Power and Resistance

Course Content:

The module offers an account of theories and ideas concerning power and resistance
from a range of critical approaches to cinema including post-colonialism, poststructuralism,
post-modernism, post-humanism, as well as Deleuzian, Bakhtinian and
Foucauldian perspectives.

These critical ideas will be used to approach a range of film texts that provide counteraccounts
to the dominant discourses in relation to colonialism, dispersal and race,
gender, anti-humanism, bodily and mental non-conformity, as well as films that allow for
critically productive explorations of contemporary identity.

These approaches raise questions about mainstream or dominant cultural production
and practices from a range of film styles or cultures including satirical, parodic,
grotesque, and horrific modes. The critical focus is on understanding power and
resistance as forces and strategies produced through certain negotiated practices.

Autumn Semester topics:
? Introduction to the module and strand A; Foucault Screening
? Deleuze; Strand B
? Bakhtin: Strand C Screening

Chose 1 of 3 options (strands):

? Strand A: Strategies of resistance: colonialism, postcolonialism and race
The strand will offer an account of ideas developed in Cultural Studies such as post colonialism,
post structuralism and postmodernism related to the cultural politics of power, identity and
difference specifically applied to the filmic exploration or treatment of race. We will focus on
influential thinkers such as Fanon, Said, Bhabha whose critical ideas will be illustrated through
a range of non mainstream film texts which provide counter accounts to the dominant
discourses of the experience of marginalised communities such as colonialism, slavery, dispersal
and integration. The specific film practices, narrative and representational strategies relating to
the filmic treatment of ?race? and colonised peoples, will be examined, drawing also on ideas
on subversion proposed by Bakhtin. The classes will also attend to issues or questions raised by
directors exploring such experiences in the light of the ideas introduced in the module.

? Strand B: Humanism, posthumanism
Do we yet know what it means to be human? Using films from various genres ? sci-fi,
horror, anime - this strand explores the meaning and future of those creatures called
homo sapiens that currently populate the earth. Through techno-fantasy, dystopian
fiction, and various thought experiments, these films explore what the word ?human?
means, past, present, and future, and how any one definition is resisted within the
?posthuman? paradigm shift we are already experiencing today, be it at the hands of
bioscience, animal studies, or counter-cultures. Through the ?deconstruction? of the
human subject as a socio-political myth, the 'becoming-molecular' of Gilles Deleuze's
philosophy, or the extension of the human body in technology (robotics, informatics, and
art), we will look at the following eight areas in this field (with suggested sample
viewings):
1. Have We Ever Been Human? (Alien Resurrection, Splice)
2. What is Human? (Blade Runner, X-Men)
3. The New Flesh and Supercinema (Scanners, Videodrome)
4. Prosthetic Cinema and Techno-humanism (Strange Days, Robocop, Ghost in
the Shell)
5. Biocinema (Gattaca, Never Let Me Go, Coma, Soylent Green,)
6. Loving the Alien Invader (They Live!, Close Encounters of the Third Kind,
Independence Day)
7. Politics of the Posthuman (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, District 9)
8. Gestural Film and Body Cinema (The Five Obstructions, Dancer in the Dark)

? Strand C: Carnival, Dialogism and Postmodernism
What role does 'carnival' play in contemporary society, and how is it articulated in
popular culture? Are figures like The Joker and the deformed villains of horror movies
expressions of playful resistance, or stereotypes of disabled bodies and mental health?
This strand of the module begins with a thorough exploration of Mikhail Bakhtin's
theories of carnival. How can we understand cosplay and other subcultural behaviour
through these theoretical frameworks?
We then draw on the work of Michel Foucault to investigate the discourses that
categorise some people as disabled, aberrant or hysterical, and others as healthy and
'normal'. We return to Bakhtin's concepts of dialogism -- the use of many voices and
meanings -- and move into a discussion of postmodernism as playful carnival, asking
finally how this form of play is connected to privilege. Who is given the opportunity to
celebrate and party, experimenting with styles, and whose cultural carnivals are
contained or repressed?

Spring Semester topics:

Chose 1 of 3 options (strands):

? Strand A: The Body: disability, gender and sexuality
The strand will offer an account of ideas developed in Cultural Studies such as post
structuralism and postmodernism related to the cultural politics of power, identity and
difference specifically applied to the filmic exploration or treatment of the body,
disability, gender and sexuality. We will focus on influential thinkers such as Foucault
and Butler, whose critical ideas will be illustrated through a range of non mainstream
film texts which provide counter accounts to the dominant discourses of the experience
of difference or non conformity. The specific film practices, narrative and
representational strategies of films relating to the filmic exploration of aspects of the
body, will be examined, attending also to contexts and aesthetic traditions which have
informed more contemporary texts

? Strand B: Humanism, posthumanism
Do we yet know what it means to be human? Using films from various genres ?
sci-fi, horror, anime - this strand explores the meaning and future of those
creatures called homo sapiens that currently populate the earth. Through technofantasy,
dystopian fiction, and various thought experiments, these films explore
what the word ?human? means, past, present, and future, and how any one
definition is resisted within the ?posthuman? paradigm shift we are already
experiencing today, be it at the hands of bioscience, animal studies, or countercultures.
Through the ?deconstruction? of the human subject as a socio-political
myth, the 'becoming-molecular' of Gilles Deleuze's philosophy, or the extension of
the human body in technology (robotics, informatics, and art), we will look at the
following eight areas in this field (with suggested sample viewings):
1. Have We Ever Been Human? (Alien Resurrection, Splice)
2. What is Human? (Blade Runner, X-Men)
3. The New Flesh and Supercinema (Scanners, Videodrome)
4. Prosthetic Cinema and Techno-humanism (Strange Days, Robocop, Ghost in
the Shell)
5. Biocinema (Gattaca, Never Let Me Go, Coma, Soylent Green,)
6. Loving the Alien Invader (They Live!, Close Encounters of the Third Kind,
Independence Day)
7. Politics of the Posthuman (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, District 9)
8. Gestural Film and Body Cinema (The Five Obstructions, Dancer in the Dark)

Strand C: Carnival, Dialogism and Postmodernism
What role does 'carnival' play in contemporary society, and how is it articulated in
popular culture? Are figures like The Joker and the deformed villains of horror movies
expressions of playful resistance, or stereotypes of disabled bodies and mental health?
This strand of the module begins with a thorough exploration of Mikhail Bakhtin's
theories of carnival. How can we understand cosplay and other subcultural behaviour
through these theoretical frameworks?
We then draw on the work of Michel Foucault to investigate the discourses that
categorise some people as disabled, aberrant or hysterical, and others as healthy and
'normal'. We return to Bakhtin's concepts of dialogism -- the use of many voices and
meanings -- and move into a discussion of postmodernism as playful carnival, asking
finally how this form of play is connected to privilege. Who is given the opportunity to
celebrate and party, experimenting with styles, and whose cultural carnivals are
contained or repressed?

Teaching: In first 3 weeks, single weekly two hour lecture preceded by a screening. Then two hour
weekly lecture/workshops

Assessment:
STUDY OPTION 1: Two 2000 word essays.
STUDY OPTION 2 or 3: 2000 word essay

Study Option 1 = Whole Year
Study Option 2 = Autumn
Study Option 3 = Spring/summer