New PSC FIlm Course Teaches Diversity

Students in a new communications course at Pensacola State College this fall will view at least a dozen motion pictures and discuss their portrayal of diverse groups of people over the past 75 years or so.

“This is the first film course we have offered in quite a while. I’m excited about it,” said Thom Botsford, head of the English and Communications Department.

Included in the syllabus for Special Topics in Communication (SPC 2933) are viewings and discussions of “Giant,” “Grand Torino,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Fight Club,” “Crash,” “Brokeback Mountain,” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” among others.

Professor Stacey Albaugh was commissioned to design and teach the course as part of a Title III grant at college.

It will meet on the Pensacola Campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. (section 0313).

“By analyzing films from today and previous decades,” Albaugh said, “the course will explore how Hollywood’s portrayal of various ethnic minorities, economic classes, religious groups, and other cultural and social differences has influenced our understanding and opinions of these groups.”

There will be on-campus screenings of the films, or students may use a service such as Netflix or Red Box. Most of the titles will be available in the library.

Here is a list of films the course will examine and discuss:

• Culture and Religion: “Kippendorf’s Tribe,” “Pleasantville,” “Grand Torino”
• Ethnicity and Race: “Falling Down,” “Giant”
• Class: “Crash,” “The Breakfast Club,” “The Grapes of Wrath”
• Gender: “Fight Club,” “Transamerica,” “Mona Lisa Smile”
• Sexual Orientation: “Chasing Amy,” “The Laramie Project,” “Brokeback Mountain”
• Body Size, Ability, and Age: “Second Hand Lions,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”

Additionally, students will select films from a list for individual analysis.

For more information, call Tom Botsford at 484-1447.