Film and Media 151/152: Conversations in Film and Media

Through lectures and a diverse group of visiting artists and critics, we learn how to identify ways we are shaped and socialization by media; how structures oppression have historically been conveyed through media and how artists practice resistance. This is a survey course on the theory and discourse of media that uses time based, lens based and digital art forms. The class will look at a wide range of works from the birth of these forms to the present, with special consideration of the way they fit into the story of art history and how things have changed with the rise of mass culture. There are also visiting artist lectures throughout the semester.

The students final projects is a creative project that must be about or related to one of the readings, films or lectures we have seen in this class. They can make an essay, a 2-5 min. video/animation, a 8-12 image photo series +250 word statement, or a 2-5 min. podcast. 

This is student work from my individual discussion group through the years:

Joey Steiner: For my final project, I was inspired by the way Quil Lemons expresses gender fluidity in his photography. I grew up in a small town where if you were a girl, you dressed and acted like a girl, and if you were a boy, you dressed and acted like a boy. It took me an incredibly long time to realize that I could be or dress however I wanted. I believe this is one of the reasons I was drawn to Lemons' work. When Lemons first showed us his work, I was immediately drawn to his GLITTERBOY and BOY PARTS series’. I loved these images because they break traditional gender norms. Lemons demonstrates how masculinity is simply just a construct by bringing out feminine aspects in his photography. After analyzing his pictures, I immediately got the idea to reverse his ideas and show femininity in a masculine way. In this photo series, I took photos of my friend Stella Zimmerman, highlighting her most “masculine” features. I chose to photograph her because I absolutely love how she incorporates masculinity into her style, and she's even given me the courage to do it. Because Lemon's series was about personal identity, I told Stella to wear whatever she wanted. In these photos, I used props like lipstick and makeup to show how gender is a spectrum. I wanted to portray that just because you're wearing red lipstick , for example, does not mean you can't present yourself in a masculine way. I still haven't found my identity but doing this project gave me the courage to keep searching for it.