Film Wall-E by Andrew Stanton: answer the three (3) questions below. Make sure you include specific examples from the scenes you have chosen and include at least one (1) direct quote for each answer you provide (OR citations with the timestamp if the scenes you have chosen don’t feature dialogue).
1. When designing the world of Blade Runner, Ridley Scott notes that “my special effect was the world…The big test is saying, draw me a car in 30 years’ time, without it looking like bad science fiction. Or, draw me an electric iron that will be pressing shirts in 20 years without it looking silly. I wanted the world to be futuristic and yet feel — not familiar, because it won’t be — but feel authentic”. How does your film achieve the balance of making the world seem futuristic but at the same time making it authentic for the audience? Or, does it lean towards one aspect more than the other?
2. There are so many tropes that have come to define science fiction (and we’ve seen dozens in the second half of the course) from the attempts at realism (NASA & real physicists, American exceptionalism, the depiction of space) embracing romanticism (exploration, space is danger) and the presence of robots/AI (slave robots! Evil robots! Robots that look like humans!) plus many more. Which trope does your film make the best use of? Or, is it more effective in subverting one of these existing tropes?
3. Finally, sci-fi is full of heroes (or anti-heroes in some cases). How successful is the hero’s journey in the film you have chosen?
Science Fiction & Futuristic
