ENGLISH 347

Contemporary Developments in Literature and Culture:

American Mythmakers: The Films of Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg.

Professor Landon

Although very different in style and theme, the films Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg have two things in common. They are extremely popular with audiences, and they have repeatedly been regarded as Hollywood entertainments rather than serious films. Yet the popularity of both directors is rooted not only in accomplished filmmaking, but also in their ability to dramatize the hopes and fears which characterized American culture during the last three decades of the Twentieth Century. In this course we will examine some of the many ways in which their films capture America's vision of itself, including attitudes toward history, politics, individualism, race, and gender. Among the films to be included are Clint Eastwood's Space Cowboys, In the Line of Fire, Unforgiven, Pale Rider, Dirty Harry, and A Fistful of Dollars, together with Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence (if available), Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, The Color Purple, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Jaws.

Crosslisted as ART 392. Grade Method: REG/P-F/AUD. GFR/GER: AH. GDR: H

If you have any questions about the course, please contact me by e-mail (landon@umbc.edu)or by phone at (410) 455-2384.

English 347 is listed among the online courses at my Internet Website: http://research.umbc.edu/~landon/.