21L.706 Studies in Film

Same Subject As: CMS.830
Prereq: 21L.011, one subject in Literature or Comparative Media Studies; or permission of instructor
Units: 3-3-6 HASS-H, CI-M; Can be repeated for credit

This course surveys Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier’s oeuvre as a medium for engaging cinema’s capacity to provoke reflection on history, culture, and the very medium itself. Producing television and movies ranging from musical, horror, drama, comedy, and science-fiction, Lars von Trier has been called a sadist, genius, and—interchangeably—a provocateur. Born in Denmark in 1956, von Trier straddles the generations of Euro-American ‘children of World War II’ and those generations whose distance from that global catastrophe opened the way for reflection on historical complicity. History and tradition are key points of interrogation for von Trier’s works, which probe the Second World War in Europe; racism and chattel slavery; sex and gender politics; and religious fundamentalism, alongside the conventions and traditions of cinematic form. We will discuss and debate these issues through pairings of von Trier’s work with cinematic and cultural theory as well as historical documents. Students will have the opportunity to produce analytical essays, artistic manifestos, and their own provocative cinematic works. 21L.011 Intro to Film or a previous film/media course is recommended; introductory materials can be recommended by the instructor.