Pier Paolo Pasolini

Poet. Essayist. Novelist. Screenwriter. Director. Catholic. Marxist. Pervert.  One of the key public intellectuals of post-war Italy, Pier Paolo Pasolini is known for his many, and often controversial, contributions to art, politics, ideas, and society. 

This course will provide key background on Pasolini’s ideas and art through four representative films. Two of the films explore Italy’s underclass and bourgeoisie through contemporary settings and original scripts. The other two provide Pasolini’s unique perspective on an ancient text and a medieval text. A chronological approach will help students explore the development of Pasolini’s ideas, attitudes, and filmmaking techniques over the course of his work as a film director. 

 Films:

2/5: ACCATTONE (1961, 117 min)

2/12: OEDIPUS REX (1967, 104 min)

2/19: TEOREMA (1968, 98 min)

2/26: THE CANTERBURY TALES (1972, 109 min)

This class will be taught by Education Instructor Jordan Sudermann, who teaches IB Film and various social science courses at Lincoln High School. His interests in film include post-war European art cinema, East Asian cinemas, and queer cinemas. Previous courses at Movie Madness University include Japanese New Wave, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, and Vertigos.

Each class will begin with a short lecture, followed by a screening of the film, after which an instructor-led discussion will take place. 

Class size will be limited to 18.

Email us at education@moviemadness.org if you have any questions.