RFSSS24

The 1990s are widely regarded as the decade when independent features came to dominate American cinema, but many of the issues that are prominent in today’s social, cultural, and political landscape were also preoccupying filmmakers in the 1990s. Films made in this decade tackled environmental concerns, racial politics, gender equality, sexual harassment, technological innovations, sexual violence, and terrorism. These socially-minded themes were often complemented by an aesthetic daring that explored the possibilities of the medium. This course looks at a series of films from the 1990s to appreciate the formal possibilities of cinematic storytelling and historically contextualize various issues of the 2010s. Prerequisite(s): one course in rhetoric, film, and screen studies.