ENGL3045

Is desire fundamentally dangerous? Do certain desires threaten the social order and traditional gender roles? Why, historically, has Hollywood so insistently classified some gender expressions and/or sexualities as “deviant” or even “unnatural?” In this cinema studies course, we will explore how visual media works to make certain desires and identities acceptable while marginalizing others. All films manipulate us, using visual techniques that seduce us into identifying with certain characters and narratives. How do some films uphold the prevailing social order concerning sexualities and genders while others challenge it? Can movies have hidden subtexts, sometimes deeply subversive, that are “coded” and readable only to certain audiences? We will explore these questions in films from a variety of national cinemas and historical periods, from the 1910s to the present. This course takes an intersectional approach that considers gender and sexuality as well as ethnicity, race, disability, class, and other societal ways of classifying people.

Arts/Humanities

Every Fall