UW Bothell Film Series

How do cultural performances reveal the complexity and underlying assumptions of a specific culture? Join us for an exploration into how cinema, dance, music and art reflect the values and characteristics of a society—and the power of performance to enforce or change them. Each evening begins with a screening of a film that made an impact on issues of gender, race, sexuality and nationalism, and concludes with a lecture and discussion about the film's messages and metaphors.

Refreshments will be served before each film screening and lecture.

Sunday, October 24, 1 p.m.

"Some Like It Hot"
Lecturer: Associate Professor Bruce Burgett

Billy Wilder's uproarious comedy helped shatter cultural norms about gender identity in an era where the mainstream was fighting a losing battle imposing strict standards of “normal.” With Tony Curtis alternately dressed in drag to escape gangsters and impersonating an impotent effete millionaire to woo Marilyn Monroe, and Jack Lemmon's move from cross-dressing to transvestitism to win “security” with his own millionaire, the film gloried in the possibilities of identity-destabilizing gender performance. And the hilarious final line, “Well, nobody's perfect,” leaves the audience asking “Is he or isn't he … what?”

Bruce Burgett
Associate Professor Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell
Bruce Burgett's research falls into a number of broad categories: American studies, cultural studies, gender and queer studies, critical race studies, trans-nationalism and political theory. His research focuses on the intersection of these diverse fields in the specific context of late 18th- and early 19th-century America. His second book, “American Sex: Cultures of Sexual Reform in and Beyond the Antebellum United States,” will expand on this research. He organized the UW Simpson Center for the Humanities's yearlong tri-campus lecture series, “Thinking Sex in Transnational Times,” and serves as editorial board member for American Literary History and American Literature.

Friday, October 29, 6 p.m.

"Shall We Dance?" (Japanese version)
Lecturer: Director and Professor JoLynn Edward

Masayuki Suo's 1997 film is one of those cinematic occasions, like Astaire-Rogers or Gene Kelly light comedies, where dance is the literal and metaphorical center for the development of plot and character. An office manager yearning for an expressive outlet becomes a student of European ballroom dancing after being drawn to a seedy studio by the vision of a beautiful professional dancer. Slowly, he comes to master the complex steps and rhythms of many ballroom genres. As we follow his journey for self-fulfillment, we enter a world alien to most Japanese, inhabited by an array of sometimes forlorn, sometimes comic characters, each embarking on his or her own quest for spiritual growth and community achieved through disciplined training and enthusiastic dance competitions.

JoLynn Edwards, ‘73, ‘77, ‘82
Director and Professor Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell
Professor JoLynn Edwards teaches a variety of classes that encompass cultural history, visual culture and comparative arts. She searches to find common themes and the “friendly frictions” among visual, literary, dance and musical “texts.” Her undergraduate degree, from the University of Washington, focused on the comparative arts of early modern period Europe and grounded her lifelong dedication to interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary studies. An art historian, she remains interested in aesthetic connections among works of art across time and space as well as within one tradition. She holds a doctorate in art history from the University of Washington.

Sunday, November 7, 1 p.m.

"Amandla!"
Lecturer: Assistant Professor Ron Krabill

"Amandla!" tells the story of music's central role in South Africa's struggle against apartheid through stunning cinematography and musical performances, combined with insightful interviews with many of the creators of revolutionary music. Part praise-song to the music itself and part history of the struggle and victory over apartheid, “Amandla!” breaks new ground with intimate interviews of the renowned musicians who helped expose the suffering of black South Africa to the world. Culled from a variety of sources, the film's footage describes the brutal arc of apartheid and how black South Africans used a new combination of dance and song, the toyi-toyi, as a potent weapon in taking on the police.

Ron Krabill
Assistant Professor Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell
Ron Krabill focuses on two distinct yet interrelated areas: the impact of electronic media on social life and action, and political identities as experienced through race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality and religion. His work addresses the interactions of the state, military and civil society, with special attention to dissenting movements and groups in situations of conflict or political transition. Instead of an easy reduction of media into either an obvious evil or a utopian good, he favors an in-depth exploration of the inconsistent and sometimes contradictory impact of media, both as form and content in everyday social life. He holds a bachelor's degree in peace and conflict studies from Goshen College and a doctorate from the New School for Social Research.

Friday, November 12, 6 p.m.

"The Full Monty"
Lecturer: Associate Professor Michael Goldberg

"The Full Monty" brought together the unlikely themes of de-industrialization, unemployment, masculinity and male nudity to become an unexpected hit in 1997. Mixing light comedy, domestic drama, social commentary, and a finger-snapping '70s dance music soundtrack, the film explores the way unemployed steelworkers in Sheffield, England, struggle to regain a sense of pride and place by “baring all” — a metaphor that extends beyond the show-stopping performance that ends the film.

Michael Goldberg
Associate Professor Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell
Associate Professor Michael Goldberg works to give students the opportunity to become more effective and active citizens. His most current focus is the “generational discourse” in 1950s America that shaped the assumptions and attitudes of the 1960s counterculture. He argues that the contradictory nature of “generationalism” made possible the liberal reforms and radical attempts of the ‘60s while undermining the gains made by marginalized groups and the support of them by upper-middle-class Boomers. Combining analysis of cultural texts—movies, music, novels, poetry, advertisements and photographs—with archival research into audiences and authors, he works to explain cultural processes and the subconscious production of meaning.

Location and Parking

Parking at UW Bothell is easy. The North and South Garages are near the location of the event. Daily parking costs $1 per visit. Vist the UW Bothell Transportation page for directions and a map of the school.