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RELEASED: Mar. 11, 2004
DANVILLE, KY—For some Centre students, a day at the movies is more than watching car chases and chomping on popcorn. They're learning about a different way of life through film.
"German Films," a course combining Humanities 264 and German 325, has students watching German movies from three different eras.
The class began with the Weimar period, including films dated from approximately 1919 and ending in 1933 with the rise of the Nazi regime. The students are also studying the New German film era with movies created from about 1965 to 1985. It will end with the films made after the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), dating from the 1990s to the present.
"The class is kind of a crash course in German history, culture and film-making," says Elisha Sircy, a freshman from Paducah, Ky.
Sircy, who plans to major in English and minor in German studies, enjoys seeing how modern film-makers were influenced by the early German films.
"You can tell when you see an Alfred Hitchcock movie how he's been influenced and how he borrowed some of the techniques of German film to create suspense," he says.
Students view silent movies and movies subtitled in English. They meet twice a week with their professor, Ian Wilson, visiting instructor of German and humanities, to discuss and critique the movies.
"We're looking at films that I thought I'd never watch," says Katherine Foley, a sophomore German studies major from Louisville. "This class has made me think about films as art."
Wilson looks for the students to experience more than just dilated eyes from the dim lights in the theater.
"I hope they'll leave this course with an appreciation for German film, an increased interest in German culture and language and an appreciation for film as a cultural artifact," he says.
There are several films remaining in the series. All movies are shown in the Bijou Theater in Crounse Academic Center and are open to Centre students, faculty and staff. Upcoming films are as follows:
The American Friend — March 17 @ 7 p.m.
The Marriage of Maria Braun — March 31 @ 7 p.m.
The Nasty Girl — April 7 @ 7 p.m.
Funny Games — April 14 @ 6:30 p.m.
Maybe … Maybe Not — April 14 @ 8:30 p.m.
Run Lola Run — April 21 @ 7 p.m.
What to Do in Case of Fire — April 28 @ 7 p.m.
Nowhere in Africa — May 5 @ 7 p.m.
To find out more about Centre's German studies program, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/academic/majors/german.html.
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