FilmingFilming thethe FutureFuture Essays on Science Fiction Cinema 2012 Inquiry Class Concordia College Edited by Bryan A. Luther Filming the Future: Essays on Science Fiction Cinema Contributors Marisa Habel Solvei Stenslie Tom Dukatz Gabe Wright Allison Rognlie Louis Donald Grabowski Kathryn Erickson Jeremy Learn Jacqueline Jeziorski Zoey Schlemper Edited by Bryan A. Luther Table of Contents Preface 1 Limitless Effects 3 Marisa Habel Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Erasing Memories 17 Solvei Stenslie A.I. :The Lost Lover Boys 31 Zoey Schlemper Aliens and the Vietnam War 47 Allison Rognlie Adjusting Anthropomorphized Angels 61 Jacqueline Jeziorski Racism, Human Growth and Societal Change 75 in District 9 Gabe Wright Coming of Age in Super 8 89 Kathryn Erickson Being Human in Rise of the Planet of the Apes 101 Louis Donald Grabowski Reality, eXistenZ, and a Virtual Community 115 Jeremy Learn A Clockwork Orange: The Irrationality of Force 131 Tom Dukatz Contributors 143 1 Preface These essays were written by students enrolled in Filming the Future, an honors Inquiry class at Concordia College at Moorhead, MN in the Fall of 2012. During the class they viewed science fiction films and explored the critical literature concerning the films. This anthology is the culmination of their work in the class. It was a pleasure working with these students. Their enthu- siasm, insight and thoughtfulness made it a joy to have them in the class. I am proud to present their work to a wider audience in this anthology. Bryan A. Luther, PhD Professor of Physics Concordia College December 2012 2 3 Limitless Effects Marisa Habel Once there was a man who hit rock bottom. He was unem- ployed, single, and without hope. Finally, as if a gift from above, a mystic pill came into his life and turned everything around. He was able to focus and become successful in areas that he knew nothing about. However, during his self-renewing journey, his personality altered, and he was no longer himself. In Neil Bur- ger’s Limitless, the main character goes through a whirlwind of psychological and physiological changes when introduced to the street-drug NZT-48. This particular drug displays similar short term and long term effects to those of legitimately used pharma- ceuticals, such as attention-deficit treatments Adderall® and Rita- lin®. Throughout the movie, Neil Burger uses film methods to portray both the positive and negative effects that NZT-48 has on the main character and illustrates to viewers that the negative ef- fects outweigh the positive. Neil Burger also uses lights, cameras, and special effects to portray the moral message behind the movie, which is the fact that attention-enhancement drugs-from fictional drug NZT to valid drugs Adderall® and Ritalin®-can alter a per- son’s personality, which is not worth the focus and clarity that the drug provides. Limitless is a story about Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper), an out-of-work author who struggles not only with his career but with life in general. When an old family member Vern (Johnny Whitworth) introduces the pill NZT-48 to him, his “brain- power” is enhanced, allowing him to learn new languages, invest in stocks, write a book, and impress many people in the span of a couple of weeks (IMDb). A major controversial topic involving Burger’s Limitless is whether the movie glamorizes or discourages the use of drugs. When Eddie is on NZT, the lights are brighter and the music is faster, which gives the impression that the drug has a positive ef- fect on Eddie’s life. However, when the effects of NZT-48 wear off, the music slows down, and the mood suddenly becomes de- pressed, illustrating that NZT is a dangerous drug and has negative effects. Several scenes in Limitless follow these tactics for por- traying the results of NZT. 4 Scenes that involve Eddie consuming the supposedly FDA approved pill NZT-48 are fast paced and bright, illustrating the character’s new sense of clarity. The scene in which Cooper’s character Eddie first ingests NZT is the perfect example of how essential camera and lighting can be when setting the mood of a particular part in a movie. The scene begins with Eddie returning home recently after his girlfriend terminated their relationship. Disconcerted with where his life was ending up, he asked himself “how much worse could it get?” He took the pill with the mind- set that his life could not get any worse, and he continued on his way home to his run-down apartment (Limitless). During this part of the scene, the lighting is dull, making almost every object in the scene colored grey. This sets a depress- ing mood, which correlates with the main character’s situation at that point. To make matters worse, Eddie meets his landlord’s wife on his way to the apartment. The wife begins to yell at Eddie for his inability to pay the rent, which was already at a reasonable price. The wife’s face is blurred, and the surrounding areas in her face are clear, giving the impression that Eddie is more focused on the walls than their discussion (Limitless). Irritated by the unpleasant meeting with the wife and begin- ning to feel the effects of NZT, Eddie looks down the stairs that he was just on, and sees himself walking up them again, except this time, he is looking right at himself. At this moment in the film, Eddie is not really in two places at once, but Director Neil Burger uses this to explain how Eddie is having an “out-of-body” experi- ence. The camera then zoomed in on Eddie. There was a flash of light, and then an image of a brain appeared with electrical shocks flowing through the veins, illustrating how the drug had taken full effect on Eddie. Special effects were essential for this scene be- cause they gave the audience a better understanding of the effects NZT-48 had on Eddie’s brain and body. The camera zoomed out and the lighting changes to a brighter setting, and everything in the apartment hallway soon glows. Eddie’s narrative voiceover says, “I was blind, but now I see,” mimicking the religious epiphany as portrayed in the song “Amazing Grace.” This statement, along with the lighting change, helps the audience assimilate the concept of how Eddie is more focused and alert after the consumption of NZT (Limitless). The effects that this pill had on Eddie in some ways are similar to the effects that attention-enhancement drugs such as 5 Adderall® and Ritalin® have on users. These pills give people, who do not have a physician’s prescription, a sense of clarity and focus, although not in such an extreme way as fictional NZT-48. During the realization of how much of an effect this pill has, Eddie noticed that the landlord’s wife was still pestering him about the rent. The camera focuses on parts of the wife’s face, having close ups of her mouth, eyes, and beads of sweat on her hairline. Eddie accidentally bumps into her bike and the wheel begins to turn slowly. The sound of the wheel overpowers the sound of the wife’s arguments. Eddie notices a lamp in the hallway brighten and the corner of a book in the wife’s bag. The clear focus on the beads of sweat, the lamp, the sounds of the bike wheel, and the corner of the book highlight how attentive Eddie’s perception of the situation is. Music also plays a key role in portraying the sudden mood change of Eddie and the scene. While Eddie was walking home, the song “Lonely Blue Boy” by Conway Twitty was playing. The song has lyrics such as “love never came my way,” and “remem- ber that lonely, lonely, Blue Boy is my name.” The song is mel- low; not slow enough to be a ballad, but not fast enough to change the mood.” However, the music suddenly changes when Eddie takes the NZT to a song written specifically for the movie, titled “Happy Pills.” This song has a mellow beat to begin with but then builds up to a faster pace, which is associated with the build of fo- cus and energy that Eddie was given after his consumption of NZT (Song Detective). As well as using music as a tool, multiple scenes accommo- date key factors of glamorizing the use of drugs. These particular scenes are the ones in which Eddie is on NZT, and becomes suc- cessful in nearly anything he attempts. The scene immediately following Eddie’s first NZT-48 intake uses special effects to de- pict how naturally Eddie is able to complete tasks. In the com- mentary of the film, director Neil Burger mentions that in this scene, Eddie Morra seems to be having an out-of-body experience. Eddie, after impressing the once-upset wife with his sudden abun- dance of knowledge, returns to his apartment and says, “Whoa, that couldn’t be my home could it? (Limitless)” Then, with his newly-found power of clarity and focus, he begins to clean his apartment. In this process, the film shows multiple “Eddies,” cleaning and sanitizing every aspect of his apartment. When he finally finishes, he sits down on his couch, and says “I wasn’t 6 high, I wasn’t wired, just clear.” With the lights glowing and the music upbeat, the illusion of the positive benefits of drugs domi- nates. He is able to clean his apartment in the amount of time and effort it would have taken ten people to do.