Reel Dilemmas

3 Thursdays, June 29–July 13, 1–4pm; 2 Thursdays, July 20–27; 1–4:30pm

“The play’s the thing wherein to catch the conscience of the king,” Hamlet said. This course constitutes first viewing a film—the screenplay actualized—and then addressing the existential dilemma put before us in the work—the flesh and blood human situation in which the characters find themselves. We break the film down, analyze how it uses the verbal, visual, and visceral art forms in presenting our dilemma. Films this quarter include: The Constant Gardener (2005), The Conversation (1974), The Mission (1986), The English Patient (1996), and Shadowlands (1993). The instructor requests that no reviews or articles concerning the films be read beforehand, as it would affect seeing the films with the openness and freshness which art asks of us. We don’t want to lose that wonderful experience.

REG# 392374 | INSTRUCTOR: Vincent Coppola

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $80 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Gayley Center, Room 114.

Undelivered: The Speeches That Were Never Given {New Course}

8 Sundays, July 9–September 10 (no meetings Aug 13, Sep 3); 12–2pm

For almost every delivered speech, there exists an undelivered opposite. These “second speeches” provide alternative histories of what could have been if not for schedule changes, changes of heart, or momentous turns of events. In this course, we examine notable speeches that were never delivered, disclosing what could have been if history had gone down a different path. The suggested book is Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History, by Jeff Nussbaum, senior speechwriter for President Joe Biden. These never-heard speeches include Dwight Eisenhower’s apology for a D-Day failure, Richard Nixon’s refusal to resign the presidency, and Hillary Clinton’s acceptance for a 2016 victory. Examining the content of these speeches and the context of the historic moments that almost came to be, Nussbaum considers not only what they tell us about the past, but also what they can inform us about our present.

REG# 392016 | INSTRUCTOR: Leonard Koff

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $80 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

REMOTE: Zoom information is emailed to students two days before the course begins.

Joan Crawford: Not the Girl Next Door {New Course}

7 Tuesdays, July 11–August 22; 1–3:45pm

Born Lucille Fay LeSueur in humble surroundings, Joan Crawford began her professional career as a dancer, and in a shining example of art imitating life, rose from rags to riches to become one of the most powerful forces in Hollywood in an otherwise man's world. In many of her roles, she dominated the leading male character just as she did in life, and began to epitomize the modern woman. In this course, we view and assess her work in seven of her most iconic films. She played a flapper in Our Dancing Daughters (1928), the film that first catapulted her to stardom, and she was part of the first star-studded ensemble to ever grace the silver screen in Grand Hotel (1932). Thirteen years later, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in the mother-daughter melodrama, Mildred Pierce (1945). She played a gangster's moll in the film noir, The Damned Don't Cry (1950), an unknowing victim of a psychotic killer in the suspense thriller, Sudden Fear (1952), the strong-willed saloonkeeper in the cult western, Johnny Guitar (1954), and the put-upon invalid sister of Bette Davis—her real-life nemesis—in the Grand Guignol psychological thriller, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).

REG# 392376 | INSTRUCTOR: Mark Richman

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $80 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Gayley Center, Room 114.

Myth, Mystery, and Murder: The JFK Assassination at 60 {New Course}

6 Mondays, July 31–September 11, (no meeting September 4); 6:30–8:30pm

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy—the most public murder in U.S. history—remains a tangled web of facts and confusion. Despite several high-level investigations, the majority of Americans reject the official findings of the Warren Commission. In this course, we investigate the event, the industry of conspiracy theories it spawned (long before the internet), and how the failure to arrive at a broadly accepted consensus of responsibility for the murder of a president laid the foundations for a deep distrust of the institutions essential to the vitality of American democracy.

REG# 392371 | INSTRUCTOR: Kurt Hohenstein

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $80 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

REMOTE: Zoom information is emailed to students two days before the course begins.

Ways of Looking at Contemporary Art

6 Thursdays, August 10–September 14; 1–3:30pm

This course offers the opportunity to gather together and engage with contemporary art, as well as each other. Our conversations include the discussion of materials—perception and interpretation of abstract, figurative, and performative projects—all while considering the time and place of its making. Through field trips to museums and galleries, we cultivate how to look at and appreciate the art of our time.

Students must sign a waiver before participation.

REG# 392375 | INSTRUCTOR: Deborah Cohen

BASIC MEMBER FEE: $80 | PLUS MEMBER FEE: $40

IN-PERSON: UCLA Extension Gayley Center, 1145 Gayley Ave., Room 114A (Aug 10 and Sep 14); Field Trips (Aug 17–Sep 7) TBD.