Politics and Propaganda in Film: syllabus
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Gerald Easter, Boston College
A Mass Medium for Mass Politics: Propaganda Nation
Week 1
From Revolutionary Montage to Socialist Realism: Soviet
Screening: Battleship Potemkin (Eisenstein)
Week 2
Pagan Pageantries of Power: German Fascism
Screening: Triumph of the Will (Riefenstahl)
Week 3
Renewing Faith in Democracy: American Populism
Screening: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Capra)
Righting Wrongs Around the World: The Western
Week 4
Send in the Cavalry: Myth Making and Morality Plays
Screening: Fort Apache (Ford)
Week 5
The Lone Hero: From McCarthyism to Solidarity
Screening: High Noon (Finneman)
Week 6
Vigilante Justice and Spaghetti: The Cowboy through a European Lens
Screening: A Fistful of Dollars (Leone)
Revenge and Reconciliation: Politics of Regime Change
Week 7
Doing Penance in Italy: Neorealism and Occupation
Screening: Open City (Rossellini)
Week 8
The Party after the Party in Russia: Revisionism and Collapse
Screening: Burnt by the Sun (Mikhailkov)
Week 9
Only Following Orders in Germany: Unraveling a Police State
Screening: The Lives of Others (von Donnersmarck)
Counter-Culture Goes to War: Politics of De-Mythology
Week 10
Nuclear Paranoia and Precious Bodily Fluids: Cold War as Satire
Screening: Dr Strangelove (Kubrick)
Week 11
Moral Ambiguity and Napalm in the Morning: Vietnam as Surrealism
Screening: Apocalypse Now (Coppola)
Week 12
Dystopian Future and Preemptive Justice: War on Terror as Science Fiction
Screening: Minority Report (Spielberg)
Week 1
From Revolutionary Montage to Socialist Realism: Soviet
Screening: Battleship Potemkin (Eisenstein)
Week 2
Pagan Pageantries of Power: German Fascism
Screening: Triumph of the Will (Riefenstahl)
Week 3
Renewing Faith in Democracy: American Populism
Screening: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Capra)
Righting Wrongs Around the World: The Western
Week 4
Send in the Cavalry: Myth Making and Morality Plays
Screening: Fort Apache (Ford)
Week 5
The Lone Hero: From McCarthyism to Solidarity
Screening: High Noon (Finneman)
Week 6
Vigilante Justice and Spaghetti: The Cowboy through a European Lens
Screening: A Fistful of Dollars (Leone)
Revenge and Reconciliation: Politics of Regime Change
Week 7
Doing Penance in Italy: Neorealism and Occupation
Screening: Open City (Rossellini)
Week 8
The Party after the Party in Russia: Revisionism and Collapse
Screening: Burnt by the Sun (Mikhailkov)
Week 9
Only Following Orders in Germany: Unraveling a Police State
Screening: The Lives of Others (von Donnersmarck)
Counter-Culture Goes to War: Politics of De-Mythology
Week 10
Nuclear Paranoia and Precious Bodily Fluids: Cold War as Satire
Screening: Dr Strangelove (Kubrick)
Week 11
Moral Ambiguity and Napalm in the Morning: Vietnam as Surrealism
Screening: Apocalypse Now (Coppola)
Week 12
Dystopian Future and Preemptive Justice: War on Terror as Science Fiction
Screening: Minority Report (Spielberg)
