Registration does not begin until 02.10.2026 at 08:00. It ends on 12.10.2026 at 23:59.

How do films make us laugh, cry, cringe, or desire? Why do we enjoy this experience? And what do the answers to these questions tell us about film as a medium and practices of watching movies? What do they tell us about ourselves?

In this course, we will look at a wide variety of genres to think about emotional and physical responses to film as time-based medium. How does our affective, emotional and moral engagement in a film differ from engagement with reality? Does it? Do frameworks of reception - movie theater, computer, handheld devices - matter? What role do temporal modulations play in evoking feelings – rhythm, delay, agnition, acceleration, slow-motion, etc.? What is the relationship between attention and distraction in our attitudes?

Films we will discuss range from recent drama and comedy (Blue Valentine, Toni Erdmann, Magic Mike) to classical melodrama (Imitation of Life); from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to contemporary cringe TV (Fleabag, I love Dick); from early (Nosferatu) to recent (The Descent) horror; and from experimental cinema (Fuses) to recent global art cinema (Anatomy of a Fall).

Students will learn the basics of film analysis, gain an overview over genre cinema, and study approaches to emotion, affect and the body, including gendered and cultural norms and expectations.

Further information on teaching evaluation: https://www.leuphana.de/en/teaching/quality-management/evaluation/course-evaluation.html