This introductory film course is a survey of contemporary films from across the globe. Students will be exposed to a diverse array of culturally distinct and unique aesthetic expressions and will be encouraged to engage perspective(s) apart from their own while discussing topics including, but not limited to, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, class, and sexual orientation.
| Distribution Area | Prerequisites | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Arts and Humanities- or -Global Learning | 1 course |
Films and images can have a powerful impact and shape the viewers' perspective of past (and current) events. This also holds true for films about the Holocaust--be they based on real or fictional events. In this course we will analyze a wide variety of films that center on life under the Nazis, the horrors of the concentration camps, resistance to the Nazis, the life of exiles who fled Nazi Germany, and how Germany and the Germans dealt with the legacy of the Holocaust. What do these films want to accomplish? What filmic devices do the filmmakers employ? What is the films' relation to reality? Can we rely on these images as a "truthful" depiction of the past? Are these "accurate" portrayals of life at that time, or do these films create a new reality? How do these films appeal to our emotions? What role does "art" play in these films? Does a filmmaker who produces a film about the Holocaust have a different responsibility than a filmmaker who chooses a different topic? Can the films help us to better understand this horrific period in German history or do they trivialize the experience of the victims?