FILM NARRATIVE (SEMINAR)

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.

This course will examine the noir tradition in American film between 1941 and 1959. We begin with noir's origins in two turn-of-the-century literary works about Empire, Inc and the divided self of the modern era, Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and Stevenson's " Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". We will consider the international roots of Hollywood noir, many of whose directors were European refugees from Hitler, and its depictions of the femme fatale, l'homme fatale, and the world métropole, particularly NYC and LA. Readings will include Marxist, postcolonial, and gender theory, and film history. Films will include "The Killers", "Double Indemnity", "The Big Heat", "The Lodger", "Gilda", "Sunset Blvd", "Sweet Smell of Success", and "Vertigo".