Phantoms of Desire: Repoliticizing the films of Luis Buñuel

From 1929 to 1977, Spanish film director Luis Buñuel created a body of work that
sliced through expectations about what movies could be and do. Buñuel’s films
resist easy classification, and the director himself resisted any political
labels for himself or his work. However, Buñuel’s preoccupations with
Surrealism, psychoanalysis, the Catholic Church and the absurdities of daily life placed
his work in direct opposition to many of the forces active in twentieth-century
life.

This course will
examine Buñuel’s films in their historical and political context, considering
the Spanish Revolution, the battle against fascism and resistance to post-war
totalitarianism, as well as the writings of Buñuel, his collaborators and
critics.

This will not be a
film theory class, but it will not be simply film appreciation either.
Participants should expect to read several articles and book excerpts during
the course and discuss them in relation to the films we watch. We will attempt
to see at least six films by Buñuel all the way through, plus clips of other
films. Films will be presented in their original language (usually French or Spanish) with English subtitles. Other course materials and discussion will be in English.