Films from the Future

Films from the Future

Author: Andrew Maynard

Publisher: Mango Media Inc.

Published: 2018-11-15

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1633539067

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“Deftly shows how a seemingly frivolous film genre can guide us in shaping tomorrow’s world.” —Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute Artificial intelligence, gene manipulation, cloning, and interplanetary travel are all ideas that seemed like fairy tales but a few years ago. And now their possibilities are very much here. But are we ready to handle these advances? This book, by a physicist and expert on responsible technology development, reveals how science fiction movies can help us think about and prepare for the social consequences of technologies we don’t yet have, but that are coming faster than we imagine. Films from the Future looks at twelve movies that take us on a journey through the worlds of biological and genetic manipulation, human enhancement, cyber technologies, and nanotechnology. Readers will gain a broader understanding of the complex relationship between science and society. The movies mix old and new, and the familiar and unfamiliar, to provide a unique, entertaining, and ultimately transformative take on the power of emerging technologies, and the responsibilities they come with.


Memory and Movies

Memory and Movies

Author: John Seamon

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2024-10-29

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0262553295

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How popular films from Memento to Slumdog Millionaire can help us understand how memory works. In the movie Slumdog Millionaire, the childhood memories of a young game show contestant trigger his correct answers. In Memento, the amnesiac hero uses tattoos as memory aids. In Away from Her, an older woman suffering from dementia no longer remembers who her husband is. These are compelling films that tell affecting stories about the human condition. But what can these movies teach us about memory? In this book, John Seamon shows how examining the treatment of memory in popular movies can shed new light on how human memory works. After explaining that memory is actually a diverse collection of independent systems, Seamon uses examples from movies to offer an accessible, nontechnical description of what science knows about memory function and dysfunction. In a series of lively encounters with numerous popular films, he draws on Life of Pi and Avatar, for example, to explain working memory, used for short-term retention. He describes the process of long-term memory with examples from such films as Cast Away and Groundhog Day; The Return of Martin Guerre, among other movies, informs his account of how we recognize people; the effect of emotion on autobiographical memory is illustrated by The Kite Runner, Titanic, and other films; movies including Born on the Fourth of July and Rachel Getting Married illustrate the complex pain of traumatic memories. Seamon shows us that movies rarely get amnesia right, often using strategically timed blows to the protagonist's head as a way to turn memory off and then on again (as in Desperately Seeking Susan). Finally, he uses movies including On Golden Pond and Amour to describe the memory loss that often accompanies aging, while highlighting effective ways to maintain memory function.


The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

Author: Roger Williams

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2003-10-14

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1411602196

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In a time not far from our own, Lawrence sets out simply to build an artifical intelligence that can pass as human, and finds himself instead with one that can pass as a god. Taking the Three Laws of Robotics literally, Prime Intellect makes every human immortal and provides instantly for every stated human desire. Caroline finds no meaning in this life of purposeless ease, and forgets her emptiness only in moments of violent and profane exhibitionism. At turns shocking and humorous, "Prime Intellect" looks unflinchingly at extremes of human behavior that might emerge when all limits are removed. An international Internet phenomenon, "Prime Intellect" has been downloaded more than 10,000 times since its free release in January 2003. It has been read and discussed in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovenia, South Africa, and other countries. This Lulu edition is your chance to own "Prime Intellect" in conventional book form.


Queen Bees and Wannabes

Queen Bees and Wannabes

Author: Rosalind Wiseman

Publisher: Piatkus Books

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9780749923648

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Written in a down-to-earth style and packed with examples and tips, this is a guide to the secret world of girls' cliques and the roles they play. It analyzes their teasing and gossip and provides advice to enable parents to empower both their daughters and themselves.


How Movies Helped Save My Soul

How Movies Helped Save My Soul

Author: Gareth Higgins

Publisher: Relevant Media Group

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780971457690

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Is there more to going to the movies than just mindless entertainment? Author Gareth Higgins, avid moviegoer and film critic, says there is. How Movies Helped Save My Soul is a guidebook for looking at films and finding hidden spiritual truths. With chapters on fear, God, justice, love, power, and more, Higgins teaches how to make sense of the spiritual by looking at films with a new perspective. From The Matrix to Magnolia, Fight Club to Field of Dreams, Higgins takes the reader through more than 200 films that, if looked at the right way, just might change lives. Movie buffs and novices alike will find much to enjoy, provoke, amuse, challenge and confound in How Movies Helped Save My Soul. Book jacket.


Reading the Movies

Reading the Movies

Author: William V. Costanzo

Publisher:

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13:

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Provides an overview of the film genre and illustrates how traditional textual analysis can be used to understand a film's themes.


Flicker

Flicker

Author: Jeffrey M. Zacks

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0199982872

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How is it that a patch of flickering light on a wall can produce experiences that engage our imaginations and can feel totally real? From the vertigo of a skydive to the emotional charge of an unexpected victory or defeat, movies give us some of our most vivid experiences and most lasting memories. They reshape our emotions and worldviews--but why? In Flicker, Jeff Zacks delves into the history of cinema and the latest research to explain what happens between your ears when you sit down in the theatre and the lights go out. Some of the questions Flicker answers: Why do we flinch when Rocky takes a punch in Sylvester Stallone's movies, duck when the jet careens towards the tower in Airplane, and tap our toes to the dance numbers in Chicago or Moulin Rouge? Why do so many of us cry at the movies? What's the difference between remembering what happened in a movie and what happened in real life--and can we always tell the difference? To answer these questions and more, Flicker gives us an engaging, fast-paced look at what happens in your head when you watch a movie.


In Love with Movies

In Love with Movies

Author: Daniel Talbot

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2022-04-13

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0231554893

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“All that I do is go out and look at films and choose the ones I want to play—films that stimulate, and give some insight into our lives. I hope that people will come, but if they don’t, that’s okay too.” Daniel Talbot changed the way the Upper West Side—and art-house audiences around the world—went to the movies. In Love with Movies is his memoir of a rich life as the impresario of the legendary Manhattan theaters he owned and operated and as a highly influential film distributor. Talbot and his wife, Toby, opened the New Yorker Theater in 1960, cultivating a loyal audience of film buffs and cinephiles. He went on to run several theaters including Lincoln Plaza Cinemas as well as the distribution company New Yorker Films, shaping the sensibilities of generations of moviegoers. The Talbots introduced American audiences to cutting-edge foreign and independent filmmaking, including the French New Wave and New German Cinema. In this lively, personal history of a bygone age of film exhibition, Talbot relates how he discovered and selected films including future classics such as Before the Revolution, Shoah, My Dinner with Andre, and The Marriage of Maria Braun. He reminisces about leading world directors such as Sembène, Godard, Fassbinder, Wenders, Varda, and Kiarostami as well as industry colleagues with whom he made deals on a slip of paper or a handshake. In Love with Movies is an intimate portrait of a tastemaker who was willing to take risks. It not only lays out the nuts and bolts of running a theater but also tells the story of a young cinephile who turned his passion into a vibrant cultural community.


Direct Your Own Damn Movie!

Direct Your Own Damn Movie!

Author: Lloyd Kaufman

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2013-04-26

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1136059342

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The Independent Directing Bible that will fit in your back pocket! (If you have an extremely large pocket ...) Have you always wanted to direct a movie, but don't know how to start? Want to know how to get your first directing job? What do directors even do, anyway? Legendary director Lloyd Kaufman, creator of The Toxic Avenger, reveals 40 years worth of maverick cinematic know-how! Direct Your Own Damn Movie! will be your step-by-step roadmap on the journey through: * Scriptwriting * Pre-production * Casting * Managing your set * Post-production * Distribution Master the art of directing the easy way! There is no better way to become a director than by following the instruction and wisdom of an actual successful film director, not someone who just talks about it. Featuring expert advice from: Eli Roth (Grindhouse, Hostel) Jenna Fischer (LolliLove) Stan Lee (co-writer Spider-Man, Fantastic Four) Ron Jeremy (credits cannot be printed here) Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead, Slither) ... and many more! WARNING! Do not read this book if you suffer from motion sickness, or are about to operate heavy machinery. This book is not for the faint of heart, the good of taste, or those who might be pregnant. * There's more to directing than a cool-looking chair. Renegade director Lloyd Kaufman reveals all! * Includes interviews with a host of luminaries on mistakes and disasters from their early film careers * Learn the ten directing commandments of Lloyd Kaufman, plus the all-important 11th: forget the first 10 and direct your own damn movie!