SPCM 357 Film and Social Change

Overview of Course

For over 100 years, filmmakers have told stories from a particular point of
view that persuaded large populations and sparked significant social
change—often, though not always, toward greater equality. D. W. Griffith’s
The Birth of a Nation contributed to the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan,
while Bambi significantly reduced recreational hunting. Other films have
prompted reassessments of racism, sexism, antisemitism, homophobia,
trans rights, environmentalism, and corporate greed, while celebrating
freedom, dissent, and speaking truth to power.
Documentaries address issues directly. You may know U.S. films such as
Bowling for Columbine (gun culture), Super Size Me (the fast-food
industry), and An Inconvenient Truth (climate change), but filmmakers
worldwide have also affected change by documenting social challenges. A
Short Film About Killing (Poland) transformed public opinion about capital
punishment; The Lives of Others (Germany) demonstrated the impact of a
surveillance state; and Persepolis (Iran) challenged Western stereotypes
surrounding Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Films from every country we visit on
Semester at Sea explore exploitation, economic dependence, human
rights, dissent, censorship, inequality, animal rights, and popular culture.
Fiction films have likewise sparked social change through compelling
storytelling. Parasite (South Korea) exposed class inequality, while
Metropolis (Germany) explored class conflict, social control, and
technology versus humanity—especially relevant in our Age of AI.
We will examine films from every country we visit addressing migration,
gender, sexuality, labor, class, environmental change, displacement, and
discrimination across genres from silent film and science fiction to social
realism, psychological drama, art-house cinema, and even road-trip
comedy.