Ancient Greece and Rome on the Big Screen

Anthony Keen

Want to learn about Ancient Greece and Rome on the big screen? Here’s your chance!

The ancient Greek and Romans have been represented in cinema since movie-making began. This ten week-course aims to introduce students to how cinema has made use of Greco-Roman antiquity. Each week a particular genre will be discussed, and an example of that genre studied in depth. At the beginning of each week, students will be sent a 15-minute audio-visual introduction to the genre being studied and a c. 4,000-word essay on the movie under discussion. You’ll also be sent links to some online further reading. At the end of the week, there will be a synchronous online discussion, where you will be able to ask the course tutor questions about the material you’ve been sent.

The schedule of movies to be studied is:

13 January 2021 An introduction to studying cinema and a brief overview of ancient Greece and Rome on Screen before 1950

20 January 2021 Roman movies I: The 1950s and 1960s Hollywood epic. Case study movie: Ben-Hur (1959).

27 January 2021 Roman movies II: The twenty-first century Hollywood technological epic. Case study movie: Gladiator (2000).

3 February 2021: Roman movies III: British (and some American) comedy movies using Rome, and the subversion of Hollywood epic. Case study movie: Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1981).

10 February 2021: Roman movies IV: European Art Cinema. Case study movie: Fellini Satyricon (1969).

24 February 2021: Greek movies I: Greek Mythology . Case study movie: Jason and the Argonauts (1963).

3 February 2021: Greek movies II: Greek History, ‘history’, and Hollywood. Case study movie: 300 (2006).

10 March 2021:  Greek movies III: The Odyssey, myth and contemporary Hollywood. Case study movie: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

17 March 2021:  Greek movies IV: Athenian tragic drama and European art cinema. Case study movie: Medea (1969).

24 March 2021: The ancient world movie since 2010. Case study movie: Chi-Raq (2015)

Required materials: Students will need to source the movies themselves. However, all the movies to be discussed are easily available to rent online. The course materials will assume that students have watched them.

Virtual Learning Environment:  Zoom

DayWednesdays  Time: 19.00-21.00 GMT.

10 weeks starting  13 January 2021, with a half-term break.

Virtual Learning Environment:
Zoom

Price Concessions Minimum No. Maximum No.
£8/session or £70/course * 8 50

Pay via the following Eventbrite links:
To pay for the full course: please use this link: Full course: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cinema-and-ancient-greece-and-rome-full-course-tickets-121629137023

And for the individual lectures: please, use this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cinema-and-ancient-greece-and-rome-individual-sessions-tickets-121631909315

To book, complete the MANCENT booking form and send to the email address below. Payment can be made via the following Eventbrite links. If you would like to pay via BACS or Paypal please contact Tony Keen for details.
email: agk044@gmail.com

Adult Education in Manchester and Cheshire