German cinema
Proposed to be offered next in 1996
L Naughton
8 points * 4 hours per week * First semester * Clayton * Prerequisites: VSA2190, two second-year visual arts subjects or at discretion of head of department
The postwar German cinema, most notably of the 1970s and 1980s, will provide the subject with its central emphasis. Attention will, however, be paid to the cinema of pre-Nazi Germany-to the work of expressionist filmmakers. The relationship between film culture and the state will be examined with reference to issues revolving around the construction of `national identity' and to theoretical proposals which have sought to establish links between the so-called collective psyche and national film produce. Provocative questions regarding the representation of history (in particular of Nazism and terrorism) and of sexuality will be raised by the new German films to be screened. The impact of unification on German film culture will be examined.
Assessment
Two essays (2500 words each): 80% * Examination (1 hour): 20%
Prescribed texts
Elsaesser T New German cinema: A history Macmillan, 1989
Rentschler E West German film in the course of time Redgrave, 1984