LITR 4632: Literature of the Future

Student Future-Visions Presentation 2009

Thursday June 11, 2009: Future-vision presentation – Tamatha Beasley  

What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off?

Objectives:

1.     To identify, describe, and criticize three standard narratives or stories humans tell about the future:   Evolutionary

2.     To identify, describe, and criticize typical visions or scenarios of the future

a.      high tech; virtual reality—slick, clean, cool, unreal, easy with power.

b.     low tech; actual reality—rough, messy, hot, real, hungry for power.

c.    utopia - perfectly planned worlds

d.     off-planet and exploring and being explored

Wall-E

Director and writer: Andrew Stanton

Released: 27 June 2008

Summary: After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL•E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.

Questions:

 What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off?

Where would we go? Should we try to come back to earth?