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I realized from an early age that the images that we see represented in the media matter. Images propel us into experiencing other worlds and lives that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to imagine much less see and participate in. They show us what is possible; when we see ourselves reflected on-screen we open the door to new dreams and opportunities. Whether it’s the movies, TV, internet gifs, or static photos in comics and magazines, images help audiences learn how to relate to ourselves and to each another.

As a PhD candidate in film studies, I have dedicated my career to studying those images: the institutions that create them, the cultures they represent, and the effects they have on the people who see them. The media can help us understand, empathize, and sympathize with others who we’d otherwise have little to no contact with – but it also has the power to corrupt, alienate, and distort those same relationships. In this current moment of propaganda and media-induced hysteria our ability to approach images with a critical eye is imperative. Now more than ever we need to use digital tools to facilitate deeper connections and greater understanding, to reach out to the world and learn.

With seemingly the whole world under quarantine, I wanted to build public outreach and education into the foundation of my spring course. My students and I cannot reach out to one another in the same physical space, but we can connect with each other and with you, the listener, through this shared virtual space.

This term my students will be exploring films that wrestle with global pandemics – ranging from viral outbreaks to zombie apocalypses, alien encounters to massive nuclear wars. For our purposes, we take the word “pandemic” loosely, following its association with pandemonium, as “a place or state of utter confusion and uproar.” We will use film examples of global pandemics to unpack how film visualizes pandemonium, creating an aesthetic of chaos.

Students will work in small groups to create two types of episodes for you this term – contextual analysis episodes and aesthetic analysis episodes. They will use each episode format to discuss their assigned film, offering an examination of how historical context and style work together to explore deeper social and political issues.