LFU:online

Familiarity with landmarks of American film history, as well as with their cultural, academic, and popular reception.

In recent times the boundaries between "high" and "low" culture have become increasingly fuzzy. Yet for many the image of Hollywood as a provider of vapid entertainment persists, whereas the independent and foreign scenes are perceived as intellectual antidotes. The former, we believe, relies on economic shrewdness, the latter two on artistic integrity. But what characterizes what we consider to be "artistic quality"? What’s the difference between Hollywood and the avantgarde or arthouse cinema in terms of narrative structure, content, and visual presentation, and how useful is it to stress the difference? How do economic considerations further or obstruct the production of "quality content"? And how does one market "quality"?

In order to investigate these (seeming?) contradictions between mainstream and arthouse cinema, we will compare box office hits like Gone with the Wind (1939, Victor Fleming) with auteur films like Stranger than Paradise (1984, Jim Jarmusch). We will analyze the films’ status between art and commerce, between critical, academic, and popular reception.

Lecture inputs, presentations, group discussions.

Active class participation, student presentations, reading and viewing assignments, term paper

As far as possible, course materials and selected secondary sources will be posted on e-campus.

for the Bachelor Program (612): positive completion of compulsory module 14
for Bachelor Program Lehramt: positive completion of compulsory module 16
for the Teacher Training Program (Lehramtsstudium: 344): VO2: Introduction to American Literary Studies

BA "old" (2009): PS2: Discourse/Identity: American Cultures
Teacher Training Program "old" (2001): PS2: American Culture

Due to substantial differences in the allocation of ECTS-Credits in various curricula (teacher training program - BA/MA English and American Studies), the requirements for this course vary. Information will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the course.