SPAN 325: Hispanic Cinema (Fall 2013)
Course Description:The Hispanic and Luso- Brazilian Cinematic Lens- A Memorable Gaze to Human Odyssey: This course will examine the multiple ways that Hispanic and Brazilian filmmakers have seen Hispanic world, its people, religious beliefs and cultures for more than a century. This course provides the student with a range of perspectives on cultural developments in Spain, Brazil, Latin America and the Caribbean from the colonial to the modern period, using critical and literary texts as well as films. Open to every one. Taught in English.
Reflective Narrative:
This class was taken in order to fulfill MLO 3, Secondary Culture. In this course we watched films from many Hispanic countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Spain. The films we watched each addressed some sort of social issue from the country it was made in. For example, drug abuse, violence, poverty, and the black market were themes that often occurred throughout the course. For each film, we would discuss and analyze the themes, then reflect upon them in our journals. This class really reinforces the fact that a big part of culture is product. We can see that culture, including social issues, can be expressed through forms of art like film. Thus, this cinema class helped me a great deal in understanding the culture of those Spanish speaking countries.
For our midterm, we were split into groups and each assigned our own country. This allowed us to research further into that country and learn more about the historical and social factors that influence the films that were made there. My group was assigned Cuba, and so we did much research on the Cuban Revolution which was led by Fidel Castro. There were many social issues under Castro’s rule, including discrimination against homosexuals, which was the theme of one of our films, Strawberry and Chocolate. We addressed these issues and how they are reflected in the Cuban films we watched. This assignment was very beneficial as we got to open our eyes to a different part of the world and expand our knowledge about the condition of other countries.
Reflective Narrative:
This class was taken in order to fulfill MLO 3, Secondary Culture. In this course we watched films from many Hispanic countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Spain. The films we watched each addressed some sort of social issue from the country it was made in. For example, drug abuse, violence, poverty, and the black market were themes that often occurred throughout the course. For each film, we would discuss and analyze the themes, then reflect upon them in our journals. This class really reinforces the fact that a big part of culture is product. We can see that culture, including social issues, can be expressed through forms of art like film. Thus, this cinema class helped me a great deal in understanding the culture of those Spanish speaking countries.
For our midterm, we were split into groups and each assigned our own country. This allowed us to research further into that country and learn more about the historical and social factors that influence the films that were made there. My group was assigned Cuba, and so we did much research on the Cuban Revolution which was led by Fidel Castro. There were many social issues under Castro’s rule, including discrimination against homosexuals, which was the theme of one of our films, Strawberry and Chocolate. We addressed these issues and how they are reflected in the Cuban films we watched. This assignment was very beneficial as we got to open our eyes to a different part of the world and expand our knowledge about the condition of other countries.