Media and film studies

Film and Revolution

Module code: P4100A
Level 6
30 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Film
Assessment modes: Coursework

Since the advent of film it has been harnessed in the service of political change, whether as witness, catalyst or mouthpiece.

Film has been used to document momentous historical events, celebrate or vilify them in retrospect, indoctrinate future generations and to both construct and contest the master narratives of history. Lenin recognized film as “the most important art” for revolutionary movements, and since the Russian Revolution it has remained a key component of every revolutionary struggle.

This module reviews radical and revolutionary film movements in history and through today's contemporary wave of revolutionary expression, most notably from 2011 onwards in the Middle East and North Africa.

You examine film texts and movements in relation to questions of aesthetics, ideology and political expediency. What makes a film revolutionary? What are the strategies for filming revolution in all of its aspects? What is film's role in social and political change?

Students will engage with theories, manifestos and historical writings as well as a range of powerful filmic examples from around the world.

Module learning outcomes

• Identify and deploy critical discourses relevant to the study of film and revolution including Soviet film theory, Third Cinema, and philosophy of politics and aesthetics.
• Analyse films of and aboutrevolution in ways attentive to their forms and contexts.
• Work effectively independently and collaboratively.
• Apply the critical approaches encountered in the module to original case study work.