Question 3

Sci-Fi films tend to be set in the near or distant future, and show off some technical development of the future, but Gilliam's Sci-Fi film "Brazil" is set in a more ambiguous time period some time in the 20th century. I feel that the biggest effect that this has on the film is that it makes the film much more relatable and understandable to the audience. Watching a film set in a random time in the future makes the audience feel much more detached from the film, and will make the audience see the film as something that can't really happen in real life. It may also be the director making a comment on society. Films tend to show advancements in technology, but this film shows older technologies instead, such as the use of tubes as a way to send mail, which was old even when the film was made. The director may be commenting on how technology and society as a whole may move backwards in the future instead of progressing. It may also have the effect of making the film future-proof. By making it set in a past-future setting, audiences that watch it in the future will be less likely to pick apart at what advancements actually occurred, and how ridiculous the prediction of the future was, and instead focus more on the message that the film is trying to convey and the story.