Course Catalog

From its earliest inceptions, cinema has been built out of and nurtured by the Science Fiction which dominated the end of the 19th Century. Fantasy, a brainchild of the Enlightenment, has also had a profound impact on the early directions of cinema, notably with the work of Méliès. Cinema has equally been fueled by rapid transitions in early 20th century developments in psychology, notably the Freudian concept of the uncanny. Technological progress, the urban alienation associated with the Modernist aesthetic and the advent of wars fought through technologically advanced weaponry have contributed to a long-standing fascination with these cinematic genres. This fascination is informed by these genres’ simultaneous escapist tendencies and their abilities to create striking allegories for the disturbing trends of the cinematic age. In this course, students explore the themes of both fantasy and science fiction cinema, such as the dichotomy of utopias and dystopias; the “trucage” of the early screen and the eminent fear of apocalypse which pervades much of these genres’ canons throughout their evolutions. Pivotal theorists such as Gerard Genette, Tzevetan Todorov, Susan Sontag and others are considered in order to provide the intellectual backdrop for these genres’ progressive move into central cinematic areas of study. The origins of the genres and the principal film directors who have shaped the genre are also analyzed in depth.

Studies America's cinematic myth: Film Noir, a pessimistic style appearing in Hollywood in the 1940s. Films include: The Maltese Falcon, Shadow of a Doubt, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Touch of Evil, Out of the Past, The Woman in the Window, Murder My Sweet, Force of Evil, Pickup on South Street, and Kiss Me Deadly.

Attempts to understand Hollywood's ambiguous attitude toward women during and after the studio system. What do roles played by women tell us about American culture and its fear of women? Also investigates women's roles in Fellini, Antonioni, Godard, and Truffaut, and the female image presented on the screen by directors such as Jane Campion, Diane Kurys, and Agnes Varda.

The Western has used to examine American myths about history, race, gender and politics on an uncertain frontier. Looking at films from three continents and from directors including Ford, Hawks, Mann, Leone, Greenwald, Reichardt, Peckinpah, Lucas and Kurosawa, we’ll explore how film works to show the limits and possibilities of culture in collision with ideas of itself.