Event
Film 101: Duck Soup
Arguably the Marx Brothers’ funniest film, this comedy masterpiece contains several famous scenes, including the hilarious mirror sequence. A wealthy widow offers financial aid to the bankrupt country of Freedonia on condition that Rufus T. Firefly be made leader. But his chaotic, inept regime bumbles into war with neighboring Sylvania.
The topic of Film 101 is "Screen Comedy" and we will explore some specific questions: What are the subversive, anarchic, or therapeutic functions of film comedy in our culture? What besides laughter do we get out of these funny movies?
Comic plots and characters tend to be persistent and traditional -but have our attitudes towards what's funny changed? Above all, we are interested in speculating about the possibility of a purely cinematic comedy: push the boundaries cinematic storytelling, censorship, and social taboos.
Each film is followed by engaging post-film dialogues with Ian Ally-Seals, Cinema Coordinator at Real Art Ways.
Containing five film comedies from a variety of places and times, participants will learn how to view these films with a critical eye, and engage with the screen on a deeper level.
