History in the Movies

Catalog description

Moviemakers began interpreting historical subjects on screen even before they had established audiences willing to pay to watch. This wildly popular form of mass entertainment has been shaping public memory ever since: not only at the height of its power in the 20th century, but even as it competes with other story-telling media today. In this course, we will look at movies' peculiar influence over what we believe about history, be it how nations were founded, how wars were waged, how people related to one another, and even what different historical milieu looked and sounded like. Please see the "notes" section to see the topical focus of the current semester's course.