Movie Madness University at PSU Presents "Cinephilia: Then and Now"

The Auteur Theory. Cahiers du Cinéma. André Bazin and The French New Wave critics-turned-directors. May 1968. Many cinephiles know a version of this origin myth of midcentury movie culture. But why did a new way of looking at cinema emerge in postwar France following the end of the Second World War? What were the conditions that allowed a new generation of filmgoers to conceive of cinema as a project with a purpose, an ethic, or a proper way of living in relation to the images that were beginning to proliferate on screens in an emerging consumer society? Can we recreate this ethic in our own moment, perhaps even here in Portland?

In this 2-hour class, we’ll learn about Henri Langlois’ Cinémathèque Française and learn lessons for the work of cinephilia in our own present moment of radical change.

This class will be taught by Matthew Ellis, Adjunct Professor of English at Portland State University, film and media historian and theorist.

Class will be held in room LH115 in Lincoln Hall, at 1620 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97201 on the Portland State University Campus.

PSU Students are free with valid student ID! Present ID at door for admission - no ticket needed.