Celluloid America

Celluloid America (AMCV 1612B)

Instructor: Stephanie Larrieux

In this course, we will explore 20th century American history through film, examining both the history of this quintessentially American medium and the way in which American history has been represented within the medium. Topics include the invention of the moving picture, the rise and fall of the Hollywood studio system, the emergence and evolution of film genres (westerns, film noir, Blaxploitation, etc.), race and film, and the future of cinema in the digital age.

The course meets two evenings per week, with the first half of each session dedicated to discussion of assigned readings and the second half to the screening and discussion of select films. To complete the course successfully, students will be expected to submit short (+/- 2 pages) weekly essays and to complete a final project.

Featured films include:

The Birth of a Nation (1915) Metropolis (1927) The Jazz Singer (1927) Stagecoach (1939) Gone with the Wind (1939) Ninotchka (1939) Citizen Kane (1940) The Killers (1946) Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) All About Eve (1950) Johnny Guitar (1954) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) The Searchers (1956) The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1959) To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Dr. Strangelove (1964) Midnight Cowboy (1969) The Godfather (1972) Super Fly (1972) Taxi Driver (1976) Annie Hall (1977) Bladerunner (1982) Glory (1989) Unforgiven (1992) Shortcuts (1993) Saving Private Ryan (1998) American Beauty (1999) Crash (2004) Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)