Future Shock Film: Tenet (2020)

In a world where time marches forward...and backward, one protagonist stands between an open future and an open war on the past. John David Washington stars in the mind-bending blockbuster that never was, Tenet (2020). Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Tenet posits a world where the laws of physics both conceal and reveal ways in which the universe might finally unravel as a result of experimentation by humankind. In a race against (but also for) time, can this protagonist come to terms with the new rules at play, or will clandestine forces succeed at sabotaging the status quo?

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 Tenet 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.

Host: 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":
Keith M. Johnston. Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction. Bloomsbury, 2011.

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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Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.