Open University of Wellfleet

Under Pressure: The Artist vs. the Regime

$60.00

Ken Shulman

April 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12

Mondays, 4-6PM, on Zoom

"Under Pressure" examines how individuals--both real and fictional--react to dictatorships, totalitarian regimes, and all other systems that restrict freedom of expression. The syllabus includes films, plays, and books, as well as newspaper and magazine articles. Much of the class time will be devoted to rigorous moral debate: what is the responsibility of the artist living in a repressive regime; what can we expect of individuals in the face of evil; is collaboration always contemptible. We will re-examine these questions—and our convictions—each week in the context of that day’s readings and viewings.    

Week 1: Kryzstof Kieslowski and two forms of censorship:  Working in totalitarian Poland and the "free market" of the West.  Films:  two excerpts from his "Decalogue"  and "Blue"   Available on Criterion

Week 2: The Sacrifice: Sophocles and Jean Annouilh:  Antigone. The story of Oedipus' faithful daughter who defies an imperial edict, told from two wildly diverse viewpoints.

Week 3: Making Films in Iran:Abbas Kiarostami:   Choosing to stay and work in fundamentalist Iran.  Films: "A Taste of Cherry"   "Close-Up"

Week 4: Shut Up and Dribble:  African American athlete activism, from Tommy Smith to Arthur Ashe to Colin Kaepernick. Readings to be assigned.

Week 5: His (her) Master's Voice:   Leni Reifenstahl and filming the Third Reich.  Films (to watch in excerpts:) Triumph of the Will,  Olympia.  Book: Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Reifenstahl