Tuesday, November 10

We finished watching M.

Monday, November 9

We continued to watch M, ending as the authorities and the underworld both begin to close in on Beckert. We will finish watching the film on Tuesday.

Friday, November 6

We began watching Fritz Lang's early sound-era masterpiece, M.

Thursday, November 5

Students took a quiz over Expressionism, and we graded it together. We then watched more clips from German films of the 20's, including Murnau's Faust and Joe May's Asphalt.

Wednesday, November 4

Focus on Expressionism

We began by watching one more clip from Metropolis, in which the false Maria turns men to beasts with her dancing and Freder dreams of the Seven Deadly Sins -- a primer in Expressionist style.

From film we turned to painting, and illustrated references to artists in the Britannica handout --from Van Gogh to Kaethe Kollwitz -- with projected images.

HW due Thursday
Quiz over Expressionism, based on class instruction, films and clips, and the two handouts.

Tuesday, November 3

We returned to Freaks and re-viewed the pivotal scene where the tables are turned on Cleopatra, focusing on how the change in perspective to that of the freaks is accomplished in cinematic terms.

We also discussed further question of the film's moral center (in simple terms whether film ridicules or advocates for those who are not "normal").

We then turned (returned) to Lang's Metropolis as an important example of the German Expressionist movement in film to which Freaks is very heavily indebted. We watched two scenes of that Metropolis.

HW due Thursday:
Quiz over Expressionism; review the two handouts.

Monday, November 2

We finished watching Freaks, students read a handout about the actual people in the film, and we briefly began to discuss the film.