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Variety of topics offered. See current listings for updated topic/description. SUMMER 2026 Apocalypse / Utopia: The Cinema of Y2K In their cyberpunk retrospective, Anthology Films Archives and Screen Slate dubbed 1995 “the year the internet broke” in reference to the smattering of pop-culture that brought forth the internet and the world of cybernetics into the mainstream. While 1995 saw the release of landmark cyberpunk films such as Ghost in the Shell, Hackers, and Johnny Mnemonic, the ensuing years leading up to the year 2000 were also part of the cultural zeitgeist known as “Y2K,” an event that heralded the apocalypse, promising that a global failure in computer systems would lead humanity back to the stone age. Since then, however, Y2K has evolved beyond its cyberpunk roots and has now become a catch-all-phrase to reference the cultural movement of the time and its encompassing elements—the rise of reality television on MTV and bubble-gum pop stars such as Britney Spears, the Global War on Terror and its mediatization, the advent of Cool Japan and the rapid advancement in game technologies, and the technological shift in cinema heralded both by George Lucas’ embracing of digital technologies but also the dearth of independent directors who would find new creative powers in the mini d.v. Apocalypse / Utopia: The Visual Culture of Y2K explores how the turn of the millennium shaped aesthetics, media, and technology, beginning with 1995 and ending with 2007—the year which saw the release of the iPod touch, Facebook, and the seventh generation consoles, cultural elements that signaled the beginning of web 3.0. Throughout the semester, we will explore key topics such as Afrofuturism in hip-hop and techno music (The Last Angel of History); Japanese technology and Techno-Orientalism (Ringu); Cyberspace as a queer utopia (Let’s Love Hong Kong); the rise of MMORPGs…