CRAFT & ENCODE present: A Scanner Darkly (2006)
The research groups CRAFT and ENCODE invite you to a screening of Richard Linklater's science fiction film A Scanner Darkly (2006) at Kulturhuset's Lillescenen on Tuesday April 21 at 18:00. Introduction by Zoheb Mashiur (CRAFT & ENCODE). Discussion and q/a after the screening.
In 1977, science fiction author Philip K. Dick got published a novel called A Scanner Darkly. It told the story of an undercover police officer, Bob Arctor, who spies on a collection of drug addicts who live in his home. Arctor uses a sophisticated 'scramble suit' to hide his identity, both from those he surveils and whom he reports to. It's a war against a deadly new drug called Substance D. As Arctor starts to take Substance D as part of his cover, he starts to forget who he really is.
A Scanner Darkly is a heavily autobiographical novel following Dick's own amphetamine addiction and subsequent mental health problems. The science fictional elements are quite secondary to the mapping of what drugs do to people, and what society does to people addicted to drugs. The science fiction is arguaby there because people expected science fiction from Dick, and would not accept such a dark, painful story from him otherwise.
In 2006, Richard Linklater adapted A Scanner Darkly for the big screen. It's notable for its use of rotoscoped animation that detatches us from the real movements and bodies of the actors -- otherwise faithfully rendered. Keanu Reeves plays Bob Arctor, oscillating between vulnerability and drug-induced mania. The film also stars Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, Rory Cochrane, and Robert Downey Jr. in a screen-dominating performance. It's a film that constantly makes us wonder about the nature of reality. Substance D scrambles people's perceptions. The police induce people to lie to and spy on those close to them. The drug industry ruins lives. And the rotoscoping muddles our sense of reality. The film forces us to see, but only darkly, into the American War on Drugs.
The screening is a part of the UiT research groups CRAFT (NFH) and ENCODE's (HSL/ISK) ongoing series Future Perspectives exploring critical future visions. We partner with Verdensteatret to show these films. Due to ongoing revonvations at VT, the screening shall be held at Lillescenen in Kulturhuset.
The film will be introduced by Zoheb Mashiur (CRAFT & ENCODE). There will be a group discussion afterwards, and we invite you to stay in the cinema for a little while after the film ends.