English 160 - Fall, 2018

Film as Narrative

Class Information

Instructor: Geier, Ted
CRN: 43019
Time: TR 1:40-4:30
Location: 118 Olson

Description

"It is harder to imagine the end of capitalism than to imagine the end of the world." This familiar claim seems to describe half the movies made in the last two decades. In this class we'll watch movies that "imagine the end of the world" as a way of thinking about actual, concrete problems for present society, most notably the misery of ceaseless exploitation, the descent of US empire, and planetary climate collapse — and how this poses in some sense the greatest challenge for narrative itself.

Grading

Midterm quiz, final exam, four sets of reading/viewing notes, final essay, attendance & participation.

Texts

Planet of Slums, Mike Davis
The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein
Fossil Capital, Andreas Malm