Lecture

Masculinity and Technology in American Cinema

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

HUM-233: Film history and theory

CINEMA JAPONAIS, IMAGINAIRES DU DESASTRE : Ce cours vise à proposer une histoire du cinéma au prisme du cinéma japonais, et de différentes approches critiques et théoriques en lien avec la production de représentations du désastre. ...

Description

This lecture explores the incorporation of new electronic technologies in the American film industry, as well as the symbolic representation of these technologies and their impact on contemporary experiences. It delves into the evolution of masculinity in cinema from 1968 to 2014, analyzing iconic films like '2001: A Space Odyssey', 'Star Wars', 'Blade Runner', 'The Matrix', and 'Avatar'. The course also examines the intersection of gender, technology, and societal changes in cinematic narratives, offering critical insights into the portrayal of masculinity in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe. Star Wars is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The film is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthetic humans known as replicants are bio-engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on space colonies.

Hegemonic masculinity

In gender studies, hegemonic masculinity is part of R. W. Connell's gender order theory, which recognizes multiple masculinities that vary across time, society, culture, and the individual. Hegemonic masculinity is defined as a practice that legitimizes men's dominant position in society and justifies the subordination of the common male population and women, and other marginalized ways of being a man. Conceptually, hegemonic masculinity proposes to explain how and why men maintain dominant social roles over women, and other gender identities, which are perceived as "feminine" in a given society.

Science fiction

Science fiction (sometimes shortened to SF or sci-fi) is a genre of speculative fiction, which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers.

The Matrix

The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano, and depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside the Matrix, a simulated reality that intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source.

Related lectures (64)

Discrete Symmetries: Asymptotic States and S-matrix

Covers the concept of discrete symmetries, focusing on the introduction to asymptotic states and S-matrix.

The Evolution of James Bond: A Technological Masculinity Analysis

Analyzes the evolution of masculinity in cinema through the lens of James Bond's technological adaptability and urban prowess.

Cyberpunk Aesthetics

Explores the emergence of cyberpunk in the 1980s and its societal critiques.

Analyzing Masculinity in American Cinema

Explores masculinity in American cinema, focusing on gender, power dynamics, and hegemonic masculinity.

The Post-Industrial Hero: 1968-1987