History of German Cinema

3 units

This course explores the major developments of German cinema throughout the twentieth century. More specifically, this course will engage with issues relating to German film culture's negotiation of popular filmmaking and art cinema, of Hollywood conventions and European avant-garde sensibilities. Topics will include the political functions of German film during the Weimar, the Nazi, the postwar, and the postwall eras; the influence of American mass culture on German film; the role of German émigrés in the classical Hollywood studio system; and the place of German cinema in present-day Europe and in our contemporary age of globalization. Special attention will be given to the role of German cinema in building and questioning national identity, to the ways in which German feature films over the past hundred years have used or challenged mainstream conventions to recall the national past and envision alternative futures. Films by directors such as Murnau, Lang, Fassbinder, Herzog, Tykwer and many others. All readings and discussions in English. May not be taken for German major or minor credit. Required screenings. This course is appropriate for first year students.