CL/FM3069 Aesthetics of Crime Fiction and Film

Alice Craven

Spring 2015

February

3 Psychological and Intellectual Roots of the Crime Genre in Fiction and Film. Critique of Breton’s Nadja with focus on the chance encounter and the structure of the anti-novel. Excerpts from Hitchcock’s Spellbound. *Summary of key points in Freud’s Uncanny. Please note that some readings which are available in your reading packet (on blackboard) are there for suggested not required reading. They will help you in pursuing your own research throughout the semester. An asterisk indicates suggested rather than required reading.

6 Edgar Allan Poe’s The Purloined Letter. Sir Conan Doyle’s The Final Solution. Induction and Deduction. Todorov’s Typology of Detective Fiction; *Summary of Jacques Lacan’s Seminar on the Purloined Letter and brief overview of Van Dine’s Rules for Detective Fiction (not available in reading packet). Excerpts from Monsieur Verdoux

10 The Gentleman Criminal. Raffles and Miss Blandish from reading packet. The Police Procedural. Excerpts or screening of Wallander. If time, illustrations of the gentleman criminal, though the next few classes will also follow-up on this theme.

13 TOPICS FOR MID-TERM PROJECT AND PRESENTATION SUGGESTIONS HANDED OUT. Summary of Narrativity Theory. Forensics, Urbanity and the Uncanny. Excerpts from Kafka’s Trial; Fritz Lang’s M and Orson Welles’ The Trial. Selected clips from The Wire. Suggested Reading: “Eye on the City”-link to be provided in class.

17 Doubling and the Psychological Thriller. Screening of Strangers on a Train.

20 Screening continued. Discussion and Critique of The Talented Mr. Ripley. If time, excerpts from The American Friend and Laura.

SPRING BREAK

March

10 Post-War, Existentialism and Crime. Série noir and film noir. You should have finished The Long Goodbye by this class. Deleuze on The Philosophy of the Série noir. Return to Mildred Pierce and clips from The Long Goodbye and Out of the Past. The neo-noir.

13 MID-TERM PAPERS DUE. Chandler’s Simple Art of Murder provided in class or on Blackboard. Clips from Chinatown and discussion of The Long Goodbye.

17 Presentations-(Crystal, Sally, Sherry, Robin) Mildred Peirce clip. The Private investigator. The Big Sleep clip. Introduction to the Long Goodbye.

20 Presentations (Last day to withdraw) Discussion of The Long Goodbye and from noir to neo-noir. You should have completed your reading of The Long Goodbye for this class.

24 Presentations (Amer). Conclusions to The Long Goodbye. Monsieur Verdoux

27 NO CLASS. MAKE-UP WILL BE SCHEDULED

31 TOPICS FOR FINAL PAPERS DISTRIBUTED. Presentations (Ethan Sari, Jared, Derek). Conclusions to Monsieur Verdoux

April

3 Presentations (Sara, Audrey, Kelsey).Crime and the Writer. Screening. The Secret of the Eyes.

7 Screening continued. Excerpts from The Glass Trilogy to be provided for discussion, if time permits.

10 Presentations- (Kyle, Quinn) Thalia. Crime and the Subversion of History. You should have finished reading Murder in Memorium for class discussion. Clips from Outlaws.

14 Murder in Memorium. Clips from The Electronic Mist.

17 Presentations- Jelena, Shaina, Claudia, Jesse. Crime and the Gansgter: Ethnic and Comic Perspectives. You should have finished reading A Rage in Harlem for class discussion. Excerpts from the Big Heat and Election 1.

21 Presentations- Martin, Paige. Crime and Insanity. Readings from Zizek in the reading packet. Excerpts from Vertigo. Intro to screening of Mad Detective.

24 Screening: Mad Detective. Crime and the Cinematic Homage.

28 Screening TBA.

May

1 No Class. National Holiday.

5 Review for Final Exam.