There are no pre-requisites for this module to be added

This module examines how cinema draws on the vast range of cultural representations of fantasies and dreams. It begins by first introducing students to theories of both dreams and the relationship between the film screen and dreaming. Following this it studies how filmmakers have utilised dreams, visions, and the imagination in cinematic imagery and narratives to explore topics such as childhood, the structure and purpose of myths, folktales and fairy-tales, madness, the construction of the concepts of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’, the instability of memory, history, and hallucinations, time travel, the supernatural, utopian and dystopian societies, and death. All of these topics investigate the cinema’s ability to represent and explore the musings of the mind and efforts to makes sense of and communicate ideas about what has been and what could be, how societies could be better or worse, and what we are as individuals and a social species. To examine these subjects the module explores the works of numerous international film directors, such as Bergman, Cocteau, Deren, Kurosawa, Murnau, Tarkovsky, and Svankmejer.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:
LO1: Demonstrate knowledge of and critically reflect on arguments and methodologies utilised to elucidate arguments relating film and the mind.
LO2: Construct and implement a viable research programme from the critical literature on film, the mind, and film cultures.
LO3: Critically reflect on the relationships between film, dreams, visions, the imagination, and broader histories of art and narrative.
LO4: Contribute effectively to peer discussions and reviews.
LO5: Evaluate and engage with peer review of your research.
LO6: Produce clearly defined, rigorous, and detailed arguments.