Great film satire doesn’t just make us laugh, it makes us think about the world at large, and the world of cinema language and history. In this lecture, we will discuss great film satires and discuss their comedic and cinematic qualities. Additionally, we will explore their place of importance in film satire’s ability to deconstruct human society and behavior, while making us think about and laugh at ourselves.

Films will include Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” (1940), Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1969), Sidney Lumet’s “Network” (1976), “Airplane!” (1980), “This is Spinal Tap” (1984), “Office Space” (1999), Idiocracy (2006), among others.