Course Description :

This course examines films that represent moral and ethical struggles from the silent era to the present through a Jewish lens.

The films we will discuss span genres and we will analyze how today’s issues of class, race and gender affect moral and ethical debates. Discussions on film technique, history, genre and style will help demonstrate how films construct and engage in moral struggles and situate the films in their historical context.

Issues to be discussed include immigration, personal responsibility, changing  attitudes toward modesty and sexuality, morality of vengeance, the war on terror, gender identification, gender roles,  the sanctity of life- (euthanasia, abortion, etc.), interfaith relations and moral questions facing  the  State of Israel.