Art Seminar: Film Appreciation

Course Description:

Women in Film: So often, while studying the History of Cinema, especially in its first half-century, the films are singularly focused through a masculine perspective; portraying stories about men, made by men. However, as early as the birth of the art-form, women were heavily involved in the industry at large, some pioneered new methods and techniques alongside the men who overshadowed them. In this term we will take a conscious focus on the women behind the scenes throughout the history of cinema in the 20th century, and the films they made primarily about women. From the pioneers that crashed through the glass ceiling to the artists and rebels that followed to push boundaries further into progress decades later; we will explore a rich tradition of the women that had to fight and push through a male dominated system. We will look at short films by silent-era pioneers (Lois Webber and Alice Guy-Blache), the career of the singularly talented Ida Lupino, actress turned director during the Golden Age of Hollywood, avant-garde rebels of the cultural revolution (Shirley Clarke and Lizzie Borden) and the new-age poets (Julie Dash and Mira Nair) who brought their personal work back into the mainstream.

Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate

• This interactive online class is presented via Zoom. Please download Zoom prior to your first class: www.zoom.us

• You will be emailed Zoom meeting instructions, including a unique URL and meeting ID, to join the class 1 day before the start of the class.

• Review the supply list posted. Students are responsible for purchasing all necessary supplies except where indicated.

• Classes that do not meet enrollment minimums will be canceled three days prior to the start of the class.