MAKING�CONTACT

Presents:

The Class of 1985

EXTRA CREDIT

TYLER

Strange Harvest (2025)

K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025)

Demon Zine Shinjuku

Weapons (2025)

ORRIN

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What constitutes plagiarism?

GIVEAWAY #1

Class of 1985

• Though most heavily associated with slasher films, the ‘80s saw a boom in horror of all kinds, as can be seen by the… wide array of different types of horror films hitting cinemas in 1985.
• Driven partly by the massive success of both Jaws and Star Wars, the ‘80s also saw the rise of the modern blockbuster. So, yes, you can indirectly blame all these Marvel movies on the 1980s.
• Other notable horror films of 1985: Return of the Living Dead, Fright Night, Ghoulies, Phenomena, Day of the Dead, House, Lifeforce, The Stuff, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Demons.

ROLAND EMMERICH

1992

1998

1994

2004

1996

2022

Universal

Soldier

Stargate

Independence Day

Godzilla

The Day After Tomorrow

Moonfall

“I want to make entertaining movies for a broad audience. Germany needs a film industry again. Making ‘artsy’ movies may be nice for the ego, but it will not feed an industry. Entertaining the masses is the foundation, and that has been neglected here for a long time. People like Spielberg and Lucas are showing the way. Why shouldn’t we go in the same direction? We can do it too, and we can do it cheaper.”

​

• Roland Emmerich, Cinefantastique, 1986

TAKE A DRINK

Whenever Making Contact rips off or references a movie by Steven Spielberg or George Lucas.

​

*The hosts of the Horror Pod Class are not responsible for alcohol poisoning experienced as a result of this drinking game.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is often misunderstood, in part because it is both a legal and a theoretical concept. Laws regarding plagiarism vary by region and circumstance, but for the most part, plagiarism is defined as reproducing someone else’s work and claiming it as your own.

There are various exceptions to plagiarism law, with the most commonly cited being fair use doctrine, which allows use of copyrighted material under a variety of conditions, all reliant on the determination of a judge.

In practice, the definition of plagiarism is what you can get away with, since any claims of plagiarism have to go before the court to be enforced.

​

CEASE & DESIST

Some films have been hit with cease-and-desist orders due to plagiarism allegations, including The Last Shark (1981) and Beyond the Door (1984). Others have been accused but not always gone to court, including The Lion King (1994), Terminator (1984), The Blob (1958), and Together (2025).

​

In one notorious example, Bram Stoker’s widow sued Nosferatu (1922) over copyright infringement and received a court order that all copies be destroyed, nearly resulting in it becoming a lost film.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

COPYRIGHT

TRADEMARK

Copyright Act of 1957. Copyright protects the original work, but you cannot copyright ideas or titles, only the work itself.

Trademark Act of 1999. Trademarks protect things that couldn’t be copyrighted, including brand names, slogans, logos, business names, even colors.

Patent Act of 1970. A patent has higher scrutiny than other kinds of intellectual property law, and has to prove itself to be sufficiently unique or novel in order to be awarded a patent.

PATENT

VERDICT?

So, is Making Contact an example of plagiarism? Almost certainly not. While it may swipe ideas and shots from a range of Spielberg movies, it mixes and matches them into something too distinct to fit the legal definition.

​

That said, product placement usually requires certain agreements to be made, which Emmerich almost definitely didn’t do, and they might

be in trouble over

Vader showing up.

GIVEAWAY #2

FOUR CORNERS

TYLER

Ghost Chase (1987)

Cameron’s Closet (1988)

Midnight Special (2016)

Poltergeist (1982)

ORRIN

TYLER

ORRIN

Next Month

Presents

The Class

of 1995

SPECIES

Sept 24 / 7pm / FREE