Lerninhalte |
In this lecture, a selection of formative events in U.S. history, such as the War of Independence, slavery, the Civil War, westward expansion, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights movement, will be discussed at two levels, that is, as event history and as (re-) constructions in selected American films produced at different times. The term will start with a reflection on the relationship between film and history and fictions of authenticity. Successive lectures will introduce the historical event or issue and then discuss critically popular images and interpretations of the respective event, and their revisions. Some of the films will be contemporary depictions of their time, for example, the Great Depression, while others will be productions of a much later time that re-envision the past from the distance and under the influence of contemporary ideas (e.g. westward expansion in The Searchers (1956), Dances with Wolves (1990) and The Homesman (2014)). A main goal of the lecture is to highlight the constructive and interpretive power of films on history, which is concealed by the realistic mode of cinematic representation. |