With the upcoming screening of Forbidden Planet being hosted by the Film Studies Program and the College of Architecture and the Arts (Thursday 3/30 @ 6:30 on the PCA Roof), we decided to interview David Rifkind, who is the Associate Dean of Student Success in CARTA and an Associate Professor of Architecture.
On March 27, FIU’s School of Computer Information and Sciences and the Department of English co-hosted a public lecture with guest speaker Ted Chiang. Chiang is a critically acclaimed author whose novella “Story of Your Life” was the basis for the 2016 Oscar nominated film Arrival. His lecture, titled “Why the Brain is Not a Computer”, focused on the common misconceptions of Folk Biology in the media and how they hurt our ability to tell a narrative. His main focus was the Sci-Fi genre, but he explained how folk biology hinders story structure in general. The lecture provided insight into the methodology that Chiang uses to create stories.
Continue reading “Arrival” Author Ted Chiang Talks Folk Biology
In a momentous occasion, Moonlight came out on top at the 89th Academy Awards. Despite Hollywood’s checkered history around race, religion, and sexuality, the film that was made on a shoestring budget managed to take home three awards on Sunday night. The Academy Awards opened and closed the ceremony with Moonlight winning an award. The film taking home the biggest prize of the night, Best Picture, marks a huge step forward for the Academy. A coming of age film about gay man of color living in Liberty City, not about slavery or the civil rights movement, has expanded the Academy’s recognition of black filmmaking beyond confining storylines or stereotypes.
If you’ve seen Marking the Infinite, the Frost Art Museum’s current exhibition of Australian aboriginal women’s art, you might be especially interested in Tanna, one of this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Film. Set on the eponymous south pacific island, Tanna tells the story of two warring tribes who must learn to deal with the repercussions when their young adults decide to disobey their orders. If you have yet to see the Frost exhibit or are thinking about attending the shorts screenings and performances that will close it, this would be a great film to whet your appetite.
Are this year’s Oscars another parade of safe Hollywood self-congratulation or a courageous vote of confidence for under-recognized artists? Well, some of both. The list of nominees was released on January 24th and came with a quite a few surprises. This list of nominations breaks several records, offers several first time nominations, and even cements a comeback story. So, without further ado, here are the highlights of the nominees.
Continue reading Oscars Break Record for Number of Oscar Records Broken