Director Focus: John Sayles

Course Times & Enrolment

This course is currently unavailable.

Course Summary

By raising much of the funding for his films himself, Sayles functions more independently than most US directors. He has used his freedom to write and produce films with a distinctive personal style which express progressive political positions on issues such as race, gender, sexuality and class.

Course Details

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No previous knowledge of the subject is required.

Content of Course

One of America's prominent independent filmmakers, John Sayles has established a reputation for refusing to abandon his values in favour of becoming a studio filmmaker. As a result, his films tend to be rich, nuanced explorations of personal and political relationships, a style that reflects Sayles' beginnings as a novelist; he once admitted, "My main interest is making films about people...I'm not interested in cinematic art.". His films have consistently expressed progressive political positions on issues including race, gender, sexuality, class. These issues will be the focus of the course.

Teaching method(s)

Each session will consist of an introduction to the film/theme, with full screenings, followed by close analysis and discussion of the film. Each session to last 3 hours.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, learners will be able to:

Describe the challenges of independent filmmaking in the USA.

Appraise the cinema of John Sayles in the context of the auteur theory.

Critically engage with cinematic representations of race, gender, sexuality, class, and disability.

Sources

Core Readings

We aim to include texts in our reading lists which are Open Education Resource texts or available in your local library. Where this is not possible, texts should be readily available to purchase at a reasonable cost. Please do not purchase any texts until you have confirmation from your course teacher.

Carson, D. & Kenaga, H. (eds.), 2006. Sayles Talk. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Ryan, J., 2010. John Sayles, Filmmaker. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc.
Shumway, D. R., 2012. John Sayles. Urbana: University of Chicago Press.

Web Sources

http://sensesofcinema.com/2004/great-directors/sayles/

http://johnsaylesblog.com

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.