American culture is at least somewhat unique in that the global availability of its cultural products - most especially in cinema and television - give those beyond its borders access to a window on American life. But to what extent is this window accurate? To what extent is it based on biases and presuppositions, both of those who produce films and those who see them? This course will attempt to provide students with the tools for interpreting what they see in American film, both with respect to the accuracy of the portrait presented and the myths which may penetrate beneath the surface of the contemporary American experience. Included will be such films as Three Days of the Condor, Do the Right Thing, The Electric Horseman, and El Norte. Students will be required to write an interpretive paper of 5-7 pages.
