Yes, I had a good weekend thanks. I hope you did too.

The guidance you ask for is, I think, straightforward. Your task is to put together a brief presentation explaining one aspect of the theory you’ve been given to discuss (so, marx on false consciousness; Saussure on meaning,; Althusser on interpolation; Foucault on sexuality). So, part of the presentation should seek to explain this. The recommended method is to take a brief, but pertinent, quotation from the theorist that, for you, sums up the concept and discuss that. In other words, you’re not aiming to explain all of Saussure, Marx, Althusser or Foucault, just one small bit that you select as relevant to the topic you’ve been given. Having done that, the second part is to choose a scene or a brief bit of Avatar to comment on in terms of your explanation of the brief bit of theory. So, for example, you might choose something on normal sexuality from Foucault and a brief bit of a scene where, in this completely re-imagined planet, sex happens exactly the same way as it does on earth (heterosexual couples who enter into monogamy immediately). So, Foucault’s work becomes one way in which the conservative orthodoxy of the film can be read against it’s self stated project of blowing our minds.

Does that make sense?

Get back to me if not.

If you want assessment criteria to guide you – look at the ones we already have. The relevant criteria would be those on structure and argument.

All best

Kate