LFU:online

Institut für Amerikastudien Institut für Amerikastudien

Dr. Sonja Bahn Dr. Sonja Bahn

610013

American Film, Media and Culture: The Ups and Downs of the 1920s and 30s as Reflected in American Film

SE 2

10

wöch.

semestral

Englisch

In this seminar we will probe into American culture from the mid-1920s to the mid-30s through American films of the period and afterwards in order to understand in what way the socio-historical developments affected the seventh art and the film industry in the U.S.A. and vice versa.

How did the Roaring Twenties turn into the Depressing Thirties (not just because of the Stock Market Crash in 1929)? What effect did the shift from silence to sound have on the film industry? (How silent was filmmaking in the 20s? Why was sound so unnatural at first?) What were the mutual influences that came to bear on both film and culture in America during those turbulent and contradictory years (prohibition in the 20s and gangster films, unemployment and horror films in the 30s)? Why have the 20s become so "popular" in recent times (_Midnight in Paris_, _The Artist_)? Using films that grapple with these questions, we will try to find answers and at the same time gain insight into the workings of cultural change and the vicissitudes of the film industry, film genres and filmmaking in general.

Short input lectures, various forms of projects (discussion leading, presentation, film making), tutorials, reading and writing assignments

The grade will result from the active participation in class, the projects with handouts, written work and seminar paper OR film with storyboard, script and report.

Anmeldevoraussetzung/en im MA: postive Beurteilung des Pflichtmoduls 4 Anmeldungsvoraussetzung im Diplom- und Lehramtsstudium: Abgeschlossener 1. Abschnitt Entspricht im Diplomstudium (343): SE2: American Literature/Culture Entspricht im Lehramtsstudium (344): SE2: American Literature and Culture
Beginn: 3.10.2012