ARCH 7036-001  -  ARCH 5051-001

Hollywood and the Future: seminar 

Fall 2022

 

Class Time:          TU/TH, 3:30 pm – 4:50 pm

Instructor:            Professor Udo Greinacher

Class Room:        ARONOFF 5405

Course Credits:  3 Credit Hours

Contact:                udo.greinacher@uc.edu

Office Hours:       by appointment

 

 

COURSE OVERVIEW

Good science fiction presents a fully realized, multidimensional vision, including the technological and scientific, and the psychological, cultural, moral, social, and environmental dimensions of future human existence. Translated into film, this vision comes to life and helps us suspend our disbelief through well-designed environments, buildings, gadgets, and spaces. On the other hand, future scenarios narrow the focus and present hypothetical futures that emphasize one main driver, such as artificial intelligence, famine, or the end of oil, just to name a few. A good scenario describes a possible future, not necessarily a likely one; sci-fi films are thus a perfect source of inspiration.

 

Weeks 1-5: We will watch and analyze numerous sci-fi movies, extract their underlying scenario structure (global warming » polar caps melt » famine » tribalization = WaterWorld), speculate on its root causes, and catalog the novel inventions that come with a specific future. We will examine scenery and props and the many factors that create this artificial future. 

 

Weeks 6-10: In the second part of the semester, we will return to the root causes, and entertain possible alternative futures. Using traditional foresight tools, we look at social, technological, economic, environmental, and political elements that might lead to a different outcome. We will discuss numerous possibilities and, finally, develop our own story.  

 

Weeks 11-15: During the last part of the semester, you will develop your own future scenario and create a storyboard. The final work should be a media presentation of no more than 5 minutes to introduce your future world to a wider audience.

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will gain an understanding of the relationship between science fiction [film] and future scenarios [strategic planning]. They will be introduced to and practice the tools and techniques used in future forecasting, and be able to apply them in the development of an alternative future.

 

FORMAT

At this time the course will be in person only. You are expected to watch 1-2 feature films or create short presentations or screen-writing samples per class period as homework.

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