Cinema has given us diverse myths and images of cities, their architecture and forms of urban life. The course provides an overview of the history of films representations and investigations of the city, covering cities in a global context, from New York and Paris to Bombay, Dakar, Mexico City, Cairo, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, and Tehran. We will study how cityscapes are created and mediated by different genres and global film movements, with close attention to formal techniques such as editing, location shooting, and visual effects. The emphasis will be on how the experience of urban modernity is inflected by intersections of class, race, gender, and the legacies of war, migration, and colonialism. Readings will take up broader social and philosophical theories of mass society, modern architecture, changing domestic spaces, and the impact of globalization.
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