SCREEN THOUGHT: Volume 7, December 2023


ARTICLES

Alex D'Aloia: On Da-sein and Doctor Who

Keywords: being, Doctor Who, Da-sein, Heidegger, narrative, phenomenology, time 

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This paper revisits my previous publication On the Future of Narrative by addressing the concept of the future with regard to time-travel tropes and Doctor Who (2005–). It was previously demonstrated that the concept of the past is an uncharacteristically introduced theme within the concept of the future, the germ of which can be traced throughout the many adaptations of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, and derivatives thereof—including, but not limited to, the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) in Doctor Who. The characterisation of The Doctor as a Time Lord, however, blurs the lines between what is past, what is present, and what is future, by challenging the nature of a being in time in which being constitutes an extension, or expression, of this time in being in ways that recall Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time. Indeed,  “If being is to be conceived in terms of time and if the various modes and derivatives of being, in their modifications, and derivations, and in fact to become intelligible through consideration of time,”according to Heidegger, “then being itself—and not only beings that are ‘intime’—is made visible in its ‘temporal {‘zeitlich’} character.” (p. 16). The very characterisation of this character, in turn, calls for a film philosophical interpretation of Doctor Who, as well as a careful re-examination of the relationship between being and time and the future of narrative as both the MacGuffin and The Hero With a Thousand Faces.

Shaun Wilson: Punching Nazis: Deconstructing Fascist Villains in Fantastic Screen Culture from Zombies to Outer Space  

Keywords: Villains, screen nazis, fantastic screen culture, zombies, outer space

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Throughout the mid to late twentieth century, World War Two era Nazi Germany quickly became the centre point of the ultimate cinematic villain. Whether this be historically based or integrated into fictitious stories, depictions of Nazis in cinematic tropes have proliferated antagonist sub-genres pitted against the forces of good. This article will consider these villainous others as a simulacre of historicity in fantastic screen culture to derive an understanding of how screen Nazis manifest an ongoing dialogue in cinematic villainies.


REVIEWS

J. Rosenbaum: Artefact Lost - AI Aesthetics in Video Production

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, aesthetics, screen, video production

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This ideas review will examine AI screen aesthetics in video production through the guise of three AI driven video artefacts.

Chloe Rankin: Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) - Losing Interaction in Film Adaptations

Keywords: Film, YouTube, social media, games, film adaptation

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This film review will examine the film Friday Nights at Freddy's (2023) as a comparative inquiry that examines the role of adaptation through games, social media, and the film artefact


ARTEFACTS

Sue Beyer - Deep Story 3A

Keywords: Video art, AI, metamodernism, affect, autonomous images

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Deep Story 3a, a looped five-minute video made for social media, is narrated by an AI animated version of Sue Beyer employing a computer-generated voice. The video was made using Tokking Heads, an AI face animator app on iPhone, and Deep Story, an online AI script generator. Deep Story 3a is part of We Are Data, an ongoing project exploring what it means to be human through the lens of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data. We Are Data uses physical, digital and virtual mediums that reference data gathered from AI and the internet on the topic of ‘Sue Beyer’. The gathered information, that may or may not be true, joins to create a biography on Beyer, written and told by big data and AI.