Global Genres: Western, Horror, Road Movie

Catalog description

This course will explore cinematic border-crossings and cultural connections through the global genres of Western, horror, and road movie. The premise of the course is that genre is a particularly productive gateway to map contemporary world cinema and understand various cross-currents shaping different film cultures. Genres such as the Western, horror movie, and road movie, are both culturally rooted as well as transnational genres that reflect both the particularities of a nation and its industry, and its position on a global stage. Through a close study of particular films—Westerns, horror films, road movies from Latin America, Sweden, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and beyond—we will address core issues about aesthetics, industry, culture, history, theory, and explore the tensions and dialogue between cross-cultural aesthetic and narrative models on the one hand, and local traditions and historical contingencies on the other.