Future Shock Film: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

In a world where ecological effects from advanced climate change force key shifts in social conditions, humankind enters a new age forged by the advent of AI companionship. In this episode, our Future Shock season burrows deeper into the frail space between humanity and technology. Hosts Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry examine director Steven Spielberg's 2001 science fiction fable, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. The film tells the story of David (Haley Joel Osment), a mechanized child companion programmed to hold the capacity for human love. What programmed love looks like and how David enacts his love for humans ignites a journey that transcends human constraints while extending the parameter for how cinematic science fiction and fantasy stories get told over time.

Host Garret Castleberry welcomes Scott McMurry into the dystopian discourse that foregrounds the "Future Shock Film" season of Special Topic in Media. he dystopian spaces that haunt not only sci-fi film but also the fears and anxieties of storytellers and their audiences. The pair organize their analysis around genre themes concerning presence versus absence, imitation versus innovation, and make a case for what moments situate A.I. Artificial Intelligence as future shock.

"Future Shock" originated as Season 3 of Special Topics in Media, and the first batch of film conversations comprise a RETRO REWIND mini-series. Following these Retro Rewind film talks, Season 3 will collide with its altered future as we converge with a new season (and NEW university film course!) of future shock analyses.

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended readings to pair with Season 3 "Future Shock Science Fiction Film":

Keith M. Johnston. Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction. Bloomsbury, 2011.

Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.

Laurie Ouellette and Jonathan Gray (Eds.). Keywords for Media Studies. NYU Press, 2017.

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Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.

Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.