[act-ma] 1/2014 Films exploring the culture of surveillance in modern society at MIT

[Charlie Welch]

Explore the culture of surveillance in modern society in a series of
brilliant films about surveillance and modernity.  Brief introductions
and after-viewing discussions explore the rise of surveillance in the
framework of shifting media regimes.  Light snacks will be served.

All films are at MIT Building 56-114 near Ames St. near Kendal Sq.
http://whereis.mit.edu/

Minority Report
       Jan/07    Tue     06:00PM-08:30PM     56-114

Futuristic sci-fi film of crime detection in a PreCrime Department (Tom
Cruise) that apprehends criminals before they commit crimes. (2002),
directed by Steven Spielberg (145 min)

M
       Jan/14    Tue     06:00PM-08:30PM     56-114

Pursuit of a compulsive child killer (Peter Lorre) in pre-WWII Berlin in
a growing web of police, neighborhood, and underworld surveillance
practices concludes with an injunction to "keep closer watch over the
children." (1931), directed by Fritz Lang (111 min)

The Lives of Others
       Jan/16    Thu     06:00PM-08:30PM     56-114

East German Stasi officer (Ulrich Muhne) oversees the surveillance of a
state-approved playwright's East Berlin apartment and becomes
emotionally entangled with his subject in a milieu in which everyone
monitors everyone. (2006), directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmark
(138 min)

Rear Window
       Jan/21    Tue     06:00PM-08:30PM     56-114

Professional photographer (James Stewart), incapacitated with an injury,
passes the time monitoring neighbors with binoculars during a summer
heatwave and stumbles on what seems to be a murder scene in a milieu of
suspicious neighbors. (1954), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, (112 min)

The Conversation
       Jan/23    Thu     06:00PM-08:30PM     56-114

Surveillance expert (Gene Hackman) descends into a informational hall of
mirrors, as he misinterprets a conversation and unwittingly sets the
stage for a murder. (1974), directed by Francis Ford Coppola (113 min)

Enemy of the State
       Jan/28    Tue     06:00PM-08:30PM     56-114

Out of control NSA agents engage in political assassination, which is
inadvertently recorded and then followed by a surveillance/counter
surveillance extravaganza that entangles a lawyer (Will Smith) whose
identity and reputation are destroyed. (1998), directed by Tony Scott
(132 min)

We are Legion
       Jan/30    Thu     06:00PM-08:30PM     56-114

Documentary exploration of the hacktavist culture of Anonymous and its
modeling of surveillance and action by the many against organizations
and state-supported institutions. (2012), directed by Brian
Knappenberger (93 min)


This is part of the MIT Independent Activities Period (IAP)
Jim Paradis, Professor of Comparative Media Studies and Writing

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
*
**Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Jim Paradis,jparadis at mit.edu  <http://server1.naffe.net/mailman/listinfo/act-ma_act-ma.org>
*http://student.mit.edu/iap/nc39.html*