Professor Salman Hameed of Hampshire College joins us for an introduction as part of Science on Screen®, presenting creative pairings of current, classic, cult, and documentary films with lively introductions by notable figures from the world of science, technology, and medicine.

When his young daughter's beloved companion—an android named Yang—malfunctions, Jake (Colin Farrell) searches for a way to repair him.

In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife (Jodie Turner-Smith) and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.

Topic: Self Conscious—Memory and Identity in Immigrant Experiences
In the tradition of thoughtful science fiction films, there are many ways to approach AFTER YANG. There is, of course, the question of sentience. However, the movie is directed by acclaimed Korean-American director, Kogonada, and it also explores the role of memory and loss in the construction of immigrant identities. Like Tarkovsky's SOLARIS, AFTER YANG subverts the classic science fiction question, “What makes us human?,” positing if that is even the most interesting question to ask.

Speaker: Salman Hameed
Salman Hameed is Charles Taylor Professor of Integrated Science and Humanities at Hampshire College. His academic training is in astronomy, but for the past fifteen years he has been working in the interdisciplinary area of science, religion and society. He has taught Aliens: Close Encounters of a Multidisciplinary Kind and Darwin and Evolution in the Muslim world, and co-taught Astrobiology: Ethics to Exoplanets with microbiologist Jason Tor and planetary geologist, Darby Dyar. He is also actively engaged in science communication and is the founder of Kainaat Studios that produces astronomy content in Urdu for audience in Pakistan (and broader South Asia). He has a weekly radio segment with Monte Belmonte, and is a monthly guest on The Bill Newman Show on WHMP.

Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Science on Screen is presented with support from HilltownFamilies.org.