BASC70014 - Cosmos and Cinema - Mysteries of Projective Identification

Course Description

At a recent international conference of cinematographers, one anonymous guest wrote the following: “Films become unique because of exquisite and infinite combinations of basic elements. Yet, in all atomization there is still mystery—knowns and unknowns—which coalesce into a phantasm which may or may not map onto ‘reality.’ How much that we perceive is illusion, dream, wish, fear or hope? And how can we discern the true ‘identity’ of our perceptual visions?” Our course will attempt to parse these remarks and answer the dilemmas which they implicitly pose through an analysis of pairs of films—two each week.

Students are requested to watch the first week’s films—Amarcord and Radio Days—before the first class meeting. (8 weeks)

Film List