In this seminar we will take a 'skewed' look at the history of (mostly) British cinema, understanding it as a medium and art form in which queer representations, undermining the very idea of a binary order imposed on gender and sexuality, have played a prominent part. We will study pre-gay/pre-lesbian queerness in 1940s and '50s films, and then explore explicit representations of homosexuality since the 1960s (starting with Victim, 1961). More specifically, we will look at the role of cinema in either affirming or working against the discrimination of LGBTIQA+ people, highlighting cinema's enormous potential for developing queer identities. As a general rule, films will be discussed in their social, cultural, legal and political contexts, paying attention to changing discourses/mentalities in transforming societies. Spotlights will include films made on the life of Oscar Wilde across the decades, cinematic reflections of AIDS (like Derek Jarman's Blue, 1993), responses to Thatcherism (most notably, My Beautiful Laundrette, 1985), and fictionalisations of the Northern Ireland conflict (such as Sunday Bloody Sunday, 1971). Artists discussed will include, among others, Richard Harris, Ken Russell, Stephen Fry, Derek Jarman, Neil Jordan and Tilda Swinton. While the focus is on British cinema, we will also consider relevant trans- and international contexts, paying special attention to the New Queer Cinema with influential films like Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Moonlight (2016).
- Trainer DS: Harald Pittel