Film 301/319: American Science Fiction Film

1) Referring to our screening of Ghost in the Shell (1996) and The Terminator (1984), as well as Scott Bukatman's "Terminal Resistance," describe how in both films, the cyborg body functions in relation to: 1) the urban environment 2) gender boundaries 3)human interface with technology (For instance, according to Bukatman, what is the function of the male "armored body" in science-fiction/fantasy films?)

2) According to Donna Haraway ("A Cyborg Manifesto"), what is the cyborg's relation to and challenges it poses to the Western tradition, particularly the "myth of original unity" and dualism (mind/body, male/female, culture/nature)?

Please read this brief chapter from Sean French's discussion of "The Terminator" for next week's class.

Chapter 7: Watching "The Terminator" (link to D2L site - go to Contents, then find Ch. 7 under Week 10)

https://uwm.courses.wisconsin.edu/

Referring to the screening of Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Susan Napier's "Doll Parts: Technology and the Body in Ghost in the Shell," what is the position of the human or physical body in the film (for instance, the mostly human Togusa or the memory-hacked garbage collector)? How does Kusanagi's cyborg body (and its three "falls") become a vehicle for transcendence?

According to Barbara Creed ("'Alien' and the Monstrous-Feminine"), what is the "abject" and how does it secure boundaries between the human and non-human (monstrous) in Alien? What is the "primal scene" and how does Alien as horror/science fiction represent the primal scene for the spectator? According to Creed, why does the spectator derive fear/pleasure from viewing the horror film?