This introductory video production course focuses on how contemporary artists engage their historical moment. We will look ways in which the moving image can be used to reckon with the force that historical events have on us, and the ways in which we might hope to have force on historical events. Examples will include works made in Hollywood and for broadcast television, as well as work by artists and activists. Our focus will be on work related to U.S. events in the present and the recent past.
Films and videos studied may include works by: S.R. Sidarth, Julia Meltzer and David Thorne, Oliver Stone, Omar Fest, Michael Winterbottom, Sharon Hayes, Jayce Salloum and Elia Sulieman, Gus Van Sant, Marco Loera, Spike Lee, WITNESS, Common Ground Collective, TVTV, ACT UP, Paul Chan, Kelly Anderson and Tami Gold, the Yes Men, and many others. Reading a newspaper or online news source will also be required.