Sports Films examines the elements and messages in films that make people cheer for the underdog and care about teams, players, and sports. Using both big-budget Hollywood films and documentaries with a small scope, this course explores the ideas of team, sport, and athletics and investigates the grip that sports have on American culture.
Through technical, cultural, and historical examination of these films as texts we will examine issues of sports and their relationships to the larger culture while asking questions of what insights film provides that written texts do not. What does it mean to be an athlete, part of a team, an underdog, or a sports hero? How do the racial, political, religious, cultural and gender status of the athletes impact the culture of sports?
Through technical, cultural, and historical examination of these films as texts we will examine issues of sports and their relationships to the larger culture while asking questions of what insights film provides that written texts do not. What does it mean to be an athlete, part of a team, an underdog, or a sports hero? How do the racial, political, religious, cultural and gender status of the athletes impact the culture of sports?
- Teacher: Rachel Simon
- Teacher: Di Yu