Aliens on Screen

Aliens On Screen: Cosmopolitics and
Extraterrestrials in Sci-Fi Cinema.


Aliens loom large on the horizon of our
imagination. In culture, aliens manifest in
multimedial forms: TV shows, video games, comic
books, literature, and of course films. Although
aliens seem as common and as regular a presence as
the celestial bodies of the Solar System, they
still inspire a sense of awe and mystery like few
other figures in popular culture. Whether imbued
with a sense of cosmic horror, or representing a
chance for earthlings to leapfrog as a species,
the trajectories that aliens follow onscreen tend
to gravitate towards an amplified field of human
passions and emotions.


This class proposes a critical reflection on what
aliens onscreen represent for the present, past,
and future of the human species. Following
philosopher Peter Szendy's notion of
cosmopolitics, we will unravel the convoluted
relations that weave together extraterrestrials
and the ontology of the human condition, as
depicted in these movies, while further
complicating them beyond national, global, and
geocentric narratives.


From the humanoid-insect-like Selenite in Georges
Méliès A Trip to the Moon (1902), all the way to
the multi-species populated galaxy portrayed in
Men in Black: International (2019), aliens perform
a critical role in shaping humanity's attitudes
towards its place in the universe. Most often
these films convey incisive questions about
personal identity; shine sharp critiques on power
dynamics; and shape the ways in which to envision
possible forms of social organization.


This class will do a concise but thorough revision
of some of the most influential films in the
history of this sub-genre, while paying close
attention to lesser known productions from the
transnational arena. Come join the flight onto a
cinematic exploration out-of-this-world!