Marriage and the Movies: A History

5 weeks, 10 films, 22 lectures

WEEK I
Introduction
Lecture 1: An Overview on Marriage and the Movies
Lecture 2: Hollywood and Marriage
Lecture 3: The Silent Era
Lecture 4: The Silent Era part II
Film 1: WILD ORCHIDS (Franklin, 1929) (

/ )

Lecture 5: Defining the Marriage Movie
Film 2: MADE FOR EACH OTHER (Cromwell, 1939) ()

WEEK 2
Lecture 6: The "I Do" and "I Don't" versions
Film 3: THE MARRYING KIND (Cukor, 1952) ()
Lecture 7: Variations and Vignettes

Lecture 8: The Couple
Lecture 9: The Couple part II
Film 4: ADAM'S RIB (Cukor, 1949) ()

WEEK 3
Lecture 10: The Seven Recurring Problems
Lecture 11: Money and Infidelity
Film 5: BRIEF ENCOUNTER (Lean, 1945) ()
Lecture 12: The Infidelity Story Over Time

Lecture 13: In-laws/Kids and Class/Incompatibility
Lecture 14: Incompatibility continued
Film 6: VIVACIOUS LADY (Stevens, 1938) ( / )

WEEK 4
Lecture 15: Addiction/Murder
Film 7: SUSPICION (Hitchcock, 1941) ()

Lecture 16: The Situation
Lecture 17: WWII Marriage Movies
Film 8: SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (Cromwell, 1944) ()


WEEK 5
Lecture 18: Post-WWII, TV
Lecture 19: Post-war continued
Lecture 20: "The Modern Era" 
Film 9: HEARTBURN (Nichols, 1986) ()

Lecture 21: State of the Marriage Movie - "Nuclear" Marriages, Social Change
Film 10: THE WAR OF THE ROSES (DeVito, 1989) ()
Lecture 22: Conclusions


Assignments:
Multiple-choice quizzes during/after each lecture (ungraded)
Longer cumulative multiple-choice quiz at the end (graded)
Online discussion opportunities