SAS education educational model majors course catalogue faculty

Behind the Frame: Cinema and Meaning in the 20th Century

This course is intended for students interested in a deep cultural and philosophical analysis of cinema as a unique text and/or a reflection of its era. It is based on the study of key European (and some American-British) films from the mid-to-late 20th century through the lens of their historical context, social resonance, cultural symbolism, and religious subtext. The theoretical foundation and practical goal of the course is to develop skills in multi‑level interpretation of cinematic language as a carrier of complex philosophical ideas.

The main content of the course is structured around the analysis of key periods and directorial worlds:

  • Italian Neorealism (R. Rossellini, V. De Sica): Examining the post‑war social reality of Italy, the ethics of survival and solidarity, and the manifestation of human dignity in conditions of devastation. Analysis of religious motifs (hope, redemption, miracle) in the context of historical trauma.

  • Italian Auteur Cinema (F. Fellini, M. Antonioni): Exploring the crisis of identity, the search for meaning, and spiritual emptiness in the era of the economic miracle. Philosophical reflection on memory, imagination, the theatricality of life, and the individual’s complex relationship with religious institutions.

  • Swedish Cinema (I. Bergman): An in‑depth analysis of existential questions: the silence of God, the nature of faith and doubt, the face of death, the torments of creativity, and the complexity of human relationships.

  • American‑British Cinema (S. Kubrick, A. Hitchcock): Studying universal philosophical themes (technology and dehumanisation, the nature of violence, the absurd, manipulation and control) expressed through unique visual imagery and directorial techniques.

    • Methodologically, the course is built around:

    1. Contextual‑philosophical analysis: viewing films as reflections and interpretations of key social upheavals (post‑war Europe, the crisis of traditional values), cultural codes, and the deep religious‑metaphysical quests of the era.

    2. Semiotics and narrative analysis: interpreting the cultural symbolism, visual metaphors, and religious allusions embedded in plots and images.

    3. An additional level is formal analysis of cinematic language: narrative structures, editing solutions, mise‑en‑scène, and the handling of space and time. These elements are treated as tools for constructing meaning, adequate to the philosophical task at hand.

    The aim of the course is for students to master philosophical methods of deciphering the meaning of films as embedded by the director in signs, images, symbols, and aesthetic metaphors. The course addresses the task of overcoming a “flat” view of classical and contemporary cinema through analytical practices of “three‑dimensional” film viewing. To teach students not merely to describe films, but to identify and interpret with argumentation the complex philosophical questions raised by 20th‑century directors, understanding their inseparable link to the historical moment, cultural environment, and deep existential and religious quests of humanity. The outcome is the development of an ability to critically “read” cinema as a crucial philosophical and cultural artefact and as a testimony of its era.

    professor
    contact hours
    48
    ECTS
    4