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The most influential Western cultural medium for the peoples of the Middle East has been cinema. Western film has shaped how Middle Easterners view their own world and has been the most important lens through which Middle Easterners have interpreted for themselves the often-mysterious Occident. Film has also worked in the other direction, with Hollywood representing and misrepresenting the realities of the region to generations of movie-goers. This course will start off with a review of how the West has told the history of the region through such blockbusters as "Lawrence of Arabia", "Exodus", and "Battle of Algiers". It will then turn to film production in the region itself with examples produced by Israeli, Palestinian, Turkish, Egyptian, Syrian, and Iranian filmmakers. Through the study of the latter, students will be asked to explore the question of whether a global culture of cinema has emerged or whether film in the region speaks with an "indigenous voice". Can a global medium be incorporated without a global message?
COURSE FORMAT: Seminar
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST Grading Mode: Student Option
Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-30-2006
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459