3 Replies to “History of Alien Invasions (Phoebe Silos)”
Phoebe,
Awesome slidecast! Your project was very informative, easy to follow, and super interesting! You very clearly traced the development of aliens in pop culture, and connected that development to current events of that time period. I found it especially interesting how 1952 was a year of noticeable rise in UFO reportings. One element of the movies that you did not discuss in great detail was the repetitive use of the color red on the posters. On almost every single poster you showed, the color red (obviously alluding to the Soviets) was present! While you very clearly described how these alien movies reflected the cultural values of the time, it would have been great to have a more explicit connection to some of the broad themes from class (themes from this unit or themes in general like Kranzberg’s laws). Overall, a great slidecast!
Phoebe, I thought that this topic was so interesting! I never realized the connection between the context of the Cold War and the futuristic portrayals of aliens taking over. All of the images that you used really helped drive home the ideas that alien comics in the 1950s were often in response to American fears of communism and the Soviets. I really liked when you zoomed in the images, it made it a little more interesting to watch. Maybe you could do more animations like that in your future slidecast. Also, I thought that you talked at a great pace, so that it was easy to understand. In addition, I enjoyed that you touched on how gender played a role in these comics. The images you showed were very similar and showed how women were often seen as needing to be rescued by a male hero from the aliens. I also liked how you ended with a the progression of alien visions such as E.T. and movies from today. I don’t really have any suggestions, because you did a great job!
Great job! I liked your varied use of evidence, whether that be movies or figures from the US political history. I also liked how you directly related your pieces of evidence back to your initial argument, it made it easy to follow and doesn’t leave viewers wondering why it’s relevant. Furthermore, I liked how you went into a discussion about gender roles, I never really thought about that before in terms of these kinds of movies or media (especially with a movie so new like Guardians of the Galaxy). Additionally, I liked how you compared the liberal and conservative approaches to the same topic! By putting your slidecast in a chronological order it made it easy to follow. In the future, my only recommendation is to have a conclusion or closing remarks to tie everything together and make your final thoughts on the topic. Overall, great presentation!
Phoebe, please do less. Aesthetically, this was on point; the subtleties you added in made it stand out as unique. All of the images were incredibly relevant and added to the overall flow of the presentation. You did a fantastic job at connecting the societal fear of communism and the Soviet Union to the futuristic portrayals; I found it particularly interesting how flying saucers were symbolizing the spread of communism and the fear Americans held. The discussion of gender rolls was also something that stood out in your slide cast. It provided a different lens to analyze these images through. I’d maybe try to pull in some connections to broader class themes, however other than that, a job well done!
Phoebe,
Awesome slidecast! Your project was very informative, easy to follow, and super interesting! You very clearly traced the development of aliens in pop culture, and connected that development to current events of that time period. I found it especially interesting how 1952 was a year of noticeable rise in UFO reportings. One element of the movies that you did not discuss in great detail was the repetitive use of the color red on the posters. On almost every single poster you showed, the color red (obviously alluding to the Soviets) was present! While you very clearly described how these alien movies reflected the cultural values of the time, it would have been great to have a more explicit connection to some of the broad themes from class (themes from this unit or themes in general like Kranzberg’s laws). Overall, a great slidecast!
-Olivia
Phoebe, I thought that this topic was so interesting! I never realized the connection between the context of the Cold War and the futuristic portrayals of aliens taking over. All of the images that you used really helped drive home the ideas that alien comics in the 1950s were often in response to American fears of communism and the Soviets. I really liked when you zoomed in the images, it made it a little more interesting to watch. Maybe you could do more animations like that in your future slidecast. Also, I thought that you talked at a great pace, so that it was easy to understand. In addition, I enjoyed that you touched on how gender played a role in these comics. The images you showed were very similar and showed how women were often seen as needing to be rescued by a male hero from the aliens. I also liked how you ended with a the progression of alien visions such as E.T. and movies from today. I don’t really have any suggestions, because you did a great job!
Phoebe,
Great job! I liked your varied use of evidence, whether that be movies or figures from the US political history. I also liked how you directly related your pieces of evidence back to your initial argument, it made it easy to follow and doesn’t leave viewers wondering why it’s relevant. Furthermore, I liked how you went into a discussion about gender roles, I never really thought about that before in terms of these kinds of movies or media (especially with a movie so new like Guardians of the Galaxy). Additionally, I liked how you compared the liberal and conservative approaches to the same topic! By putting your slidecast in a chronological order it made it easy to follow. In the future, my only recommendation is to have a conclusion or closing remarks to tie everything together and make your final thoughts on the topic. Overall, great presentation!
Phoebe, please do less. Aesthetically, this was on point; the subtleties you added in made it stand out as unique. All of the images were incredibly relevant and added to the overall flow of the presentation. You did a fantastic job at connecting the societal fear of communism and the Soviet Union to the futuristic portrayals; I found it particularly interesting how flying saucers were symbolizing the spread of communism and the fear Americans held. The discussion of gender rolls was also something that stood out in your slide cast. It provided a different lens to analyze these images through. I’d maybe try to pull in some connections to broader class themes, however other than that, a job well done!