ENG 3600 Spring 2018 Parker-Flynn

In this course, we will approach Hollywood cinema through the study of films that can be defined as postmodern, in the sense that that they seek to destabilize ideological concepts such as identity and history, as well as concepts of film study such as genre and narrative closure. In particular, we will focus on postmodern films that display specific interest in as well as reliance on postmortem themes and/or narrative devices. Indeed, concepts of “death,” both literal (dead bodies) and figurative (the death of the relationship, an identity, or memory) permeate film representation and oftentimes help illustrate meta-level concerns regarding filmmaking and film analysis. In this way, the theme of “death,” or the filmic focus on the “after death,” emblematizes a revolution in film form, genre, narration and/or visual representation. Through this dual lens, students will also learn foundational skills required for structural film analysis.

This course may include screenings and subsequent study of the following films/units:

• Noir and the Postmodern Condition: Sunset Boulevard & Memento
• Adapting the Human Condition: Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049
• Deconstructing Memory and Identity: Citizen Kane & Fight Club
• Hitchcock’s Meta-Cinema: Rear Window & Psycho
• Horror and the Hybridization of Genre: Taxi Driver & Natural Born Killers
• Dead Sharks and Dismal Memories: Annie Hall & Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind