What might a history of animation look like if we focus, not on its most glamorous achievements in movie theaters, but rather on its constant, ordinary presence our tv sets, computer screens, smartphones, and other household small screens? In this course, we'll trace that history and think about how shows like The Flintstones, The Simpsons, The Boondocks, Bojack Horseman, Adventure Time, and Bluey have constantly redefined who the audience for animation is supposed to be.

Explores the commercial popularity and evolution of musical biopics as a cinematic genre in a global context. Students will watch and study major contributions to the genre in the late 20th and early 21st century from Hollywood filmmakers and other international cinemas.

Through screening, readings, and discussions, this self-paced online course will critically examine some of the most important trilogies in world cinema in order to see how cinematic trilogies, in a spectrum of genres, deepen our appreciation of each director's recurrent themes, voices, and styles. These trilogies (such as "Star Wars," "The Godfather," "The Lord of the Rings," "Three Colors," "The Dark Knight," Coppola's "Young Girls," and Martel's "Salta") provide great opportunities to explore ideology, gender, sexuality in media serialization.