
The Blob (1958)
Free outdoor 35mm screening in partnership with the Rose Kennedy Greenway! Before the screening of this cult classic of gooey greatness, engineer Dr. Jordan R.M. Kennedy will give a scientific overview of Boston’s Great Molasses Flood.
Rain Date: Thursday, 8/14
ABOUT THE FILM
A cult classic of gooey greatness, The Blob follows the havoc wreaked on a small town by an outer-space monster with neither soul nor vertebrae, with Steve McQueen playing the rebel teen who tries to warn the residents about the jellylike invader. Strong performances and ingenious special effects help The Blob transcend the schlock sci-fi and youth delinquency genres from which it originates. Made outside of Hollywood by a maverick film distributor and a crew whose credits mostly comprised religious and educational shorts, The Blob helped launch the careers of McQueen and composer Burt Bacharach, whose bouncy title song is just one of this film’s many unexpected pleasures.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jordan R.M. Kennedy is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She received her Ph.D. in Material Science and Mechanical Engineering from Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. As a scientist, engineer, and experimentalist, she specializes in merging quantitative analysis with ecological and Indigenous frameworks to tackle complex challenges. Her career spans fieldwork, laboratory experiments, and scientific communication, focusing on ecosystem design, environmental restoration, and traditional ecological knowledge.
Screenings will take place at sunset at the Greenway's Wharf District Park (located between Milk Street and Atlantic Avenue in Boston).