Celluloid Societies
This class examines how films and television shows depict historical events, figures, and periods that are relevant for questions about a good society.
In what ways do we as viewers look to the past to glorify what we desire or demonize what we loathe in our own society? And how do makers of films and television programs impose issues of their own times onto the past?
We will explore multiple points of view on critical social issues through the lens of popular culture, including familiar themes from PACS 1 such as the role of religion in society, gender norms and expectations, attitudes about homosexuality, the responsibilities of good citizenship, civil rights and the challenges of equality, and human use and abuse of the natural world.
Through readings and films, such as Chinatown, Goodnight and Good Luck, Mad Men, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, students will learn how twentieth and twenty-first century artists and audiences make use of the past while celebrating, criticizing, and distorting it.
Written research projects and class presentations will help students hone skills of analysis, critical thinking, and written and oral communication.
Course readings and class discussion will encourage active viewing and understanding of ubiquitous elements of popular culture.
