Comps

Yeah, yeah... I passed my comps four months ago and am just now thinking to do this... an annotated bibliography of my reading list.  General themes:  the U.S. South; the 1950s in the U.S.; Westerns (especially from the 1950s); the Great Depression; religion in film.

The Burden of Southern History by C. Vann Woodward:  Centers around the idea of the existence of a difference in the history of the South compared to the rest of the United States, or the United States as a whole, because of the experience of losing the Civil War; the United States does not like to admit defeat.  Looking back at the concept now, one wonders if this is why two presidents from Texas have had so much trouble letting go of unwinnable wars.

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren:  A fictional account of the political life of Huey P. Long, portrayed here (in my edition, anyway), as Willy Talos.  Apparently some other editions refer to him as Willy Stark.  Loved the book.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:  I added this to my list as a way to round out the "Southern history/experience" conceptual part; I had also studied it before, so although it was not from one of my classes, it was not new to me.  I had intended to just skim through it to refresh my memory on it, but I couldn't put it down, and ended up just reading it again.  (It also tied into the section on the Great Depression - a sharp reader will note the reference to the Blue Eagle, and can date the story accordingly.)

The Fifties by David Halberstam:  An overarching look at the 1950s in the United States, using individuals, events, companies, and products to illuminate the broader American culture.  It's a thick book, but a surprisingly enjoyable read for its size.

Homeward Bound by Elaine Tyler May:  Looks at the state of women, marriage, and the family in the 1950s - the facts and fantasies of the idealization of breadwinner vs. homemaker.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams:  A lot of people look at this play for its look at opinions on homosexuality in the 1950s, but I actually looked at it more through the lens of the previous book.  The pressures on Maggie can be examined through the 1950s traditional concepts of a woman's role.

High Noon (1952):  I watched this first (well... in academic terms; I'd seen it years ago) for a presentation on Westerns in the 1950s class, and then for my research seminar, for which my topic was comparing portrayals of women in Westerns against actual women's experiences in the American West.  Looking at Amy Kane's experience throughout the movie, one can make an argument that while this film may fight some stereotypes in terms of the Western (male) hero, it reinforces the 1950s' view that women are meant to subjugate their own personal beliefs and goals to that of their husband.

Shane (1953):  I watched this one specifically for the research seminar; at the same time, it's a fascinating film for being made in the 1950s - all the reviews I'd read about it talk about all the tension between Shane and Marian, but I never got much of a vibe from their interaction - she might have had a thing for him, but it didn't come across as mutual.  The chemistry between Shane and Joe, on the other hand, is shockingly blatant - there are several "male bonding" type scenes where one just has to wonder if it's just looking at it from the point of view of now that makes it apparent, or if contemporary viewers might have picked up the same thing.

Stagecoach (1939):  When I first watched this film, years ago now, I couldn't figure out why my grandmother liked it so much.  Okay, yes, John Wayne was actually skinny once.  Watching it for the research seminar, I could appreciate all the social commentary in it.  "Bad" girls don't usually get the male lead in Westerns - and Stagecoach also challenges the idea that women who have a social stigma on them are not good women; Dallas proves to be a caring, compassionate woman, even to those who look down on or mistreat her.

Hard Times by Studs Terkel:  Shifting gears to the Great Depression; Terkel's book gives its reader an idea not so much of the hard facts about the Depression, but how people who lived through it felt about it.  Incidents are not remembered for exactly what happened so much as why they happened, and different parts of society remember events in different lights.

Rethinking the Great Depression by Gene Smiley:  A great look at the Depression if you don't have a strong background in economics.  Smiley explains the economic side of the Depression in relation to federal policy.

The Great Depression by Robert S. McElvaine:  An in-depth look at the history and economy of the Great Depression, with thorough coverage of governmental policy, as well as forays into life during the Depression.

Voices of Protest by Alan Brinkley:  Looks at the phenomena of Huey Long and Charles Coughlin during the Great Depression, including their effects of policy and politics.

Testing the New Deal by Janet Irons:  A more focused look at the Great Depression, this one dissects a strike by textile workers in four states, including how government policy affected the decision to strike or not to strike, and it illustrates very starkly the failure of the National Industrial Recovery Act.

Wall to Wall America by Karal Ann Marling:  A change of pace - this book looks at the murals done in post office buildings (and other public spaces) during the Great Depression under the auspices of a federal project.  The book highlights more than once the differences between federal and local opinion of what is acceptable subject matter for art, as well as the differences in how a local area might think of itself versus how the rest of the country thinks of it.  (For example - Native Americans, in the 1930s, were still taboo so far as bing positively portrayed in art in parts of the Southwest where wars with the local tribes were still fresh in some of the residents' memories.  In a town in New York where horse racing was the local economy, the federal government tried to tell them that horse racing was too "low brow" to be in their post office mural.)

Designing a New America by Patrick D. Reagan:  Traces the histories of the architects of the New Deal - various advisors to FDR - in an attempt to see how the policies developed and were influenced by the individuals' histories.

The Politics of Recovery by Albert U. Romasco:  Examines the political side of the New Deal - why some policies were pushed ahead and some were held back, not so much with a view on their economic impact, but how they would effect FDR's political power.

Screening the Sacred by Joel W. Martin and Conrad E. Oswalt; and Representing Religion in World Cinema by S. Brent Plate, ed.:  Two books on theories surrounding the portrayal religion and myth in film.

The Gospel According to Matthew (1964):  A depiction of exactly what the title says; some parts are excluded, and some scenes rearranged, to condense it into a reasonable time frame.  The director's (Pasolini) Marxist bias is somewhat apparent, in that the revolutionary aspects of the Matthew comes through.

The Seventh Seal (1956):  Ingmar Bergman's film of a man facing Death and debating whether there is an eternal soul.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928):  Based on the records of her trial for heresy; a silent film.  Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer.

Ordet (1954):  Based on a play by a writer killed by the Nazis; directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer.  About a family in which the eldest son has lost his faith in God; the middle son believes he is Christ; and the youngest is in love with a girl from another church, whose father is feuding with his own.  The woman in the family (the eldest son's wife) is the one who tries to keep the family going.

Diary of a Country Priest (1950):  Follows a young priest in his first parish in rural France as he struggles with the social differences between himself and the local villagers and the strife within the local noble's family, as well as his own struggles with his faith.  Directed by Robert Bresson.  (By the way, I love this film, and the Arcade Fire's song "Intervention" reminds me of it for some reason.  It's a really sad movie, but I could watch it over and over.)

Dekalog 3: Honor the Sabbath Day (1988):  Part of a series on the Ten Commandments made for Polish television.  This, the third, follows a man as he spends Christmas Eve trekking all over the city with a woman he had an affair with in the past (while his wife and children are at home), purportedly looking for her missing husband.  Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski.