Brooklyn College Film Department 2022 Summer Session I Courses

Film 2124 – American Film Comedy - M-Th, 11:20am - 1:40pm (remote) (4 hours; 3 credits) Comedy can serve a wide range of functions, from simply entertaining audiences to helping them cope with life and mitigating the anxieties of a rapidly changing world. This course examines film comedy as a means for reflecting, critiquing, and processing various aspects of American society, politics, and culture. We will study the codes, conventions, and effects of various subgenres of American film comedy from the 1920s to present day, including slapstick, screwball, romantic, satirical, and parodic comedy. We will analyze in particular how comedies comment on constructions of gender, sexuality, class, race, ethnicity and other forms of social differentiation and contribute to political discourses about American society and America’s place in the world. Note: Screening fee charged.