Understanding technological metaphors
This 2 page paper is due in class on September 25, 2000. It is designed to start you thinking about technology and visual representation.
With this assignment you are starting your research
about the role of technological metaphors in film, and
their visual representation. This is what you have to do:
1. In one of the films we have seen so far (Virtuosity, Johhny Mnemonic,
Westworld) choose one or more moments in which some
particular technology (or a metaphor for a particular
technology) appears.
2. Think about the balance between technologies and metaphors in the scenes you chose. For example, we talked about how
liquid things are in Virtuosity-- that can be a
beginning: even though the liquid itself is not as
concrete of a technological reference as a computer,
it seems metaphorically related to the whole network
of technologies in the film. Or, if you want to think
about how computers are represented in any of the
films, you have a lot to choose from.
3. Take notes about how
the specific metaphor or technological moment you
choose works, and how it affects our thinking about
technology, and the meaning of the film in general.
4. Organize these notes, and then connect them into an argument about how the technological moment is represented.
5. Remember that the notes themselves are not the paper: the paper is the final 2 pages of your whole thought process.
You can take this paper in many directions: it can be
a visual close reading of a specific scene, or a more
general overview of how technology is represented in
one of the films, with specific examples from the
film. Make sure you center your topic on specific scenes and visual moments in the films.
If this is the first film paper you are writing, please have a look at the Visual Close Reading handout. It may be a good beginning for you to start thinking about the films from a more visual
perspective (how things look, how they are represented
visually) rather than from a narrative
perspective (how the story works, what the characters
are doing). If you have chosen to focus on one scene
from the films, the handout may show you what visual components to look for in order to develop your topic.
This paper is required but ungraded, so feel
free to experiment on your writing style and your academic voice. Please remember to include your name and have a relevant title for your paper. It is due in class on Monday, September 25.
If you have questions about the assignment, please contact the instructor.
Contact the instructor: dk2244@yahoo.com