PHASE IV (1974) WITH DR. ABIGAIL COHEN

Dir. Saul Bass, 84min, 1974

In our second Science on Screen event, ants finally get their due. Scientists Ernest Hubbs and James Lesko are studying changes in ants following a mysterious solar event. When the ants begin to attack wildlife and humans, Hubbs and Lesko realize the entire human race are at a disadvantage. PHASE IV somehow manges to be both a Mystery Science Theater 3K classic and a stunning work by one of the most iconic designers in cinema, Saul Bass.

PHASE IV will be followed by Dr. Abigail Cohen of Michigan State Entomology presenting her lecture, "The PhANTom Menace: Clearing up myrmecological misconceptions." Why are we so obsessed with ants? What is an ant colony, and how does it actually function? Ants loom large in our cultural imagination, but the way they are perceived doesn't always line up with scientific fact. We will discuss how ant colonies communicate and reproduce, and why they have evolved to live socially.

Dr. Abigail Cohen is a research associate at Michigan State University in the Vegetable Entomology lab. Abigail received her Ph.D in Entomology at Washington State University and has worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Calgary. Her research examines how landscape and environment interact to influence the movement and development of pest and beneficial insect populations in agricultural ecosystems.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Stray Cat Film Center, 1662 Broadway Boulevard, Kansas City, United States