discussion Assistance required for a university project

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

Hi everyone, I hope y'all are having a pleasant day thus far.

 

I'm currently enrolled in a module about a history of science fiction media. Next Friday I have to submit an assignment which is supposed to an analysis of any primary source in the realm of science fiction. The only criteria it has to meet is that scientific ideas should inform considerable amounts of the story, though it can be a work of any genre just with a scientific background.

 

I am trying to think of a film or a book (preferably the former) on which I am going to write this analysis, but I can't think of any that I feels like represents me. By 'representing me' I mean something the average ATRL gay would like to write about, so something that is preferably female-led and could even veer off into a campy direction. I initially wanted to write my report about the influence of futurism (an unquestionable part of the science fiction genre) on pop music videos from the early 2000s (think the Fever era music videos by Kylie or Britney's OIDIA), but with the requirement limiting to me films and literature only I feel a little constrained.

 

Any ideas would be appreciated!

[jesus del rey]

I'd focus on Frankestein or anything from Ursula K. LeGuin. Maybe the gender approach in the Left Hand of Darkness can be interesting? You can compare it to the Campbellian sci-fi's depiction of gender. 

[Happylittlepunk]

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. 
 

The strange case of dr. Jekyll and mr. Hyde 

 

i feel like gays can relate to both stories partially focused on science fiction. 
 

if genre didn’t matter I would say you should look up something from 

“Oscar Wilde”

Edited November 8, 2023 by Happylittlepunk

[P.O.P]

I would definitely go with Steven Spielberg's AI and the short story it is based on "Super Toys That Last All Summer Long". Good luck!

[Rotunda]

Ex Machina (2014)

You can also loop in a discussion about how the feminization of AI leads individuals into a false sense of security, as they’re more likely to trust AI featuring female voices.

https://repository.hsrc.ac.za/bitstream/handle/20.500.11910/14956/11027.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

[harwee]

Bridge Of FRankenstein

Metropolis, it has plenty gay subtexts there you can pick apart and analyze.

[DAP]

I’d focus on films analyzed in at least some academic literature to help shape your essay ie early Alien films, Annihilation, definitely Ex Machina, to name a few.

[JohnWayneHolland]

The Shape of Water 

 

 

[Chiidish]

WestWorld all seasons

 

Dolores, Maeve, and Dolores-2.0 absolutely bodied their roles 

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

22 hours ago, jesus del rey said:

I'd focus on Frankestein or anything from Ursula K. LeGuin. Maybe the gender approach in the Left Hand of Darkness can be interesting? You can compare it to the Campbellian sci-fi's depiction of gender. 

21 hours ago, Happylittlepunk said:

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. 
 

The strange case of dr. Jekyll and mr. Hyde 

 

i feel like gays can relate to both stories partially focused on science fiction. 
 

if genre didn’t matter I would say you should look up something from 

“Oscar Wilde”

The Frankenstein book and its 1931 film adaptation are required reading/viewing for this course (the course is literally called 'In Frankenstein's Footsteps: A History of Science Fiction'), so I'm trying to deviate from that and be a little bit more inventive.

 

Because this is a primary source analysis, the task at hand is to examine the usage of science fiction ideas in our source and how those tropes help it fit in with the wider science fiction cannon. Basically it's about looking at what makes our book science fiction   Thank you for the ideas though, I'll keep this in mind for my future essays (especially the Left Hand of Darkness).

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

21 hours ago, P.O.P said:

I would definitely go with Steven Spielberg's AI and the short story it is based on "Super Toys That Last All Summer Long". Good luck!

I really like the thought of covering a short story. I can go through it several times over and extract a lot of information about it quickly. Lemme see if I can find academic literature on it!

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

21 hours ago, Rotunda said:

Ex Machina (2014)

You can also loop in a discussion about how the feminization of AI leads individuals into a false sense of security, as they’re more likely to trust AI featuring female voices.

https://repository.hsrc.ac.za/bitstream/handle/20.500.11910/14956/11027.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

This is a little bit out of the scope of this assignment but it would factor really well into my end of term paper, so I'm really grateful for both the suggestion and the idea you provided 

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

21 hours ago, harwee said:

Bridge Of FRankenstein

Metropolis, it has plenty gay subtexts there you can pick apart and analyze.

Metropolis is something I'm thinking about covering too, I feel like there's been so much literary conversation about it over the past century that there's tons of sources to cite for me and I also think it would be a visual feast to watch.

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

21 hours ago, DAP said:

I’d focus on films analyzed in at least some academic literature to help shape your essay ie early Alien films, Annihilation, definitely Ex Machina, to name a few.

The first Alien film really intrigues me and I'm surprised how little we've talked about it in my module, so this is another great starting point. Thank you!

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

20 hours ago, JohnWayneHolland said:

The Shape of Water 

 

 

I just looked up the summary on Wikipedia and this looks like it would be so much fun to watch and breakdown, I'm almost 95% certain I want to do it. My only gripe is that the Wiki page calls it a romantic fantasy film, so I'm not sure how much science would actually be involved in it. Regardless of that, I think I'm going to watch the film, take notes, and then decide for myself if it's science fiction enough for me to cover. Thank you for this incredible suggestion!

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

19 hours ago, Chiidish said:

WestWorld all seasons

 

Dolores, Maeve, and Dolores-2.0 absolutely bodied their roles 

Sis I can't write about a whole series, that would take too long to watch and research about  Thank you for the suggestion though, I'll put it on my watching list regardless of this project.

[feelslikeadream]

6 minutes ago, ithinkheknowsoutsold said:

I really like the thought of covering a short story. I can go through it several times over and extract a lot of information about it quickly. Lemme see if I can find academic literature on it!

If you're interested in a short story, you could also consider Joanna Russ' "When It Changed." It's a sci-fi story set in a world without men (a nightmare for ATRL ), but the plot kicks off when a hot daddy arrives and disrupts the women-only utopia. There are very interesting things to say about sex and gender, and it's directly queer.

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

On 11/8/2023 at 2:46 PM, jesus del rey said:

I'd focus on Frankestein or anything from Ursula K. LeGuin. Maybe the gender approach in the Left Hand of Darkness can be interesting? You can compare it to the Campbellian sci-fi's depiction of gender. 

Funnily enough, I just got to know today that we're also going to be covering the Left Hand of Darkness in class this week. You have great (academic) taste!

[jesus del rey]

5 hours ago, ithinkheknowsoutsold said:

Funnily enough, I just got to know today that we're also going to be covering the Left Hand of Darkness in class this week. You have great (academic) taste!

Have fun sis! The Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorite books from Ursula. 

[ithinkheknowsoutsold]

Submitted this assignment yesterday at 4:41 am!

 

On 11/8/2023 at 3:17 PM, P.O.P said:

I would definitely go with Steven Spielberg's AI and the short story it is based on "Super Toys That Last All Summer Long". Good luck!

I began writing an essay about Supertoys Last All Summer Long and while I managed to make good progress with it, there just wasn't a lot of supplementary material to cite for it in my essay. No interviews by Brian Aldiss, no reviews later on, and generally not a lot of things to go by. I wrote around 2/3 of an essay on it before deciding I was going to hit a brick wall soon, so I backtracked.

 

On 11/8/2023 at 4:21 PM, JohnWayneHolland said:

The Shape of Water 

 

 

This is what I ended up writing my final essay on. I watched The Shape of Water on Tuesday night, such a brilliant film but I had doubts whether it counted as sci-fi. The day before submission my instructor told me I didn't necessarily have to write it on a sci-fi work, but I have to convince the reader that it actually majorly involves scientific concepts and whatnot, and that made me determined to do The Shape of Water. It took me a while to finish the essay, but I was quite happy with how it turned out.

 

As is usually the case with essays like this, I coming up with several excellent points in my head AFTER I had submitted it so I do a feel little sad now but it is what it is. Hopefully I end up scoring well!