As our course moves into the twentieth century, the theme of dystopia becomes ever stronger.   We have observed throughout this course that the line between utopia and dystopia can be actually quite thin.   We will devote our last week to considering dystopian visions of society in film, television or other forms of mass media.  Towards this end, I will be dividing you into six groups.  Together you will select a movie, television show or other form of media that your group believes reveals some of the most important dystopian themes of our modern age.   You will be making a 15 minute presentation including discussion on your topic.   If you are evaluating a film or TV show, I would encourage you to show a clip for discussion.  An effective presentation will highlight no more than one or two issues and will raise a few related questions for discussion.   You will obviously want to discuss why you selected the form of media on which you are presenting.  Each group will need to prepare a Powerpoint or handout as part of their presentation.
For a list of some of the possible films that could be used see the following websites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dystopian_films

http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/the-top-50-dystopian-movies-of-all-time/

I would encourage you to be as creative and original as possible.  To build a degree of suspense and a modest sense of competition, make sure your group keeps its choice of media a secret.  You will need to clear it with me to ensure that there will be no duplicate presentations.  I’ll be reserving spaces on a first-come, first-served basis.  Simply email me (louthan@ufl.edu) when your group makes a selection.


Student Groups

Group 1: Austin Dailey, Joseph DiBella, Angie Li, Adam Taylor
Minority Report

Group 2: Genevieve Comeau, Matt Dorn, Juan Pablo Lopez, Joe Sullivan
V for Vendetta

Group 3: Pam Carey, Dana Edwards, Rachel MacDonald, Oliver Stewart
Tron

Group 4: Kelly Barber, Josh Grelewicz, Cord Missimer, Richard Schaffer
Equilibrium

Group 5: Tom Anderson, Gabriel Hament, Ashira Morris, Conor Munro, Amanda Schaerer
Clockwork Orange

Group 6: Jose Alvarez, JoJo Houston, Aaron Kalafarski, Alyson Samach 
Blade Runner