nothing else to live for and just throw them together to see who wins. I agree that being a series of novels first helped this franchise, but you can’t look away from the fact that it was Jennifer Lawrence and when these films were coming out show was the biggest thing in the world.

This film reminds me of “The Running Man”, a 1987 science fiction action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In this movie, criminals were given the option of prison or becoming contestants on a national game show, where they must survive or die. As the protagonist continues to avoid increasing danger and death, the show’s ratings continue to rise. This version of dystopia was set in the year 2017, which already makes the film outdated, just like “2001: A Space Odyssey” and George Orwell’s novel “1984”.

I can agree with Kailey on this blogpost. Aside from it being science fiction something that I think really helped the Hunger games to get really popular was the Young Adult genre. The YA genre has become very popular over the years and i honestly think more adults read YA than the Young. Also, the popularity of these films i think had to do with the fact that it is almost a reality tv show because reality Tv has been very popular for quite some years now.

Anyways I really enjoyed all of the Hunger Game films but disliked the books.But to be honest I prefer the Divergent Series over the Hunger games. 🙂

As I touched upon in my paper, it was the whole girl power rise up. Having a heroine instead of a hero to be defender of the underdog is what made this entire series popular. i am sure that more adults read these series than young adults.

One of my co workers started reading the Twilight series so she would know what her daughters were reading. She wound up finishing all of the books in the series before her tween daughters. I would imagine it would be the same type of phenomena with this series as well.

Unlike a few of my classmates, I have to say that I really disliked this film, as well as many of the other films in the hunger games series. I do see the value in them. As Chandra said, it gives us a female heroin which I never realized was that unlikely in sci-fi films, and their presentation of the world with the hunger games being like reality TV really resonates with people, and the fact that it was a YA hit definitely help it out.

However, this film is SO SLOW, and so genuinely disinteresting. Not even the great performances by some of the actors save it from being a drag. As some of the others have stated, I think other YA books that have been turned into movies have done a better job at presenting dystopia. While I think a lot of them have issues, I really enjoyed the maze runner series and am looking forward to the next ones in the series. As for the hunger games, I’m glad they’re over, and I doubt I’ll ever finish the series or go back and rewatch any of the films

A film that if I watched it without looking for the Science Fictions themes, I would never find it. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a romantic comedy on the surface but if you look hard into you can find some typical SciFi themes. I actually liked the idea of the world ending and the attempts to save it failed, so there’s nothing anyone can do. It eliminates the idea of free will and it shows how humans act in the face of danger.

This film is definitely a more lighthearted outlook on the genre of science fiction. Most focus on the demise, and the trouble, but this takes the more, as you say, philosophical approach to mortality. While there are still dark elements around, the comedy overlying it takes over- and the romance is priority. As said in the blog, most apocalyptic films look for the hero, but the main character is not going to save the world. He becomes a self hero, and is much more realistic then anything else. The end of the film where he is trying to comfort Penny, he admits they did save eachother, even when they are going to die.

This film seems interesting and I think it might be next on my list to watch. The blog made me think of what I would want to do if I knew the world was ending but I want to watch this film to see what other perspectives may be.

I love Steve Carrell and Kiera Knightly so this movie was a pleasure to watch. This shows that not all science fiction films need to be very serious and intense as this movie contained some intense scenes, overall the drama wasn’t the main concern for this film. I would personally consider this movie more of a romance then science fiction so its cool to see different outlooks.

I didn’t see this movie prior to this course but I was excited to watch it because who doesn’t love Steve Carrell? Like the blog post says there’s no spectacle, no explosions, and no monstrous other. It really didn’t feel like a sci-fi film to me at all, I felt like it was more of a romcom than anything.

When watching this film I only thought of it as scifi because of this class but how everyone says this movie easily could of passed for a romantic comedy. Steve Carrell is the best, love him!

I really liked seeking a friend for the end of the world and Last Night BECAUSE of the fact that the world actually ends. A lot of movies usually have a cop out to make you feel all warm and happy at the end. With that I guess it works out because the characters find out about whats really meaningful– our relationships with our people (and perhaps our fear, or unwillingness to be alone), and therefor can proceed to live life to the fullest when there is salvation.

However, with this film, now is the only time they have and I appreciate that kind of pressure. I think that it strips away all the bullshit of the world and makes you realize the things you really want in life. Perhaps a little bit too late. But I think end of the world movies give you a lot of thought to chew on, because they make you think of what you want out of life and what you’d do if the world were ending.

With that said, it’s hard to qualify these as science fiction just because theres not a lot of actual or fictional science going on. I think they’re more speculative fiction

Even though this film is more of a romantic comedy than a science fiction film, it does contain a few elements of the science fiction genre. For example, this film is about a meteor heading towards Earth, putting an end to all humanity. Previous films that have featured this element include “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon”. While these two films feature astronauts going out into space on a mission to save humanity, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” features Steve Carell and Keira Knightley’s characters realizing how much their relationship have always meant towards each other and their fight to reconcile as the world is about to come to an end.

I like this song! Gilberto Gil is pretty awesome, I’ve heard many of his songs thanks to my mom.

Jimi Hendrix is such a popular artist. I believe my parents listen to his music. Interesting to know that he was interested in SciFi

I love Jimmy Hendrix and never heard of Gilberto Gil, but really like the way he has altered the way that Jimmy Hendrix’s song and put his own twist on it.

I like Jimi Hendrix too. I never knew he was into sci-fi, and to make a song out of it? Thats cool.

I knew about Gilberto Gil from my Uncle Bobby but I have never heard him cover Jimi Hendrix. I would have never put 2 & 2 with the sci fi genre. I always thought that he was talking about outer body experiences and metaphysical ideas.

I’ve never heard of Gilberto Gil, unlike some of my classmates, but this song is spectacular! I love the plucked guitar, and his voice is so melodic and easy going. Such a great song to share with the class

In “Up From the Skies”, the main character symbolizes a reincarnation that looks down on Earth to find out how life is going for everyone. However, because the reincarnation was born before the Ice Age, he begins to realize how much change life on Earth can go through in so many centuries. It is then that he wants to understand with his eyes and ears what has changed since the last time he was on Earth. The theme of this song is that a whole lot can change, especially on the planet Earth, in so many centuries.

Cool songs. I really liked the sound of the guitar in “cosmic slap,” it reminded me of Jimi Hendrix’s music.

It might have something to do with the rediculous amount of drugs Bootsy and George Clinton were on. If you drop enough acid you can see anything.

For some reason when I think of Science Fiction I think of it in terms of books and films. I think it is deff. cool to see how it also influenced many artists in terms of music.

I liked the Flash Light song better than the first link. These songs reminded me not only of science fiction films but of some old cartoons from the 90s.

It’s really interesting to see a different concept of science fiction. I had never thought of it in this way, but can see the influence within the music being futuristic and using different instruments and sources of sound to create an out of this world effect.

I’ve heard these songs before without knowing the band and I must say I have always found this music really intriguing and easy to listen to. I never thought that it would collide with science fiction, but as I pay attention its really interesting to see how science fiction can influence music so drastically.

WOW! Those outfits and hats are crazy. Their music is pretty spectacular, but they really put on a show. I think it’s really interesting to see how themes and ideas from literature and films can influence music. As artistic as music is, I feel like it’s usually in a different category than film, literature and other forms of visual art. There’s probably a lot I don’t know about music history, but it’s interesting to find bands like these that apply elements of sci-fi into their songwriting

“Cosmic Slop” is about a mother of five who tries to support her family through her acts of prostitution. However, she does not want her children to know about her life as a prostitute or that they are living in poverty, so she asks God to forgive her and understand the main point: that she just wants to support her children. “Mothership Connection” is about a man introducing his alien alter ego named Star Child. Some of the lyrics to this song are inspired by the famous spiritual song “Swing Down, Chariot”. “Flash Light” is about a man who is encouraged to not feel down on himself and enjoy the sunlight of life.

I think the last Paragraph of this post perfectly describes Max. In the beginning scene of the film I thought he was part of the bad guys but then my views was changed when even though with his own interests in mind he decided to help the people with getting the truck that could deliver the gas for them.

I thought this was a really good film and really enjoyed the twist at then end, i thought it was really cool how they tricked Max into thinking he was carrying the gas in the truck when in reality he wasn’t. Here he proved his loyalty and became a hero because he helped them to succeed and escape the bad gang who wanted the gas.

Also, the end of the film was very hopeful because Max didn’t go with the good crew instead he stayed behind on his own and the good crew went on to start over in another place.

Post apocalyptic films show the persistence of the human race as even after what is supposed to be the complete end in the apocalypse, humans somehow find a way to survive. Just the idea of surviving the end shows how humans believe we will survive through anything.
Mad Max Fury Road shows the anti-hero turned hero world we live in, the person who is alone and in an outsider who is only looking out for themselves turns into the savior for the group but as we see Max leaving, he doesn’t take credit for the hero actions he takes.

I really enjoy movies like this when its the end of the world and people are doing whatever they can do to survive. They had the world look completely like a ghost town and it gives the audience a chance to use their imagination to what happen to the world to be the way it is. The desert background of this movie reminded me of the movie Resident Evil Extinction. the way they showing what people are doing to survive was interesting and lastly Max going from bad to good to show he really cares and isn’t a selfish person even in tuff times.

I found a lot interesting with Mad Max as it says in the blogpost that the second film is where it all becomes more evident. I think that I was more shocked to see that the demise in the first film was societal, but still seemed relatively close to a per-apocalyptic time. The second film did a lot of changes in scenery, costume, even personality change. Automobiles become bigger and badder, villains become more out of this world looking, and things just become less realistic and more of what I would assume of a sci-fi film

Post apocalyptic movies have always intrigued me to see the different ideas one will create post a tragedy. The idea that this is futuristic while at the same point you are starting over. I really enjoyed watching Mad Max: fury road because it was action packed and kept me on my toes at all times.

The Mad Max series is definitely a great action series. I think the road warrior nails it with the look of a post apocalyptic world. I personally think this one is more exciting and interesting than the first one.

Just like in many franchise films, such as the protagonist in “Star Wars (Han Solo)” and “Terminator (The Terminator)”, the protagonists, like Mad Max, evolve. By the third film, each of these characters becomes a “savior”, or “protector”. Luke Skywalker was a smuggler who ended up saving the galaxy; the Terminator was an android assassin who ended up saving humanity; Mad Max was a disgruntled police officer who wanted to be left alone and yet ended up saving humanity as well. Each of these protagonists becomes someone or thing that, in the end, is nothing like they started off as.

I really appreciate Valentim’s analysis of the idea of the evolution of a protagonist over a series from uncaring to saviors. I think it makes a movie like mad max more interesting to view because you can grow with the character as you see all of the various trials and tribulations they overcome. When you spread a narrative over a series, or TV show, I think it allows you to connect with the characters more, giving you a greater appreciation of them.

With that said, I have to say that I absolutely hated Mad Max, and the recently released Mad Max Fury road. While the visuals are quite spectacular, and they got a lot of praise for their feminist ideals, I just think that the world in which the story takes place is painfully uninteresting. The fact that the film was also more focused on action scenes rather than pushing the narrative forward really bothered me. For all my love of science fiction, I just couldn’t find it in myself to enjoy these films.

Interstellar is a great example showing the time travel issue of chronological time gaps. One hour on a particular planet on a galaxy through a wormhole is equivalent to 7 years. Cooper and Brand spent 3 hours on that planet. As seen in various time travel films, the original starting point remains frozen. Frozen, yet alterable. Marty McFly had all the time in the world to complete his quest, barring theatrical obstacles. Time travel is always such an interesting topic due to the philosophical issues that arise. Time travel stories are always fun because the science can be interchangeable and result in any ending desired.

Time travel always has confused me, all the rules and paradoxes… but, it’s one of the most interesting topic to think about. I like the idea of thinking of the past being considered time travel or flying in a plane to a different time zone. The Flash has a story called Flashpoint that is about traveling through time and changing something creates a complete alternate universe.

If you’re into conspiracy theories look up the Mandela Effect. The premise is someone went back in time and it caused a bunch of changes, it’ll make you think.

That was very interesting that I never looked at The Planet of the Apes in the aspect that it is futuristic but also the past. History does repeat itself and that would be amazing if Apes or other animals ruled the world again in many years. Time traveling is so interesting and I wonder if that would ever be possible with all the complications it may or may not bring to the future.

Every film that I have seen dealing with time travel has always lead to issues. I agree with Justin in that it can become really confusing to think about time differences and time zones and how it really does not make sense. How can one go back in time, does the present then freeze during that time, but yet if that happens how does the present change?

Time travel has always been one of my favorite conventions of the sci-fi genre. It’s a really interesting topic to think about. I agree that it’s probably the least plausible that could happen but the idea of it raises a lot of questions and really makes you think about how far back in the past or future you’d want to go and the things you’d want to experience (or experience differently).

I LOVE time travel stories. I think it’s one of the most enticing thought experiments. Of course, I think that it’s easy to spiral out of control with what if’s, and get really unhappy with what is when you think of what could be. That’s why one of my favorite films of all time is “about time” where one of the last lines is “we’re all travelling through time, each one of us every day. The best thing we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride.” As much as we can worry about what ifs, i think, at their core, all time travel stories are about appreciating what you have, and not worrying about the what ifs.

Funnily enough, the first script I ever wrote was a really terrible time travel story that went nowhere. However, my friends and I recently released a short film involving time travel on our youtube channel that you can check out here, if anyone is interested : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzODNK_xhRU

It’s about the election and how the only way that trump could have won is if a time traveller went back and accidentally messed up one thing wihtout realizing it, thus creating the alternate timeline that we’re currently living in– aka, the darkest timeline

Time travel is so confusing to me because of the grandfather paradox. we had a similar discussion in one of my english classes on a book we read about a girl traveling back in time to change her past and then not existing anymore. It is an interesting topic to think about. Personally if given the chance I don’t think I would go back in time and change anything in my life because everything happened for a reason.

This blogpost reminded me of the Futurama episode we had to watch which I thought was hilarious because Fry was tired of being a delivery boy and when he time traveled he expected his life to change and to have a different career but he got stuck with the same job in the future anyways.

The great thing about many time travel stories is that it shows the main protagonist going forward or backward in time to save humanity. For example, in “Interstellar”, the main character – Cooper – travels forwards and backwards in time to save everyone on Earth, including his daughter Murphy. In “Terminator 2”, Schwarzenegger’s character is sent back through time to save all humanity from destruction. For so many years, people have been wondering whether time travel will actually occur, and if it did, people who travel through time would actually end up altering the future with both good and bad consequences.

A great thing about Science Fiction horror is that the types of creatures you can portray are endless. Most horror films accept faulty science for the sake of producing a good monster. Scientists are rarely shown to be ethical in these types of films. At most, they may quickly apologize and scream “What have we done?” while being destroyed by the monster they created. The idea of God being the master creator mixed with a meddling humans imagination create the perfect manifestation of societies repressed feelings.

In “The Fly” Andre doesn’t seem like your typical Science Fiction mad scientist looking to play God, but instead he mentions one of his motives is to help humanity – stating that his invention could potentially end world hunger. The mad scientist part comes after he attempts to teleport his cat but turning it into nothing, this drives him to perfect the machine, locking himself in his basement lab. The is a scene where Helene is naming all the negatives of science and why she’s scared of it but Andre swiftly names the positives science has created. Again, we see the role of God in a SciFi film but this time it’s the harm of humans playing the role of God.
For those interested, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VIII parodies this film in “Bart the Fly”

Watching Jurassic Park I never thought of them as monsters the dinosaurs but they really are. The humans created monsters and put themselves into danger. So much science behind especially in all the Jurassic Park films. They go against nature by putting dinosaurs and people together.

I agree with Jane where I do not see the dinosaurs as monsters as I do what they are. The idea that the human’s recreated what was once around with expectations that no harm can come of it shows that even the smartest of people can make the dumbest mistakes.

I like the idea that nature cannot be conquered and sometimes creativity gets taken a step too far. Sometimes an accomplishment or skill can only push those behind it to desire even more. It can get to the point that it becomes an obsession. Just like when Andre wouldn’t leave his lab and Helene mentions she’s only seen him for two hours in the last two weeks. It was this obsession that turned Andre into a half-fly. Its that obsession with desiring more and never reaching satisfaction that can lead to destruction.

I remember watching this movie when I was younger and I was absolutely terrified. It has just the perfect amount of mystery and horror to make it an interesting movie from start to finish.

I too agree with Jane and Kailey. I love dinosaurs and I do not see them as monsters. But I do think it does too go against nature by putting both dinosaurs and people together even though I think that would be so interesting to watch. They do not have that aura that monsters such as the fly and other movies have. At least dinosaurs are portrayed as having more humanistic life like feelings.

I think that “They Fly” was a pivotal film for sci-fi, as it not only is an unknown scary creature, but also is human turning into creature. I can imagine seeing this in a time where special effects were minimal and being terrified. The idea that this could happen to anyone is enough to give me nightmares.

I have to disagree with Jane! I love Jurassic Park, but I dont think the dinos are the monsters. I think its a classic tale of frankestein. Knowledge is knowing that frankenstein is the scientist (and the body he reanimates is frankensteins monster). Knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein is the monster. To quote jurassic park, the scientists were so obsessed with if they could, they didn’t stop think about if they should. The dinosaurs of jurassic park are NOT monsters. They’re just animals living their life, and feeling confined by being in a zoo, which is something I can empathize with it. All of the destruction they cause or people they kill is simply because they’re brains are not sophisticated enough to think of killing as good or bad. The scientists however have the ability to consider ethics, and they still created the dinos regardless, and treated them horribly, causing them to lash out. What ensued was simply a matter of Social Darwinism as the dinos wreaked unintentional havoc.

As for the fly, I think the story is amazing, but stretched out over too long a time. I feel like if the movie were shorter, it could have accomplished the same goals and have been more powerful. With that said, it was a horrifying film because you can empathize with how scary it must be to have your body combine with fly DNA and begin to turn into a fly. Even scary is that final scene where he’s caught in the spiderweb, screaming for help! Honestly, I don’t think i’ve ever seen any scene that was better nightmare fuel than that. This film really reflected the idea that scientists are these people who try to play god. I think along with our discussion of war of the worlds where only god could destroy us, but now that we’ve made nuclear bombs we can destroy our selves, this film follows simlar themes. Humans attempt to channel some of gods powers, and thats why he got cursed.

The movie was great though, and truly horrifying in all of the right ways. Makes me want to see the remark with jeff goldblume!

The Fly started off very slow for me and I found it a little boring at the beginning but then it got really interesting and I actually ended really enjoying it.My only question with this film is why was Andre so stubborn and wouldn’t let his wife get help from any of the other scientists? Very interesting to see how the creator becomes the monster instead of him creating a monster.

I am def. going to watch the remake because it sounds great. Monster movies are one of my favorites to watch.

“The Fly” focuses on how obsessed scientists can be with their work and how they lose sight of what types of consequences their ideas can lead to. The main character is so caught up in his talents that he even puts himself to the test. In his arrogance, he fails to pay attention to the sudden appearance of a fly, and, as a result, he transforms into a completely different creature when his cells combine with the cells of the fly. Both the original version and the remake inspired several other films, including “Jurassic Park”.

God and science aren’t known for being the best of friends, but science fiction movies have many ties to religion that I didn’t expect to see. At the end of this when they were in the church and the alien spacecraft came crashing down I was in shock thinking no way did a prayer bring that down, but thankfully their was another reason (something in the air). The War of the Worlds did something I didn’t expect it to do, have me enjoy a movie from the 1950’s. I’ve taken many film classes in my college career and the majority of the older movies are hard to watch, this movie went by really quick and I enjoyed it. Yes, the special effects are lame and cheesy but then message of the movie was overall pretty good. I’m loving that all these science movies are about hope even though the future looks horrible, its something that the world needs right now.

I agree with Michael on this one. I really enjoyed this movie and sat there with my mouth open. It it interesting that all of these films have a loose religious affiliation in the past, when there was more belief in God. The more recent films will rely on the sheer intellect of man to save the world as the faith of society dwindles.

I really enjoyed the film I thought it was very exciting. I didn’t check my phone once. So many element that go into science fiction films especially the religious aspect.

I really enjoyed this movie. I feel there was a lot of action going on in the film along with many intriguing little story lines. I thought the music made a good interpretation of what was to come in the movie.

This was a cool movie. I really liked the effects on the spacecraft whenever they attacked and the shield used to protect them from incoming fire. I also liked the ending. It was amazing how all the people were kept safe inside the church as they prayed and sang, meanwhile destruction was occurring everywhere around them. Then the impossible occurred as the ships crash suddenly due to bacteria. Interesting that the faith in a higher power brought and end to another that seemed indestructible.

I really enjoyed this film. I personally think one of the best elements of this movie is the acting. I felt like all of the characters even if they were minor ones were interesting to watch.

This was a very solid film to me. The thought of this happening in real life gives me the chills. Also there was a decent amount of action that kept me interested. Lastly bacteria being the reason why there crashed who would have thought!

I agree with everyone, that I really enjoyed this film and that it was very easy to watch. And I especially agree with michael about not expecting to see so many affiliations between God and science, seeing as how usually people tend to take one and dismiss the other to a certain degree.

With that said, the way Wells updated the story of revelation for the modern audience is truly a revelation. The whole time I was watching the movie I just assumed that the world was completely done for, and we were just going to have to accept our forced rebranding as Mars 2. But having bacteria be the thing that stops the aliens was the most subtle, mindblowingly cool way to destroy a villain I think I’ve ever seen in any movie ever. What I liked about this film is that, while not all of the science was 100% accurate, where it counted, the science was used in a way that seemed like it COULD work, even if its not the way it would work in real life. This movie had some of the smartest storytelling I’ve ever seen

I enjoyed the film because I liked the special effects used in the film, which was impressive considering that it was produced over 65 years ago. The problem with today’s science fiction special effects is that relies on computer generated imagery (CGI), which, by comparison, makes it easier to create them. In the 1950s, special effects in science fiction films took a lot more skill and creativity to come up with the intended result as opposed to the preprogrammed computer generated special effects of today.

Same as everyone else said I really enjoyed this film, it was very interesting. I think its crazy how many of Wells predictions came true. I think it was cool to see how science and religion worked in this film when they are usually things that for some people should never go together. Also, it def. must of been very scary to think that not only God could end the world anymore because an atomic bomb could too and the fact that there was so many wars happening back then must of been even scarier.

I never heard of Donald Fagen, but after watching his music video for the song New Frontier, before the lyrics came into play, I first thought I was listening to a Billy Joel song with some techno in the background. The music was very indulging and I found the music video to be entertaining. I didn’t feel at one point that I was bored. I feel the music fit the video.

I thought this song was pretty funky. I also thought it was cool that John F. Kennedy was the inspiration behind it. The song made me think of having a bit of fun and enjoying life to take our minds off the challenges the country might face as a whole. A lot of that has to do with how our commander-in-chief responds to the challenges.

This is a pretty cool song, it deff. makes you want to dance. I also, thought it was pretty cool how President Kennedy was the inspiration for this song and the video was very entertaining to watch too.

I haven’t heard this song but it sort of reminds me of an upscale elevator music or something people would listen to in a cocktail party.

While I didn’t dig the song too much, I loved the music video! Such a fun and innovative spin on the classic love story to have it take place in a bunker. And then end, when he’s getting out and she in the alien suit. I think it has a lot to say about how, while we might fear a lot of the things about other alien species, a lot of those things might be things we fear in ourselves.

Set around the early 1960s, “New Frontier” is about a boy who lives in an underground shelter and wishes to move on to a new lifestyle. He soon meets a girl he fantasizes as actress Tuesday Weld and develops an attraction towards her. This song is inspired by a speech delivered by John F. Kennedy during his inauguration address about heading for a new frontier of “new opportunities and perils and unfilled hopes and threats”.

Never heard of the term space rock before but this song is pretty cool and very psychedelic.

Early Pink Floyd songs are great. Love this one.

Pretty cool to think about a music genre with a space version. I had never heard that term before either. I liked the background noise throughout the song, it made me think of sounds coming from outer space.

Great Song!!!

I love Pink Floyd! I personally love any rock genre out there. I fully appreciate every sound being created at any period of time. There is no sound like Pink Floyd with all of their deep, luring voices and their “space rock” sounds.

I could never get into Pink Floyd. Though I see the value in it, I could never really get into their trippy kind of music. This instrumental song is quite spectacular though!

“Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” is about how much twists and turns, both good and bad, anyone can go through in life, in which one moment you are living in solitude and the next you are living a life of love, all in a continuous cycle. One of the important symbols in this song is the sun, which can be viewed as a sign of depression, affliction, tragedy. According to John Waters, the lead singer of Pink Floyd, the lyrics to this song are borrowed from a Chinese poetry book written during the Tang Dynasty and later translated into English.

This movie blew my mind. As I am navigating through this course, I am finding out exactly what type of science fiction film fan I am. I am more about the alien life forms but I have a true appreciation for this film. The amount of science and theory that had to be vetted through a million times over and the quantam physics involved was all to much for me but fascinating still.

Completely agree with Chandra, this movie was mind blowingly amazing. Every time I thought I had it figured out, it took another unexpected turn and I was very satisfied with the results. The idea of a hard science fiction movie is such an amazing world that film makers should dive into, everything happened for a reason and their was an explanation for the smallest things. The Christ references were very obvious but they were not shoved down your throat like most biblical references are, so thank you to the writers of this film. This certainly changed the perspective of what science fiction films can be and what they should be.

I also can agree with my classmates, Interstellar was mind-blowing and completely amazing. It was really such a great movie. I enjoyed watching it so much that I even recommended some of my friends to watch it. I loved all the emotion this movie had despite it being a science fiction film. ( I may or may not have shed a couple of tears during some parts & totally hated Matt Damon’s character for being such an a**).

The cast was great and the visual effects were amazing too. I really enjoyed the way the movie connected from the beginning all the way to the end and the fact that everything happened for a reason. I can only imagine how much studying it took in aspects of all the science, physics and theories discussed in the film.

I think this is now my favorite movie that we have watched so far.

I might be bias because I love Christopher Nolan but Interstellar is one of my favorite movies. The film is thrilling, thought provoking and unique in its own way. Everything from the acting to the visuals to the score is amazing. Not only does the film draw me in with sci fi elements but also with the emotional plot that it focuses on. Overall its a fantastic, mindblowing movie that everyone should watch at least once.

Interstellar was a very out of the world type of film. When I first saw it I was very confused. I am also a fan of Christopher Nolan films. I did have to watch this movie a couple time to fully understand everything. I do believe everything came together at the end of the film. My mind was blown when I found Murph’s ghost was really her dad. They are always connected. Great score perfect for the film fits so well. Overall, great science fiction that takes you on a rollercoaster ride that will make you a fan of science fiction films.

This movie is a thrill to watch. Though I appreciate any old film and their technology at that time, the special effects in this movie were incredible. I found the acting top notch with an excellent cast. Definitely not what I expected as I had no previous background on what this movie was about, but it kept me engaged at all times. Great pick!

I like the idea of astronauts being pioneers in the settling, conquering, and exploring sense and I believe this film makes a case for it. Cooper and the crew had to find out which of the three planets was the best to colonize, a real challenging mission. It was a very interesting “what if” to think about, such as traveling through a blackhole. Wonder where that will take you.

I really enjoyed this film. It was in the same class as “2001: A Space Odyssey”. I like the way the film teased you with the idea that there was some sort of poltergeist or alien in Murphy’s bedroom, which you later find out, was her father all along. I also enjoyed the way Cooper never gave up on his promise to Murphy, who waited decades for his return.

Much like my classmates, I absolutely loved this film! I think this was one of the easier films we’ve had to watch so far just because its more recent. I think the quicker editing, better special effects, and noticeable actors all help it be easier to sit through. With that said, the storyline is amazing, and the twist and turns it takes are enough to keep you interested on your own!

One of my favorite moments of the film is when Cooper and Amelia go down to the planet where each hour, 7 years passes on earth. When they finally get back to the spaceship, their astro-mate tells them that 23 years has passed and he thought they were never going to come back to find him! Honestly, the idea of it blows my mind just thinking about it. I think thats the absolute scariest thing. Waking up one day and realizing all of this time has passed, and you’ve been standing still the whole time. Missing out on so many moments, but being around enough to be aware of it. It excites me and devours my soul with its tragedy at the same time.

I didn’t realize originally that Cooper and Murph can be considered Christlike figures, but now that it’s been mentioned I can’t unsee it. The same goes with all astronaut films being road movies just through space. It’s an interesting thing to think about, and I never realized how true it was. Makes me look at all space movies in a completey different way.

While I loved the movie, I thought the end was a really weird cop out. The entire universe being held together by his daughters bedroom was a really strange departure for all the science that came before it. While I think it worked, I would’ve liked to see something a little more science based. However, him being 124 years old, and being there for his daughters death was also mindblowing and sad.

Interstellar is still nolans best film though.

2016 lost way too many stars. David bowie was definitely a great musician and in my opinion Life on Mars? is a great song; I love it.

This was the first time I heard music by David Bowie, as I wasn’t quite familiar with him. But I liked the use of space travel and alien metaphors in his music. I liked the line in “Space Oddity” where he said, “Planet Earth is blue and there is nothing I can do.” Viewing the earth from the moon, the earth could be blue as it is about 71% water. Figuratively, Earth could seem like a depressing place, with the need to escape from it. I also liked the chorus of “Starman,” “There’s a starman waiting in the sky, He’d like to come and meet us, But he thinks he’d blow our minds.” Not everyone may be curious or open to the idea of extraterrestrials landing on earth. Some might have a fear for extraterrestrials and may therefore panic. This could be the older generation, as the line, “Don’t tell your poppa or he’ll get us locked up in fright” seems to indicate. I also liked the lines “But the film is a saddening bore For she’s lived it ten times or more” and “But the film is a saddening bore ‘Cause I wrote it ten times or more” in the song, “Is there life on Mars?” It seems there may be the need for change in entertainment and other things in culture, for it’s the same story again. The line, “Is there life on Mars?” seems to indicate the need to get away from this culture.

Very good tribute to the legendary Starman! If anyone is interested in the fantasy world “Labyrinth” is a fantastic movie! Bowie plays the Goblin King in this Jim Henson musical film and does a legendary job doing so.

I am a huge Prince fan. I even went to Paisley Park in October to visit the Museum, First Avenue (Purple Rain was filmed there) and Electric Fetus (his favorite record store)

I only know a few Bowie songs but I know that he was a beloved musician.

David Bowie was able to immerse a culture in a world built in his mind. A great artist who’s music will remain timeless.

David Bowie was an icon and his characters that he portrayed made him stand out from other artist

I personally love David Bowie, and even before taking this class and going in depth with science fiction films, etc. I always realized how different and iconic his music was, especially being the fact that he created these sounds in the 70’s. In my eyes, he revolutionized music with his timeless sound.

I love the idea of concept albums. Just the idea that you can tell a story through music over the course of an album and a song is one of the most interesting things to me. Nowadays, it’s all abut the single, and people listen to albums on shuffle and mixed with other artists. I’m not saying that it’s not a great way to listen to music, but I think there’s something really special about a full album that tells a story, and having to listen to it in order to understand and appreciate it.

And Bowie was a master at this! I loved his weirdness and the way he could take all of these abstracts concepts and word them in a way that can resonate with you so, just like a good science fiction film. I especially loved how space oddity was featured in the secret life of walter mitty at such an important moment, of feeling so alone, but taking the leap to fulfill something bigger and better in life. “Ground control to major tom” will forever be one of the most ordinarily haunting phrases I’ve ever heard, especially with the fact that he hears no response, no matter how many time he calls. He embodies that sense of solitude and feeling of being lost in life with the chorus of observation “I’m floating in the most peculiar way, and the stars look very different today”

I also really love “time to face the strange, ch-ch-changes!”

His music is just so catchy, whether it’s abstract, or perfectly ordinary, it’s always identifiable and gestates in your brain for long after you listen to it

These two David Bowie songs represent the topic of life in our solar system. Even though “Space Oddity” came out the same year of the Apollo 11 Mission, according to an interview with Bowie, the song was actually inspired by the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”. In the song, the main character travels to space but loses connection and mysteriously disappears, just like the main character of “2001” loses contact while in space and later finds himself in the greater unknown.
On the other hand, in “Life on Mars?”, the main character is desperate to escape a life of rules, limitations, and isolation on Earth, hoping she would find a more peaceful life on Mars. In other words, she wants to escape into the unknown and the impossible. However, according to David Bowie, this song is also a love song because if you end up falling in love, you end up writing a love song.

This is a science fiction film because people were being cloned identically but only in a physical aspect. It incorporated science and fiction into the film. The main characters are realizing these clones are not the people who they originally were. A main characteristic of being human is to have emotions but the pods didn’t have any emotions (attitude, excitement, anger). A human is able to show feelings so that is how the pods show threat to the human definition.

I know from prior media classes that films reflect the times that they are in. I did not make the connection with the Cold War.
I thought that it was interesting that the transformation of the pod people included storing all of the host memories. Memories are very emotional, so if you have no emotions, why is it necessary?

I really enjoyed this movie. I can very much see how it could also be a psychological thriller or even horror. There were many instances throughout the movie that I thought one of the body snatchers would just pop out and scare me in certain parts of the movie.

It was really interesting to me to see how easily brainwashed some of the people were into thinking that being taken over by the pods was ok. I was surprised that Dr. Miles was able to resist this change and even thought that it was absurd to be the same as everyone else and loose all emotions. Without emotions we are not human.

What do you guys think happened in the end? Do you think they were able to stop the invasion from reaching other places or no?

Wonderful to see a low budget Sci-Fi movie with such strong themes that remain prevalent through the ever-changing society. A change of pace from the Sci-Fi movies of today that rely on heavy use of CGI and spectacle to get their story across. The script was very direct in addressing popular themes of that political climate. The pod people represent many different sects of society that believe conformity is the best route. Individualism will cause heart ache and unnecessary trouble in their eyes. The social anxieties are shown through Miles and Becky;s journey to freedom. While Miles wants to keep on running, Becky reaches a point in which she knows sleep will do her in but that its easier to just sleep and give in instead of running away. Becky represents the confused in society. Those who have yet to make up their mind. When it becomes clear what the easier route is, the confused usually follow suit.

I can see why this movie can be considered a horror movie. Instead of relying on special effects and mysterious “monsters”, the film relied on suspense and this sense of impending doom. I agree with Diego that the pods show threats to human definition by showing a lack of human emotions. The film was both very exciting and scary at the same time. I think it’s definitely one of the best science fictions movies out there.

I agree with the point Diego made about emotion being a main human characteristic. I also think emotion is what the film emphasizes on what it means to be human. Emotion however, is lacked by the pods. Without emotion, individuals and society itself will be a different place. An example of this was when Wilma told Miles that the special look in her uncle Ire’s eyes was gone. There was also the part where Miles tells Elizabeth to keep her eyes wide and blank, while showing no interest or excitement. This fails of course when she sees a dog get hit by a truck, blowing their cover to the pods. It’s sad to imagine being unaffected at all after witnessing something like that.

I agree how this movie can be scary. The mystery and suspense bring the audience to the edge of it seats. A see divide between the pod people and the humans. The pod people will never posses the human emotion and have ever know what humanity is. It was very exciting to watch and see the dramatic elements. It’s a classic science fiction film I think everyone should watch it!

i feel like movies with a low budget in this genre, are always considered cult classics. I found it interesting that the only major change to the “body snacthers” was that they lost the ability to love and feel. It was interesting to see that the people who were saying that their loved ones did not seemed like their loved ones were considered crazy. Why didn’t they interview the “body snacthers” to see if they had some type of change to them, but similar to other films from this time period it centered around the fact that one person was considered crazy and no one else believed them, until it turned out to be true.

After watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers, although considered low budget, I can see how its considered a disturbing classic. I found that some of the themes that were being shown, such as communism remained very open to many different interpretations. Meaning that one could view what was being displayed very differently from the next. I agree with David in finding the only major change to “body snatchers” was the fact that they did not have the ability to feel any sort of emotions.

The framing device being added in after the movie had been written and filmed is such an interesting fact I had not known before! That really changes the way I viewed the movie, because the first time I saw it, I thought that set up was the best part, because he looked so crazy in the beginning, and you were in the same place as all the people in the cars. Thinking he was crazy and not paying attention to him. But then you go through the whole story and realize he’s not crazy at all and these people should really heed his warning!

I honestly really liked this film, and appreciate the low-budget indie feel of it. It really shows how plot can triumph over spectacle, and that sci-fi films aren’t just mindless movies, or forms of entertainment for kids. They’re interesting, sophisticated, and multi-layered. I could immediately tell that there was a lot of cold war metaphors with the loss of individuality and emotion and I thought it was done spectacularly, having an alien invasion be the cause of it rather than an invasion from another nation. Truthfully, re-watching this movie for the class made me want to write my own sci-fi film. Being that this one is so simplistic, it makes the goal seem really achievable, if I were able to come up with a good enough plotline

I enjoyed this movie because it teaches us a life lesson in a symbolic way. For example, it shows us that there are times when a person may be reporting a real situation to other people, but they do not believe in the report until it is too late. There are also people who start believing in and understanding the problem and head off to spread the word and find a solution.

The Day the Earth Stood Still film also was kind of slow for me same asThings To Come. I did enjoy this film in particular more though. It was clear how the film was about war and the effect and fear of bombings, it makes a lot of sense especially because of the events that were happening during the time of the films release. Gore was a really cool robot for being created at that time and although the costume was funny I think they did a great job with it.

This is the first time I saw the original movie and I was surprised at how much I liked it. The sci fi elements in the film were so simple but the message was strong throughout. I didn’t know that they used real news broadcasters in the film but I guess thats why it seems so authentic. After being familiar with all the big sci fi action sequences that we normally see today, I thought that this film was refreshing.

This film was interesting to watch. I really enjoyed watching it. For it being a science fiction some many element and objects can mean so much but it was overall very straight forward. It was overall a different perspective of a science fiction film.

I enjoyed The Day the Earth Stood Still, i liked how Klaatu was able to blend in with the human race, i like how he formed a connection with Bobby. It was a good message to the future children that violence will not get you anywhere. It was interesting that the robots have control over the alien species, and if the aliens do the wrong thing, they will be destroyed and that is what is told to the human race. which conveys the very antiwar message they portrayed through the whole film.

War of the Worlds is a good movie same with The Day the Earth Stood Still. I think I paid attention more to the science fiction elements more than the politics involved in the film.

This was an interesting film. I also liked that Klaatu seemed more like a human than an alien. There was a good point made about the use of violence, wonder what the world would really be like without that. I really liked the ending where Klaatuu told everyone as he was about to depart from planet earth, “The decision rests with you.”

I have to disagree with Limairy! I thought this movie was amazing! Kinda slow in the middle, but it was building great plot. I thought that this was an especailly interesting film because of the fact the Klaatu spent most of his time on planet Earth with a child. It goes to show that children are much more accepting of people of all races, nationalities, and planetary origins than adults. All of the adults wanted to abduct and destroy klaatu, even though he didn’t harm anyone.

While I understand the fear of the unknown, Klaatu was being a pretty cool guy, going along with all of the governments requests of him, but they didn’t even try to meet them halfway. I also thought that the use of an EMP was so far ahead of its time, and is easily the scariest weapon, because it would literally destroy civilization, especially now in 2017. Top to bottom this was a great film, and I’m glad I saw it for this class because I probably wouldn’t have otherwise

It was a very good film because it teaches us what the world went through during the Cold War, science fiction-style. Not only that, it features many different symbols, including Klaatu, who represents a higher, more advanced power because he warns the countries of what would happen if they continued fighting. This film also had religious overtones, such as a Messiah coming to Earth to save humanity.