CRAFT & ENCODE present: Strange Days (1995)
The research groups CRAFT and ENCODE invite you to a screening of the science fiction film 'Strange Days' (1995), directed by Kathryn Bigelow at Aurora Fokus Kino on Thursday November 26 at 1730.
A cult classic film in the cyberpunk genre, Strange Days is a shocking, visceral exploration of turn-of-the-millenium America. Days before the 'big 2K', a cast of street hustlers in a Los Angeles on the brink of civil war are dealing with the fallout of someone having seen something they should not have.
The new technoloqy, colloquially known as Squids, lets anyone record themselves doing anything, and then let a third party 'jack in' to these experience these things first-hand. An anticipation of VR technologies and mass video upload culture, Squids show the culture of vice that emerges once the technologically reaches the public. It is used to record and experience the thrill of robberies and sexual pleasures. It also captures something that has the capacity to expose the racist edifice of American policing. Is the Squid only voyeurism? Or is it a form of testimony?
Written by James Cameron (Titanic, The Terminator) and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, The Hurt Locker), this is a science fiction story written in the wake of the LA Riots of 1992 after the beating of Rodney King, an Black man, by the Los Angeles Police Department. Commercially unsuccessful during its time, and criticized for its graphic depiction of sexual violence, the film only feels more relevant in 2026 in a world of ubiquitous smart phones, surveillance, Black Lives Matter, and the potential for mass uprising against a broken system. It also happens to be a great film firing on all cylinders. We invite you to watch it with us.
Content warning: sexual assault
The screening of Strange Days is part of the film series 'CRAFT & ENCODE Present...' undertaken by the CRAFT research lab at the NFH and the ENCODE research group at HSL. The films are screened in partnership with Verdensteatret Cinematek. Due to the renovations at Verdensteatret, the screening will take place at Aurora Fokus Kino instead.
The screening will be accompanied by an introduction, and a discussion afterward in the cinema hall led by Zoheb Mashiur (NFH).
Tickets can be purchased through Verdensteatret's website.
The film will not be shown with Norsk subtitles.