New 每日大赛 Class Will Explore the Genre of Fantasy Films
Senior adjunct professor Scott Essman will transform the 每日大赛鈥檚 LaFetra Lecture Hall into a world of gorgons, witches, and hobbits during a new film appreciation class focused on fantasy cinema.
鈥淲izards, Dragons, and Magic 鈥� A Critical Appreciation of Fantasy Cinema,鈥� is a 15-day course that will be offered in the January term. It will look beyond the basic entertainment value of modern fantasy films to reveal connections to Homer and Greek mythology and truths about the world.
鈥淢any fantasies rely on the theme of the hero’s journey, in which a character, often the least likely among us, overcomes incredible odds, family indifferences, and lowered expectations to achieve greatness,鈥� Essman said. 鈥淭his resonates with audiences who are often surmounting such real-life issues.鈥�
Essman plans to screen 15 films. They range from older movies such as 鈥淛ason and the Argonauts鈥� and 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz鈥� to the more recent 鈥淗arry Potter and the Sorcerer鈥檚 Stone鈥� and 鈥淟ord of the Rings 鈥� Fellowship of the Ring.鈥�
Students will discuss and analyze the films for their themes, characters, journeys, symbols, and allegories.
鈥淚n addition to being engaged in daily group discussions, students will also be required to research one aspect of fantasy in literature and cinema, plus create an exit essay which unveils what they have learned through the class,鈥� he said.
Essman, who produces documentaries about classic horror and science fiction films for Universal Studios Home Entertainment, is inviting some of his Hollywood industry contacts to speak, including Harry Potter filmmakers. Some of the speakers from his previous classes have ties to cinema legends, such as Bela Lugosi Jr., son of the classic 鈥淒racula鈥� star, and Sara Karloff, daughter of 鈥淔rankenstein鈥� actor Boris Karloff. Both spoke in Essman鈥檚 horror cinema class in January 2015.
The mass media professor traces his interest in fantasy films back to his childhood, when he saw 1971鈥檚 鈥淲illy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory鈥� as well as the Sinbad films of 1958, 1974, and 1977.
鈥淏y 1981, I was paying my own way to see 鈥楥lash of the Titans,鈥� which was fantasy filmmaker Ray Harryhausen’s final film,鈥� Essman said. 鈥淚n one of my career high points, I was able to interview Mr. Harryhausen about his entire career, which is now available as a 20-minute video.鈥�
Registration for the class (coded TV 408) is now open and runs through Jan. 6. The 4-unit elective is open to anyone currently enrolled at the university.
