Kurzus nemzetközi vendég- és részidős hallgatóknak
- Kar
- Bölcsészettudományi Kar
- Szervezet
- BTK Anglisztika Tanszék
- Kód
- BBI-ANGF-224E.09
- Cím
- The Faces of a Historical Legend: Winston Churchill on Film
- Tervezett félév
- Tavaszi
- ECTS
- 5
- Nyelv
- Oktatás célja
- The primary purpose of the course is to introduce the methodology of historical personality (hero) characterisation by the means of feature film. How does the amalgam of the conceived reality of the historical record and imagination combine to suggest a character in the mind of a film maker? How does the resulting feature film influence the conception of “history” in the public mind? The secondary purpose is to provide an insight into the life and times of Winston Churchill whose character attained larger than life proportions already in his lifetime. Subsequent decades saw the emergence of several variations on the Churchill theme, which included a substantial revisionist period dominated by negative connotations. There is now renewed interest in Churchill’s character but it will be argued that this interest, as far as film productions are concerned, is grounded more in broad political motives than the search for historical accuracy. A historicity or “presentism” as it is often called by professional historians is a widespread phenomenon of the second decade of the 21st century even in some parts of academia. Films with a historical theme are supposed to disperse at least some of the mist left behind by inadequate educational facilities and flagging interest in the institutional forms of learning history among young people. But do (can?) feature films with a historical content fill the gap or do they only sow the seeds of misunderstandings?
- Tantárgy tartalma
- The course work essentially consists of slow-screening the four feature films listed in the literature section below, interspersed with biographical documentaries on Churchill’s life, also listed below. Before the screenings start, a substantial historical introduction will prepare the students through two sessions to form a historical critique of what they are about to experience on screen. Without detailed historical background, which is often at variance with the artistic representation, it would not be possible to evaluate important aspects of the films and pass balanced judgement on the difficult decisions that film dramaturgs and directors have had to make. The filmic theory background (four chapters of a theory textbook) explains the dramaturgical interface between realist sources and the workings of the imaginary on screen.
- Számonkérés és értékelés
- Each screening in class has to be responded to by students with short impact papers, drafted in an informal style, from one week to the next. There will be a short in-class midterm paper testing the material studied till that point, and a roughly 10-page formal research essay will be due at the end of the term. The final grade will reflect the value of the contributions in the following breakdown: Final paper: 50%, midterm: 25%, impact papers: 15, class contributions: 10%. More than 3 unexcused absences will have a negative impact on the final grade.
- Irodalomjegyzék
- Feature films: Richard Attenborough, Young Winston (1972) – Simon Ward Herbert Wise, The Gathering Storm (1974) – Richard Burton Richard Locraine, The Gathering Storm (2002) – Albert Finney Joe Wright, Darkest Hour (2018) – Gary Oldman Documentary video: Martin Gilbert, Churchill: 1. Renegade and Turncoat, 2. To Conquer or to Die, 3. Beginning of the End, 4. Never Despair, BBC Enterprises Limited 1993. Printed books (Pdf): Francesco Casetti, Theories of Cinema, 1945-1995, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999. Especially chapters 2: “Cinema and Reality”, 3: “Cinema and the Imaginary”, 7: “Psychology of Cinema”, 8: “Sociology of Cinema”. John Charmley, Churchill: The End of Glory, a political biography, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1993. Winston S Churchill, My Early Life: A Roving Commission, London: Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, 1959 (1930). Roy Jenkins, Churchill, London: Macmillan, 2001.