Course Description
Discover and discuss masterpieces of American cinema in this class for intermediate and advanced English speakers. You’ll watch a film at home on streaming, or borrow the DVD from your local library, before a lively and engaging discussion in class. You’ll be assigned one scene to watch at least three times! Every month you’ll view a film from an influential director so you’ll come to know the stylistic hallmarks of favorite genres and filmmakers.
If you love the movies, this course is an enjoyable way to increase vocabulary, get comfortable with idiomatic expressions, improve your conversational skills, and deepen your understanding of American culture and cinema.
During the Fall 2026 trimester we'll be discussing three independent American films from the 21st century (or close enough):
1. Fargo, 1996, written and directed by the Coen brothers, starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, and Steve Buscemi. A black comedy crime drama that features inky dark humor; stark, snowy winter; and a pregnant police chief who embodies Minnesota nice.
"McDormand's uproariously sly-spry performance connects with Roger Deakins' bleakly beautiful photography to create one of the Coens' most consistently successful outings..." -- Mike Clark, USA Today
2. Carol, 2016, directed by Todd Haynes, starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Kyle Chandler. In 1950s New York, Therese, a young department store employee, meets Carol who is seductively older, glamorous, and unhappily married. Complications ensue.
"A serious melodrama about the geometry of desire, a dreamy example of heightened reality that fully engages emotions despite the exact calculations with which it's been made... Carol's lush but controlled visual look is completely intoxicating." -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
3. Certain Women, 2016, written and directed by Kelly Reichardt, starring Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams, and Lily Gladstone. An anthology of intertwined short stories featuring three different women whose lives are marked by isolation and loneliness.
Guy Lodge of Variety called Reichardt "the quietest of great American filmmakers." In The Guardian, Nigel M. Smith gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and praised Reichardt as "a master at slow-burning, melanchonic dramas."
About the instructor:
Ellen Feldman grew up in Philadelphia and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She holds a Ph.D. in cinema studies from New York University and has taught film studies at the State University of New York, Geneseo campus, and Brooklyn College.