Midterm Exam
The in-class part of the exam, consisting of a 30 minute writing exercise based on a specific scene, will take place in class on 10/23.
Please make sure you look at the instructions and advice included in the special handout:
Here are the topics and instructions for the take-home midterm exam. Your answers, two essays of 2-3 pages each, are due in class on 10/23.
The take-home part of the midterm exam is designed to check your coverage of the materials discussed in class, but also allow you to follow your own approach in relation to the films and readings.
Please select two of the following four questions.
For each of the questions, please write a 2-3 page essay responding to the issues and directions required by the question. You should use specific examples from at least 2 films included in the syllabus. This means both the films we have discussed extensively in class, and the secondary films that we did not discuss in detail. You should also try to involve the assigned readings, and this includes both the short stories and the theoretical materials.
Your essay answers are due back in class on Monday 10/23. Please remember to attach this sheet to your answers.
Choose only two of the following questions.
1. In two of the films we have seen, discuss the representation of control rooms or observation rooms. How are computers represented in these spaces? What is the interaction between the scientists or observers and the computers they use? How does this interaction affect our understanding of these films?
2. Using examples from least two films, discuss how computer space is represented. What are the metaphors and visual registers used to represent what happens inside a computer? Does that space acquire a sense of architecture, or an identity at some point, and how is that shown? Make sure that you focus on specific scenes, and that you provide visual information and a close reading of the scenes in your answer.
3. Using examples from least two films, discuss the visual representation of artificial people. How do questions of race, gender, or class affect the representation of these constructed beings? How are they visually represented? What is their relationship to their bodies, and to the process of embodiment? Make sure you give specific visual information and examples in your answer.
4. In two of the films we have seen in this class, discuss the representation of landscape in relation to technology.
Make sure that you focus on specific scenes, and that you provide visual information and a close reading of the scenes in your answer.
Even though your are working at home, this is an exam. There will be no extensions, no make-up sessions and no excuses. If you have a time conflict for any reason, please work early, and make arrangements with me to hand in your exam before class. If you cannot come to class, you can put your completed exam in my mailbox in the Film Department office before 4 p.m. on Monday 10/23. I will not accept late exams!
Take-Home Midterm exam
Choose ONE of the following dimensions of this topic:
urban spaces
political spaces
interior spaces
public spaces
Your essays should be typed and printed. Make sure your name appears on the first page. Also, make sure that you proofread your responses, and check for typos and grammatical errors.
Contact the instructor: dk2244@yahoo.com