New Science Fiction Movie Course to Blast Off in January at La Verne

Beyond robots, Millennium Falcons and ray guns, University of La Verne Senior Adjunct Instructor Scott Essman hopes to show students what lies beneath the dystopian terrain of science fiction movies.

The Hollywood documentary producer and writer, who has rolled out movie appreciation courses the last several years, will teach “2016: A Sci-Fi Odyssey – A Critical Appreciation of Classic Sci-Fi Cinema” for January 2016 Interterm at La Verne.

“I think they basically will be able to understand how these films are reflective of our world and how the information about our world is communicated subtly through these fantasy and futuristic realms depicted in the films,” Essman said.

The course is a follow-up to January 2015’s horror cinema class, “Monsters, Magic and the Macabre – A Century of Horror Cinema,” which featured famous guest speakers such as Bela Lugosi Jr., son of the actor who played Dracula in the 1931 film of the same name.

The class gave students a chance to watch classics such as “Phantom of the Opera” and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” while analyzing the films in terms of cinematography, lighting and other elements. The Communications Department deemed the class a success, so Essman was invited to create a new film class for Interterm.

He plans to open the new class with a screening of the 1982 Harrison Ford film “Blade Runner” which is set in 2019 in a world that is overpopulated and over industrialized.

“That movie is a total warning sign of what will happen if we’re not careful,” Essman said.

He also plans to show more obscure sci-fi cinema, including 1962’s “The Creation of the Humanoids,” a low-budget film that explores the concept of humans without emotions.

And following on the heels of December’s release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” students will also view and analyze the 1977 film “Star Wars,” which Essman said was one of the first movies to follow the journey of the classic hero.

Essman hopes to include among his guest speakers Charlie de Lauzirika, the producer for the final cut of “Blade Runner,” who also appeared for Essman’s horror cinema class. He has also invited Steve Austin, considered an expert on “2001: A Space Odyssey.” And Bill Warren, author of numerous books about science fiction, has been invited to speak.

Essman believes bringing his Hollywood experience and contacts to the classroom is important because it adds relevance to his subject.

And La Verne’s location helps too.

“La Verne is 40 minutes from the hub of this industry,” he said. “It’s very close.”