Humane Cinema: Media and Animal Studies

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From Eadweard Muybridge’s equine motion photography experiments to lions and tigers and bears (oh my), to an internet made of cats, animals and media have always been inextricably linked. This course takes a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to the study of onscreen beasts. How have animals been used as characters, as actors, as metaphors? What are the ethics of putting real animals onscreen? What do stories about animals tell us about ourselves? We will consider fictional and nonfictional modes of storytelling, historical and contemporary works, real and computer-generated creatures in our global cinematic safari. Screenings may include Nope, Jaws, Princess Mononoke, Grizzly Man, and EO.