AMERICAN AUTEURS – THE GENRE CINEMA OF JOEL AND ETHAN COEN

Since their debut film Blood Simple in the mid-1980s, directors Joel and Ethan Coen have proven themselves to be two of the most creative and accomplished directors within American cinema. With most their films quickly achieving cult status, alongside crucial festival wins such as the Academy Award for Best Picture and the prestigious Palme d’Or, the body of work of the Coen Brothers manages to appeal to both casual and deeply invested cinemagoers – undoubtedly a result of their films’ highly reflective contemplations of both the American literary canon and Hollywood genre traditions. As the Coens have created films within almost every mainstream genre existent in Hollywood – from the adventure film to film noir to, perhaps most notably, the Western – they have also exceedingly revised and commentated on the very nature of generic conventions, giving audiences opportunity to rethink the complicated relationship between Hollywood genres and perceptions of American culture and history. In this tutorial, we will go through the two directors’ incredibly varied filmography, watching and discussing their key films with a particular focus on how they negotiate film genre, potential literary materials, and American history, geography, and culture. Participants, regardless of previous experience with the brothers’ films or their literary and cinematic inspirations, are invited to share their thoughts, as the tutorial will encourage critical discussion not only of the Coens’ oevre, but of the wider scope of cinema related to their vision.

ERSTES TREFFEN: MITTWOCH / 16-18 UHR; ANSPRECHPARTNER*IN: SEBASTIAN; EMAIL:SEBIHA2000@GMAIL. COM (PLEASE INDICATE YOUR COURSE OF STUDY, PREFERRED LANGUAGE (ENG/ GER), AND A SINGLE SENTENCE WHY YOU’RE INTERESTED TO TAKE PART)