US Culture and Society: American Society on Films

Amerikai társadalom és kultúra mai filmek tükrében / BBNAN13400

Lecturer: Balogh Beatrix

Time and place: Wednesday14:15-15:45, Tárogató229

Apart from one possible in-class screening all mandatory-item movies are viewed at home. The movies must be watched by the time indicated in the syllabus.

Availability: by appointment or via email:

Purpose of the course is to gain further insight into issues of American society through movies. Far from presenting a comprehensive survey of the contemporary social, political and cultural reality we will choose a few important themes and 1, discuss how these issues/realities are present and presented incinema 2, and what particular insight we can gain about American identity and American society through these representations. In this respect, the course intends to revisit key features of American society you learned about in an introductory survey/lecture course, albeit through a specific medium.

Every movie, irrespective of topic or genre, is a window into society and culture: it tells us about social patterns and customs, class and race issues, dreams and anxieties, cultural clichés, gender norms and stereotypes, regional differences, landscapes and cityscapes. You will also be exposed to regional varieties of language, or the special lingo of certain professions or subculture. We will also explore why and how certain moviesbecome cultural icons or iconic culture products with an impact beyond catering to a particular American audience; and what role the movie industry plays in not only reflecting on but also forming culture and society.

Format and Requirements:class participation, response notes, presentation, end-term test

The main format of the seminar is discussion. After an introduction to a “main theme” you will watch the assigned movies at home and come to class with your remarks and questions. Short texts to familiarize students with the social or political background of the movies may accompany the viewing (reading list will be provided via coursemail).

Response notes: partly to demonstrate your familiarity with the movie (to show that you have indeed watched it) you are to write a short (1paragraph) informal ‘reaction’ and submit it before class. (What you liked/disliked, found interesting/difficult, in what way you found the movie instructive/informative/distressing/funny; in other words, your personal reaction as an audience). Add to it one or two questions you would like to raise in class. All the mandatory movies are available online free. You are to watch the movie even if you cannot come to class (see below at “attendance and grading policy”)

In one of these “response notes” (longer in format but written in a semi-formal, no-nonsense style) youwill compare how two movies of your choice reflect on the same theme.

Presentation: Choose a movie/theme and prepare a short talk (ppt and/or handout aided) in which you explore a question or explain the social/historical background.

End-term test: short essay questions (list of possible questions will be distributed) to be answered in 3-5 sentences in which you will give account of your familiarity with class discussions.

You find below a preliminary syllabus with movies, readings, and proposed presentation topics. The movie list and student-presentations will be finalized by February 21. Bear in mind when signing up for the course that occasionally you will have to watch two movies for a given class (appropriate time must be set aside), and choose a topic/theme/movie for an in-class presentation.

class / date / Discussion topic / R:reading assignment for class
P:Presentation Ideas
Class 1, Feb 14 / Introduction, goal orientation, syllabus, requirements, group members. Past experiences with British Movies. Cinema and society: cinema as entertainment, social record, artistic project. Introduction to “The American Dream” / R:10 Films that Represent the American Dream” culturetrip.com in class-reading
Class 2, Feb 21 / What makes an American Holiday; LA scenes and characters, social norms: Valentine’s Day
Finalizing presentation sign-up, Genres and film-making techniques / R: --
P: Holiday movies reflecting on culture and social norms (New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving, Christmas and shopping frenzy)
Class 3, Feb 28 / The American Dream and Conservative Perspectives; Southern scenes I.
Revolutionary Road; Forrest Gump / R:“Conservativism and the American Dream in Forrest Gump”; “American Dream Too Loud…”
P: Historical events in FG; AD in Pleasantville, Stepford Wives, The Pursuit of Happiness
Class 4, Mar 7 / Contested Native American and Cowboy Identities;
West/Mountain West
Smoke Signals(clips); Brokeback Mountains / R: Native Americans in films – excerpts
P: Images of Native Americans-old and new (The Last of the Mohicans, Dances With Wolves, Lone Ranger, The Revenant)
Class 5, Mar 14 / Racial and Cultural Identities, Melting Pot, Salad Bowl or Masala?
Mississippi Masala / R:“The Culture in Mississippi Masala: The film raises questions about racism, what is a home and what is a native”
P: Racial and cultural realism in Hollywood; Cultural heritage and the American Dream
Class 6, Mar 21 / The myth of modern day David and Goliath; Legal America and the Environment; Why the appeal of conspiracy theories? Movies to learn the language.Landscapes: Mojave Desert, Louisiana Swamps
Erin Brockovich, The Pelican Brief / R:Erin Brockovich: “My Story”, NYT: “2 Justices Are Dead. Who Profits?”; “Hinkley, CA”; The Pelican Brief Worksheet – in class
P: Legal education and profession; Legalese (legal jargon); Courtroom Drama; Grisham and timely topics, Environment and Corporate America; Courts (from state to SC) and Lawsuits (torts, class action suit)
SpringBreak (March 26 – April 6)
Class 7, April 11 / Washington politics and the DC scene. Confirmation, TV shows and Drama series
(Optional: Charlie Wilson’s War) / R:The Anita Hill story, ABC: “20 years later”
P: Senate Confirmations as Checks and Balances; SC II; Translation difficulties; political realism and satire
Class 8, April 18 / Civil Rights and Education; Youth culture and inner city school
Hidden Figures, Freedom Writers / R:--
P:The legacy of Brown
Class 9, April 25 / Immigrant Society I. Contemporary issues of Immigration; TV Commercials with social stand
Babel / --
P: Mexican-Americans; Dreamers
Class 10, May 2 / Immigrant society II. The Boston scene; Old New York; Irish vs English. Good Will Hunting, Gangs of New York / R:Movies about coming to America and Irish Americans: excerpts; Nativism
P:Irish Americans on film; Ivy League subculture vs South Boston
Class 11, May 9 / End-term test
Big Screen vs small screen for culture/society insights / R: “The Role Of Film In Society” Thought Economics
Class 12, May 16 / Recap on the peculiar American pursuit of happiness and social patterns; course evaluation / overview presentations (film industry, ouvres, themes)

Attendance, class work, and evaluation:

  1. You should prepare for each class. Watch the movie and read the assigned text before the class discussions. Missing a class does not exempt you from watching the movie assigned for that week or preparing for the next.
  2. You may miss a maximum of 3 classes during the semester. That means a total of 30% of the workload. Please use this considerable freedom judiciously and responsibly. Since you may be bound to miss classes due to an illness (counted into the 3 possible absences), do not miss a class for an alluring alternative activity. If you miss more than 3 classes, your course will be marked “incomplete”.
  3. To help prevent such an occurrence 2 classes can be missed at the students’ own convenience and without any consequence. However, a formal notice is required for the third occasion. Response notes should be turned in notwithstanding.
  4. Do not miss the end-term test.The seminar group is to complete the same test at the same time. A make-up exam by appointment should be saved for an extraordinary situation. Having a cold does not qualify as extraordinary.

Evaluation: Your final grade will be based on the following components. The relativeweight of each component is given in parenthesis:

  1. Class work: meaningful participation in class discussions, authentic response notes (50%),
  2. Presentation (20%),
  3. End-term test (30%)