Hitchcock Unmasked: A Case of Mistaken Identities
The Films of Alfred Hitchcock
with English Professor Casey A. Jarrin
7 p.m. Thursdays, October 2, 16 & 30
On Campus in Room 401 of the Humanities Building.
Registration for this event has closed.
Each session includes introductory comments,
film screening and post-film discussion.
Alfred Hitchcock: British filmmaker, Hollywood auteur, international phenomenon, enigma.
In three sessions, learners will span 30 years of Hitchcock’s prolific career. Explore Hitchcock’s obsessive interest in the psychological, criminal, and existential contexts for mistaken identities — from classic “man on the run” thrillers populated by spies, crooks, and impeccably dressed innocents (The 39 Steps, Saboteur, The Wrong Man, North By Northwest), to dark psychodramas in which we meet femme fatales, cross-dressers, and psychiatrists who probe the deviant mind (Spellbound, Vertigo, and Psycho). What do these films suggest about truth and disguise, reality and fantasy, political intrigue and dangerous desire? Each session will focus on one film and selected readings in film history, genre, and criticism. Professor Jarrin will be joined by Star Tribune film columnist Colin Covert and selected Macalester film faculty for this course’s post-film discussions.
No course credits or certificates of completion will be provided to participants.
Course Schedule
Thursday, October 2
He’s Not Me: On the Run and In Love
Screening: The 39 Steps (1935) or Saboteur (1942)
Clips from The Wrong Man (1956), North By Northwest (1959)
↓ Download Pre-Class Reading Assignment
Thursday, October 16
Psychoanalysis, Surrealism,
and Criminal Confession: Ingrid Bergman Meets Salvador Dalí
Screening: Spellbound (1945). Clips from I Confess (1953).
↓ Download Pre-Class Reading Assignment
Bonus Session: Thursday, October 23
Screening: Vertigo (1958)
↓ Download Pre-Class Reading Assignment
Thursday, October 30
Horrifying Revelations: Murder, Madness, and Mayhem
Screening: Psycho (1960).
↓ Download Pre-Class Reading Assignment
About the Professor
English Professor Casey Jarrin teaches film and literature courses on topics such as criminality, masculinity and the aesthetics of violence. She has published essays on prison writing and contemporary film, and is currently completing a book project, Confessional Acts: Interrogation, Authorship, and the Making of the Modern Irish Subject.
Read more about Professor Jarrin