October 8 Only.
Join us for an event that will fundamentally change the way you watch films and help you see how, now more than ever, great cinema can be your passport to understanding the mystery and magic of American identity. Presented by Professor Joseph Luzzi.
We often think of the movies as entertainment, an escape from the pressures and crises of the world around us. Yet there is a group of films that have not only enchanted audiences but also influenced society, even changed America. In this brand-new and highly curated event, renowned Bard College film professor Joseph Luzzi will discuss the cinematic masterpieces that have profoundly impacted our nation’s culture, history, and politics. Professor Luzzi will give you the tools to understand and appreciate even the most complex films and help you understand of how each of them remade American society in unique ways. We will consider some of the most remarkable cinematic masterpieces ever made—while also introducing you to some less-known films that will surprise you. Films will include Casablanca, Rebel without a Cause, The Graduate, Jaws, Philadelphia…and others!
Co-presented by Thoughtful Productions.
Joseph Luzzi received his PhD from Yale University is the Asher B. Edelman Professor of Literature at Bard College, where he also teaches courses on film and Italian Studies. He is the author of five books, including his most recent work, Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance (Norton, 2022), a New Yorker’s Best Books of 2022 and Guardian Book of the Day selection. His other books include Romantic Europe and the Ghost of Italy (Yale University Press, 2008), which received the MLA’s Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies; A Cinema of Poetry: Aesthetics of the Italian Art Film (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014), a finalist for the international prize “The Bridge Book” Award; My Two Italies (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014), a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice; and In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love (HarperCollins, 2015), which has been translated into multiple languages. Learn More.