Post on 01-May-2019
AbstractStephen O’ Brien
Irradiated Overgrowth: Connecting Real Fallout Timelines with Post-Apocalyptic Films and
Games
Using the timelines of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl and Fukushima, such as Webster et al’s
article “Where the Wild Things Are,” we can raise questions about the videogame worlds of
Fallout, Metro, and films such as Mad Max, concerning the level of devastation that resulted in
the wasteland of a flora and fauna deprived world. In Chernobyl and Fukushima, both locations
were exposed to high amounts of radiation, more than that of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic
bombs. After thirty years Chernobyl is still humanly uninhabitable, while Hiroshima and
Nagasaki were livable after only a month. We can compare these timelines with the rural
landscapes of these games and films. These timelines also reveal an interesting difference to the
changes in city landscapes, between reality and the narratives.
Michelle Scrogham
Beatin’ into Submission: Trauma Bonding in The Dark Tower and The Walking Dead
Patrick Carnes, in his book The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitive
Relationships, discusses the term trauma bonding which we can see in such films as The Dark
Tower and The Walking Dead. Trauma Bonding describes how one can be ensnared by the
manipulation of others. In these abusive situations, the abuser exploits trust or power to achieve
his or her goal. The abuser creates a reality where the victim is unable to break the bondage, and
at times even feels obligated to the abuser. In The Dark Tower book series, trauma bonding
occurs on a wide scale in the town Calla Bryn Sturgis; the Wolves from Thunderclap cull half of
the twins to harvest portions of their brains, then return them “roont.” The townspeople allow
this culling due to the belief that without such abuse the whole town and people would perish.
Trauma Bonding occurs in The Walking Dead when Carol stayed with her abusive husband and
on a wider scale when the Governor’s lieutenants in Woodbury stayed loyal to him, despite
knowing he was a sociopath. They felt secure in their position, and that security outweighed any
abuse.
Julia H. Abstract
This Cat’s Got Claws: The Black Panther and BLM Movement
T’Challa (Black Panther) and Wakanda’s history can be connected to the current Black
Lives Matter (BLM) movement with through the movement origin and the movement fight for
self-identity. Black Lives Matter is about many African Americans expressing their concerns
with how they are being treated in the world today, especially with law enforcement with
numbers of shooting. In the comic, a White nationalist (Neo-Nazi) named Ulysses Klaw killed
T’Challa wife for Vibranium after that event the citizen of Wakanda began to feel that their
sovereignty was threatened by outside powers. This event correlates with the death of Trayvon
Martin in 2012, and how many Black communities felt threatened by police brutality (outside
powers) causing the formation of BLM. The BLM movement wants more African American
representation in positions of power to protect their rights just as T’Challa wants more people in
his country to have power to make needful decisions. Many countries in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe want to change the Panther’s set of ideals used in Wakanda and alter his diplomatic
mission.
Rabecca Connors
Barbie meets Fiona: Conflicting Discourses of Beauty in Sci-fi Films
Foucauldian discourse analysis allows us to analyze the current changes in a discourse of beauty,
from superficial beauty to inner beauty, in Sci-Fi and Fantasy films. Michel Foucault focuses on
his concept of how power relationships in society are expressed through language and practices.
Foucault states that people use language to express their dominance and request obedience as
well as respect. Within movies from the early centuries to now, movies have a distinct difference
in how beauty was discussed. Superficial beauty occurs with Ava in Ex Machina and Pris in
Blade Runner. In contrast, Drax in Guardian of the Galaxy 2 talks about his deceased wife not
having any rhythm and one might assume she was dead in his village, yet he loved her
immediately, for this characteristic was inside her. Another inner beauty is seen in The 5th
Element; Plavalaguna sings so beautifully, the crowd becomes overly emotional. With over 15
sci-fi films in 2018, we may better see how inner beauty continues to outshine the superficial
beauty and how these discourses will still conflict with each other.
Grace Harper
More Clichés Than You Can Shake a Stick at: Analyzing the Tree-like Mimetic and Inimitable
Aspects of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Films
Stemming from Ian Jarvie’s book Philosophy of the Film, each film can be inimitable and
unique, much like trees; the theory of mimetic faculty asserts that there are many similarities in
every tree, but each one has a unique quality that makes each one one-of-a-kind. Philosophers
such as Aristotle, Plato, and Walter Benjamin have defined mimesis in different ways, ranging
from being used as the imitation of nature, or as a way to explain social behaviors in our daily
lives. Mimesis is used to portray the representation of nature and the similarities in aesthetic
qualities when imitated, but the intricacy and chaotic characteristics makes each tree unique. If
we consider films to be like trees, having any number of inimitable qualities and characteristics,
the way we categorize films based on general standards will change. Rather than focusing on if
films fits those general standards, we would focus on if a film brings any new ideas which set
that film aside from other similar films. Instead of cramming new films into a genre, those films
would be defined by the uniqueness in how they differ from films with similar themes. Films
would be classified as good or bad not by general standards, but by their originality. When we
begin to think of films in this way, we’ll start to see the beauty in their differences.
Xeona V.
It’s Alive!!: The various representations of A.I. in Sci-Fi films
Modern Science fiction seems to question where the development of A.I. can go within
human development. A.I. is featured in various Sci-Fi movies, such as The Matrix, Blade-
Runner, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (film), Terminator, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy. In The Matrix, the Agents (the A.I. in the franchise) create a false utopia, the digital
matrix world, for the humans, to use the humans’ physical bodies as a power source. In Blade
Runner, the replicants (the A.I. in this franchise) are enhanced copies of humans that were
created by the Tyrell corporation. In the film A.I., David and Teddy (both A.I. robots) follows a
similar storyline as Pinocchio. In The Terminator, the A.I. robot is created specifically for
military purposes. In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the A.I. prototype was created for
the purpose of serving the captain. A.I. is portrayed in many different ways in popular Sci-Fi
films, and there will be plenty of opportunities to investigate A.I. in future films, such as the
Origins Unknown in 2018.
Lindy Dey
Cracks in the Story: Post-apocalyptic Verisimilitude of Nature in “The Last of Us” and
“Shannara”
Using Alan Weisman book, The World Without Us, we can use his progression of nature
reclaiming the earth to interrogate the verisimilitude within post-apocalyptic games and movies,
such as “The Last of Us” and “The Shannara” series. Weisman analyzes how long human
civilization takes to decay, urban areas to transform back to nature, and city infrastructure to
deteriorate into oblivion. The creators of “The Last of Us” used Weisman’s book in order to
design the cities in the game in order to maintain verisimilitude. However, other stories break
their own verisimilitude. For instance, “The Shannara” series, set around 3000 years in the
future, shows a rusted playground set which at that point in reality would have been disintegrated
going against its own verisimilitude. By using a sense of verisimilitude, we can reassess how we
analyzes ecology in post-apocalyptic narratives.
Jim Jones
“We Survive This by Pulling Together, Not Apart”: Altruism in Real Catastrophes and in Post-
Apocalyptic Narratives
Strong Altruism as described by Fletcher and Zwick can be witnessed in post-apocalyptic
narratives, such as in The Walking Dead franchise and in real life disasters, such as the recent
Hurricanes devastating Florida and Texas. Altruism is a characteristic or trait that a person or
animal presents that shows the need to protect the group while putting themselves in danger in
the process. Psychologist have multiple theories on the types of altruistic behavior that humans
show; these theories range from the sympathy for those in need to pathological altruism. From
the altruism of Herschel and Travis to the pathological altruism of Shane and Daniel, The
Walking Dead and Fear of the Walking Dead provide many case studies across the altruism
spectrum. Involved in rescue efforts in Texas and Florida, I’ve seen first-hand real-life altruistic
behavior, and its opposite, during catastrophes. Many altruistic people risked their lives to save
people and families stranded in their homes due to flood waters and debris. Truth, though, as it
turns out, is kinder than fiction.
Christian Santana
“Prepare for Light speed”. Comparing Real Hypothetical Interstellar Propulsive Technology with
That of Science Fiction.
This research compares Science Fictional interstellar propulsion with real and
hypothetical Interstellar Propulsion, such as Rademaker and White’s Alcubierre Drive.
Interstellar Propulsion is the technology used to travel to other solar systems within our galaxy.
In the film Interstellar, space travel is made possible by sending a spacecraft through a wormhole
that ends in another galaxy or solar system. In the film The Martian, NASA sends astronauts to
Mars, and back, in with an ion drive, which travels much faster than current propulsion systems.
NASA’s very real, but still hypothetical, technology called The Alcubierre Drive uses “exotic
matter” as fuel to create a warp bubble to travel faster than the speed of light. Einstein's theory of
general relativity suggests that wormholes are possible; such exotic voyages may very likely be
our future.
Mike C.
The Joker Effect: Fetishizing Fear and What IT Means
The purpose of this paper is to explore why we fetishize over certain images or symbols
such as clowns. Is there a specific age where we are more susceptible to creating a lifelong
fetish? This paper will explore the film IT by Stephen King with concepts from developmental
psychology and adult fetishizing fear. The original film mentions that the children perceive
Pennywise the clown in whatever form they most fear. So for one child he sees the clown as a
werewolf because that’s what he fears the most and another child sees IT as his father whom had
died. However, the entity IT is almost always in clown form, suggesting this form is either what
people fear the most or are least afraid of. In the past few years, stories have circulated on the
internet about people dressing as clowns and standing alongside a dark highway or parking
garage, which raises the questions of why people enjoy dress up as clowns, and whether or not
it’s just about scaring others. For me, the allure has always been about the clown as a person and
the lack of obvious emotional expression. Sometimes, in many of our lives we hold onto a
moment-- forever, like IT clawing its way up and out of our subconscious.
Dr. Jones
A Federation Free-Lunch in /and Mega City One: Universal Basic Income in Judge Dred and
Star Trek.
Universal Basic Income (UBI), a concept offered in the writings of Thomas Paine,
mentioned in remarks by Martin Luther King, Jr., and discussed among current futurology
thinkers such as Elon Musk and Richard Branson, has a central role in the economics and social
structure of Star Trek’s Federation and Judge Dred’ s Mega City One. The concept of Universal
Basic Income concerns giving every person (regardless of financial status) a specified amount of
income per year. The current concept of UBI centers on offsetting the soon-to-be massive layoffs
and unemployment in a variety of industries due to automation and Artificial Intelligence.
Various Sci-fi narratives offer us ways of interrogating our real world future, from the utopian
version in Star Trek (where people pursue higher ideals of accomplishments and contributions to
others) to the dystopic civilization in Judge Dred’s Mega City (where people with too much free
time turn to crime and prankster lifestyles). This entire project raises significant questions about
the undergirding ideology sustaining our world today: what motivates people now and how will
that change in a UBI system, in what ways in a UBI system will people pursue either facile
fascination or elevated erudition, who are we when capitalist production and work ethic are not
the driving force for education and living. Discussions of UBI have grown significantly in the
last year, and we need more of that discussion in Sci-Fi narratives.
Matt Hudson
My Research has Jets: Exploring Barthes’ Enigmas and Fan Based Exaltation within Star Wars,
DC Comics, and Television
Some tertiary characters, such as Boba Fett, being unintentional enigmas, capture and
enthrall the imaginations of fans. An enigma, according to Roland Barthes S/Z, refers to any
element in a story that is not explained and, therefore, exists as an enigma for the reader, raising
questions that demand explication, such as TR-8R from The Force Awakens. Disney tried to
make Captain Phasm the new Boba Fett, but fans chose TR-8R. These unintentional enigmas are
not confined to just movies or the Star Wars Franchise: Harley Quinn in the DCU, Maude from
All in the Family, and even the Fonz from Happy Days. Building on Barthes idea, we can see
how these enigmas were unintentional; they were never meant to enthrall the audience. We could
argue that fans seek to resolve the enigmas on their own; however, many of these characters
(listed above) breached the confines of their stories to find lives in fandom, in another form of
text that lies somewhere between Barthes Readerly and Writerly text.
Chris Ruppert
WoW, what a great resume?: Leadership Qualities in World of Warcraft
In 2017, Elizabeth Short from the Missouri University of Science and Technology showed a
significant correlation between gaming in World of Warcraft and the big five traits desired by the
corporate world: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.
However, negative preconception in regards to players of massive multiplayer online role
playing games such as World of Warcraft cause hiring managers to ignore these personality
traits. World of Warcraft players learn these skills while working together as teams to defeat in-
game challenges. Extraversion and agreeableness are found in employees that build positive
professional relationships as they show interest in other people. Openness suggests creativity and
better achievement while training. Conscientious employees develop skills in leadership as well
as efficiency. Neuroticism ties in with poor job satisfaction and negativity. We need a broader
and more vigorous public discussion concerning the worth of adding gaming skills to resumes.
Justin Sachariason
VR> IRL ;)?... Nope OMG!: How Ready Player One Forefronts Debord's Spectacle
Ready Player One and Debord’s idea of the Spectacle of Society takes the spectacle of the virtual
world within the film and forgets about the real world the people live in. Virtually created worlds
within VR games create a different version of Guy Debord’s spectacle. Guy Debord’s book,
Spectacle of Society, refers to an image through which we as a society interpret as a relationship
with other people. Virtual reality creates beautiful and immersive worlds that captivate the user
to such a degree that when the headset comes off, the user is left with a world (the real world)
that does not fulfill the relationship made with the virtual world. The spectacle that virtual reality
creates can lead to the destruction of the relationship we have with our own reality. Our reality
has been challenged before the advent of virtual reality with the movie Avatar, released in 2009.
Viewing Avatar created an effect on some of the audience which made some viewers depressed
and, in some extreme cases, suicidal about our current reality because our world did not seem as
beautiful and as full of wonder as the planet Pandora.