Contemp Quebec Society in Film

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

In this course, the focus is on films that reflect (on) Québec society: its individual and collective identities, its history, its contemporary issues and its cultural vitality. Students will view and discuss feature films that are seldom seen in the United States, by directors including Jeff Barnaby, Tracey Deer, Sophie Deraspe, Mathieu Denis, Xavier Dolan, Christian Fournier, Catherine Martin, Léa Pool, Jean-Marc Vallée, and Denis Villeneuve. The specific theme for this semester will focus on the symbolic role of young protagonists (children, adolescents, young adults) as prisms for social unrest and as harbingers of change. By examining the art of cinema for its social, political and aesthetic contributions to human understanding, and by engaging with difference through the diverse perspectives presented by the films we will study, this seminar satisfies the HALC requirement. Methodologically, attention will be paid to the specialized vocabulary of cinema, and to various critical approaches to film analysis. In all instances, films will be analyzed in the context of Québec society, as both expressions of and contributors to their specific culture as well as "works of art" in their own right.