Future Shock Film: The Zero Theorem (2013)

In a world where the search for cataclysmic equations unlock universal truths, one dystopian data analyst faces apocalyptic existential crisis. Completing his unofficial dystopian tryptic, famed director Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) posits a dystopian digital future in which corporate monoculture accelerates its convergence with societal digital singularity. The result is 2013's The Zero Theorem, an avante-garde sci-fi that builds upon the controversial director's emphasis on blurring distinctions between reality and fantasy, or in this case hyperreality and existentialist nightmare.   

Host Garret Castleberry welcomes Scott McMurry into the dystopian discourse that foregrounds this "Future Shock Film" season of Special Topic in Media. The dialogic duo explore the dystopian spaces that haunt sci-fi film and the fears and anxieties of storytellers and their audiences. The pair organize their analysis around genre themes concerning presence versus absence, imitation versus innovation, and make a case for what moments situate The Zero Theorem as future shock.

"Future Shock" originated as Season 3 of Special Topics in Media. Season 3 collides with its altered future as we converge into a new season (and NEW university film course!) of future shock analyses.

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended readings to pair with Season 3 "Future Shock Science Fiction Film":

Garret Castleberry. "Future Shock Folk Horror in Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorem"." In Future Folk Horror: Contemporary Anxieties and Possible Futures. Simon Bacon (Ed.). Lexington Books, 2023.

Michael Harris. In Come With Me If You Want to Live: The Future as Foretold in Classic Sci-Fi Films. Roman & Littlefield, 2024.

Alvin Toffler. Future Shock. Ballantine Books, 2022.

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