Module 05 Content
Throughout this course we have looked at a number of important events in American history since World War II. Each of the films below can be seen as a reflection (though a fictionalized account) of an event or period in recent American history: McCarthyism, Domestic Containment, Youth Rebellion, Beatlemania, the Cold War, Vietnam, Watergate, Civil Rights, or Feminism.
Select one film from the list below or another that has been approved by your instructor. Research, watch, and write an essay on how your selected film reflected American culture at the time. Discuss how your film can be seen as a historical artifact.
Select one of the following.
1950s: Sabrina (1954), Gigi (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Big Jim McLain (1952), Blackboard Jungle (1955), or Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
1960s: The Graduate (1967), A Hard Day’s Night (1964), Easy Rider (1969), My Fair Lady (1964), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), or In the Heat of the Night (1967)
1970s: M*A*S*H (1970), Saturday Night Fever (1977), All the President’s Men (1976), or Nine to Five (1980)
Research your film.
What is the background of this film (e.g., characters, plot, release date)?
Focusing on a specific point in American history (McCarthyism, Domestic Containment, Youth Rebellion, Beatlemania, the Cold War, Vietnam, Watergate, Civil Rights, or Feminism), what social issues and historical events were taking place at the time the film was released?
Focusing on a specific point in American history, how do you see characters or elements from the film fitting in with important events and issues of the time? How is film a historical artifact (a reflection of the social, political, and cultural current events)?
Why do you think these fictionalized accounts of history created in Hollywood shape American’s perceptions of events more powerfully and profoundly than the printed word? Please be specific.
