English 24

Description

Though over 55 years old, La dolce vita (“The Sweet Life,”1960) is still trending, with its famous images circulating in visual media more widely than ever.  This continued ebullience is probably owing to two things.  The first is the film’s still-contemporary attempt to grasp our modernity through the phenomenon of celebrity culture.  And the second is the film’s still-arresting style, which, with its blend of irony and complicity, formulates the predominant terms of response to that culture.  As part of our intensive viewing—and reviewing—of the film itself,  we’ll also be taking a look at some 21^st-century LDV quotations, including its most recent cinematic makeover, Paolo Sorrentino’s La grande bellezza (“The Great Beauty,” 2013).

This 1-unit course may not be counted as one of the twelve courses required to complete the English major.