Ex Machina

“Kill List” is ripe with subtext upon subtext, with power seesawing rapidly between the siblings, the old guard and the Swedes.

I have been away for just under a week and already feel completely out of touch with my former blasé American culture, but I promise to reach deep within that old part of myself each week and bring forth the best of what it and Berkeley have to offer.

Playing at The Marsh in San Francisco starting Sept. 20, “Bravo 25” explores themes of human interaction and the relationship between people and technology. Written by Gibson herself, the show draws upon her real-life experiences as a therapist and humanitarian worker.

In a widely-ranging discussion of sci-fi texts of the past and present, UC Berkeley lecturer Emily Carpenter and professor Namwali Serpell articulate representations of race and gender, discuss the ways that sci-fi reflects contemporary politics and offer interpretations of popular films.

In spite of its standard concoction of arty inactivity and lizard-brain butchery, “Annihilation” makes an effort to stand out from the sci-fi genre.

Whether you choose to attend concerts all around the Bay, compete in a nerdier Winter Olympics or marvel at aerial stunts, our picks have you covered.

The fear of the future and messing with the “natural order” of things has been inspiration for a whole range of movies, ranging from terrible, Luddite-like fantasies to movies questioning humanity and its relation to science.