ENGL 3707 - Hidden Identities Onscreen

(crosslisted) AMST 3707, COML 3707, FGSS 3707, JWST 3707, PMA 3507
(CA-AS, ALC-AS)

Fall. 4 credits. Student option grading.

J. Branfman.

From White Chicks to Blackkklansman, American film has often depicted characters who conceal their race or gender, like black male cops “passing” as wealthy white women. This class will examine how Hollywood has depicted race and gender “passing” from the early 20th century to the present. While tracing common themes across films, we will also study the ideological role of passing films: how they thrill audiences by challenging social boundaries and hierarchies, only to reestablish familiar boundaries by the end. We will not treat these films as accurate depictions of real-world passing, but rather as cultural tools that help audiences to manage ideological contradictions about race, gender, sexuality, and class. Students will finish the course by creating their own short films about passing.