This course focuses on the work of US-American filmmaker Michael Moore. Moore gained notoriety with films such as Roger and Me (1989), Bowling for Columbine (2002), Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), Sicko (2007), Capitalism: A Love Story (2009), and, most recently, Michael Moore in Trumpland (2016). We will study Moore’s particular brand of documentary filmmaking (with the tools of documentary film analysis), the politics of these documentaries (through forays into political analysis), and the cultural contexts and discourses into which Moore’s leftist kind of populism intervenes (through the lens of cultural history). Analyzing these documentaries will allow us a better understanding of key conflicts in US-American culture, including class (and capitalism), gun control (and violence), the news media, healthcare, right-wing ideologies, and America’s continuing investment in war.
Texts/Films: We will watch Roger and Me in class. All other films will be made available for viewing outside of class.
Out textbook is Matthew H. Bernstein, ed., Michael Moore: Filmmaker, Newsmaker, Cultural Icon. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 2010. [the paperback costs ca. 27 Euros]
ISBN-10: 0472051032
ISBN-13: 978-0472051038
Please order the book as soon as possible.
All other reading material will be made available on the Moodle site for this course.
- Dozent/in: Daniel Stein