FLM 165 — From Ike to The Beatles: A Cultural Shift Seen Through Movies
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Mick LaSalle
Date(s): Jan 15—Mar 19
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Tuition: $500
Refund Deadline: Jan 17
Unit(s): 2
Status: Registration opens Dec 1, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Winter
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 15—Mar 19
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $500
Refund Deadline: Jan 17
Instructor(s): Mick LaSalle
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Dec 1, 8:30 am (PT)
In the public mind, the 1950s and 1960s are remembered as polar opposites—one staid and conformist, the other radical and disruptive. Yet the shift from one to the other, though rapid, was not instantaneous. It was a political, psychological, and cultural process, reflected vividly in music, art, and especially film.
In this course, longtime film critic Mick LaSalle guides students through this transitional and compelling period, using films and clips to chart its progress. Never On Sunday, considered shocking in 1960, was broadcast uncut on television just a few years later. The early ’60s also saw the rise of independent cinema (Carnival of Souls), the arrival of James Bond (Goldfinger), The Beatles on-screen (A Hard Day’s Night), and films tackling social issues (The Children’s Hour, A Raisin in the Sun).
By the course’s end, students will view the early 1960s not as a mere prelude, but as a vibrant era in its own right.
In this course, longtime film critic Mick LaSalle guides students through this transitional and compelling period, using films and clips to chart its progress. Never On Sunday, considered shocking in 1960, was broadcast uncut on television just a few years later. The early ’60s also saw the rise of independent cinema (Carnival of Souls), the arrival of James Bond (Goldfinger), The Beatles on-screen (A Hard Day’s Night), and films tackling social issues (The Children’s Hour, A Raisin in the Sun).
By the course’s end, students will view the early 1960s not as a mere prelude, but as a vibrant era in its own right.
All films can be rented or streamed through Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play, or other online platforms.
MICK LASALLE
Film Critic Emeritus, San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle is the author of Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood, Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man, The Beauty of the Real: What Hollywood Can Learn from Contemporary French Actresses, and Dream State: California in the Movies. He was the film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1985–2024 and for ABC-TV in San Francisco from 1994–1999. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.