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CS92PROD
Breaking the Waves: The Japanese and French New Wave Cinemas and Their Legacy
CEAS 254
Spring 2021 not offered
Crosslisting: RL&L 254

While the French and Japanese New Wave(s) existed as largely contemporaneous cinematic movements, rarely are they discussed together, instilling the impression of two parallel streams, never to converge or intersect. This course hopes to serve as an intervention into this perceived divide through close readings of these groundbreaking cinematic works and an examination of their revolutionary content in the interest of articulating shared philosophical concerns. In many cases, New Wave filmmakers worked as writers and critics before producing films themselves, a fact that speaks to the intensely theoretical nature of their cinema. This course will therefore examine critical writings published in the space of Cahiers du Cinema, Film Art, and other journals as a means of better understanding the thought process that underlies these films. How do these films figure as a response to that of the previous generation and how did they hope to revolutionize cinematic praxis? What was their relationship to political activism and the events of 1968? Finally, we will consider the legacy of these cinemas: What is the prevailing influence of the New Wave on Hollywood and global cinema? What aspects of the movement have been retained and what has been lost along the way?
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA CEAS
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (CEAS-MN)(CEAS)(CEAS-Lit&Cult)(FRST-MN)(FRST)

Last Updated on MAR-29-2024
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