**Course registration sold-out. A limited number of single course tickets will be available at the box office the same day as the lecture.**
What is a man? This is a question that Hollywood has claimed to have an answer for since the dawn of movies, and this promise is one of the big reasons we keep going back: to see how ‘real men’ should be. But these men – or at least the roles they play – aren’t ‘real’. They are projections and fantasies. They are legends in every sense of the word.
From the enduring mystique of Marlon Brando and Paul Newman to the unbridled charisma of Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington, this new series from Curious Minds favourite Geoff Pevere will explore the personas that have defined Hollywood’s most unforgettable actors and how they have each reflected evolving attitudes towards gender, sex and power.
As our society begins to question the inherited roles and narratives of modern masculinity, this will be a lively and thought-provoking exploration of the big screen icons who have often seemed to define them—for better and for worse. It will reveal your favourite screen legend as you’ve never seen him before.
Led by Geoff Pevere, who has been writing, teaching and broadcasting about movies, media and popular culture for more than 30 years. A former film critic with The Toronto Star and regular contributor to The Globe and Mail, he has led 8 wildly popular series at Curious Minds and is currently completing a follow-up to his best-selling book Mondo Canuck: A Canadian Pop Culture Odyssey.
*Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session has been rescheduled. There will be a makeup class on December 2.*
October 21: Humphrey Bogart: King of the Shadows
Stories of fate, retribution, isolation, loss and memory suited Bogart’s trench coat romanticism, and his resignation to sleeping in the bed he made nurtured of one of pop culture’s most enduring personas. Cool starts here.
*Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session has been rescheduled. There will be a makeup class on December 9.*
October 28: Marlon Brando: The Naked Ape
Born howling on the Broadway stage, Brando lurched to stardom like a gorilla on a long leash. Plagued by fears that he was a charlatan and a whore, he channeled these doubts into unforgettable roles —and an enduring mystique.
Further Viewing | On the Waterfront (1:00 PM, 3:45 PM)
November 4: Paul Newman: Behind Blue Eyes
Properly arranged in a Panavision frame, Paul Newman was simply too beautiful to be believed, so he wisely chose to play ruinous bastards. The on-screen beatings he took for lying and cheating never quite killed him, but they made a martyr of him. Nobody bled quite so beautifully.
Further Viewing | Cool Hand Luke (4:00 PM)
November 11: Clint Eastwood: The Last Cowboy
The last male movie star to ride a horse all the way to the top, Clint Eastwood was—and remains—the custodian of his own image and persona, and an expert tease in the art of self deconstruction. Behind every squint lurks a wink.
November 18: Jack Nicholson: The Laughing Goat
After stealing Easy Rider from Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, Nicholson was unleashed. Never more than a laugh away from madness, Nicholson responded to the chaos around him by always threatening more.
November 25: Denzel Washington: The Equalizer
The guy’s got gravitas, the kind that endures crisis, racism, trauma, love, apocalypse, and even history by clinging to a core of badass decency. Once assigned to backseat roles, Denzel was soon unbuckled, and his charismatic, Oscar-worthy roles made you sit up and listen.
Makeup class: December 2: Humphrey Bogart: King of the Shadows
Stories of fate, retribution, isolation, loss and memory suited Bogart’s trench coat romanticism, and his resignation to sleeping in the bed he made nurtured of one of pop culture’s most enduring personas. Cool starts here.
Makeup class: December 9: Marlon Brando: The Naked Ape
Born howling on the Broadway stage, Brando lurched to stardom like a gorilla on a long leash. Plagued by fears that he was a charlatan and a whore, he channeled these doubts into unforgettable roles —and an enduring mystique.