"What Good is Cinema?" with Timothy Palmer, Assoc. Professor of Film at UNCW

DON"T MISS THIS MEETING!

I'll first we'll discuss some of the ways in which the arts have been traditionally valued (as morally enlightened, as a kind of calling, as justification for elitism, as spiritually and communally uplifting, etc.) and relate these to cinema, which as a relatively recent medium is still typically excluded from such conversations. Drawing examples from recent French, American, and other world cinemas, I'll then go on to talk about cases in which mainstream and arthouse tendencies, low and high art, have become blurred or combined, in peculiar but often very progressive ways. Case studies will range from politically engaged zombie films (France), abstract or unplaced war films (America, France) to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Some film clips will be shown.

Many times Humanists think that humanism is only informed by Reason and Science. The arts and in this case cinema provides us with new windows to our world and provide transformative experiences to be more human.

Timothy Palmer
Associate Professor and Associate Chair
Department of Film Studies
UNC Wilmington

Join us for this important meeting with a social hour and pot luck supper buffet afterwards. Please bring a dish to share, soft drinks provided, BYOB allowed.

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