Special Topics: Love Stories

This class will focus on stories of love as told
on film; love is a word that means everything and
nothing at all. Love is politic, desire,
obsession, belief; it is a paradox, one that
continually contradicts its expectations. The
class will examine how one describes the
indescribable, films unique ability to speak to
the ineffable. Most of all, love is dynamic, and
requires a description of the exchange between
people. It is seen in the most unlikely of
gestures and exchanges. The class will focus on
the ways a filmmaker depicts the substance of
human relations, and how one articulates such
moments. It will also focus on the dynamics and
politics of human interactions, and the exchange
of love and sex, especially as depicted in film.
The class will be small and seminar based;
students will be responsible for presentations
throughout, organized around discussion topics.
Films watched and discussed will draw on both
fiction and documentary work; screenings will be supplemented with reading and writing exercises throughout, as well as work from other mediums.