Filming the Economy

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

In one of the very first films in the history of cinema by Louis Lumière (1895), we see employees leave a factory at the end of their work day. The workplace remains out of the frame. While symbolically going back to the factory, our class will explore examples of films that operate as a powerful telltale of the harsh nature of work and of the workplace environment. We will question our definitions of work and how cinema depicts its changing nature today. While the subject of "money" was featured in movies very early on, in recent history it is only around the late 1980s that we see the economy take center stage in cinematic creations. From social films revolving around the work place by the Dardenne brothers and Ken Loach, to countless movies about Wall Street, to movies describing the economic dynamics behind environmental crises, or films about white collar crime, and more, our class will explore the ways in which filmmakers have used an "unfilmable," complex and cinematically boring discipline in order to turn it into calls to action and entertainment. Call to action? Entertainment? These questions will lead our studies and discussions as making a film on the economy ultimately interrogates the very essence of cinema. This class will, in most parts, consist of seminar discussions (and oral presentations) (40%), lectures (40%), and possible group work activities (20%). Group work will mostly consist in designing video essays made by individuals but potentially elaborated in groups through group discussions (peer-to-peer) and peer-editing. Written assignments (one research paper) and one video essay, group work, oral presentations as well as active participation in our class will constitute the basic requirements.