Penn’s First Moving Pictures

1 Course Unit

Any account of the prehistory of cinema would have to include the motion studies completed by Eadward Muybridge at the University of Pennsylvania in the late nineteenth century, which featured images of faculty, student athletes and, reportedly, local sex workers—all in the nude. Engaging directly with original photographic plates and equipment from the Penn Archives, this course offers an introduction to cinema and media studies as well as a reflection on evaluating sordid legacies. Best known for having captured the first clear photographic image of a horse at full gallop, among Muybridge’s most notable inventions are the zoopraxiscope, which paved the way for the cinematographic film strip, and the mysterious self-mythology of his own public persona. Adventurer, innovator, acquitted murderer—this class explores the troubled heritage of Muybridge with an eye to the impact he left on the film technology and popular culture, ranging from Thomas Edison to The Matrix and from Rick and Morty to Jordan Peele. Not Offered Every Year 1 Course Unit