NSB Film School: Surveillance Cinema [Durham, NC]
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $220 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Nicole Berland | Thursdays May 8-22 | 6:00-9:30 PM | In-Person, 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
In 2017, David Lyon developed the term “surveillance culture” to describe the way people have come to participate in, and often initiate, their own surveilling. Concerns over surveillance in American culture, however, are much older. Ours is a world long imagined in thrillers and science fiction: thumbprints can open doors; algorithms can recognize unique faces throughout the life cycle; our personal devices can track our location, heart rate, activity level, and sleep; the list goes on. In short, we are legible to any number of human and non-human actors, who can use our data for whatever purposes they choose.
Film has often explored questions and concerns surrounding the power dynamics of watching and being watched, or listening and being overheard. This course will take up just a few of the many examples of American surveillance cinema. What do they tell us about the politics of transparency? How can they help us understand, and possibly navigate, the culture of surveillance in which we find ourselves? And what role does cinema play in both constituting and contesting surveillance culture?
This three-week course will meet in person to view three films: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 111 min.), All the President’s Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976, 138 min.), and Citizenfour (Laura Poitras, 2014, 113 min.). Each of the three screenings will be preceded by a brief introduction and followed by a discussion of roughly one hour. Optional additional readings and viewings will also be suggested.
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This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full- or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All sliding-scale needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $220 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Nicole Berland | Thursdays May 8-22 | 6:00-9:30 PM | In-Person, 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
In 2017, David Lyon developed the term “surveillance culture” to describe the way people have come to participate in, and often initiate, their own surveilling. Concerns over surveillance in American culture, however, are much older. Ours is a world long imagined in thrillers and science fiction: thumbprints can open doors; algorithms can recognize unique faces throughout the life cycle; our personal devices can track our location, heart rate, activity level, and sleep; the list goes on. In short, we are legible to any number of human and non-human actors, who can use our data for whatever purposes they choose.
Film has often explored questions and concerns surrounding the power dynamics of watching and being watched, or listening and being overheard. This course will take up just a few of the many examples of American surveillance cinema. What do they tell us about the politics of transparency? How can they help us understand, and possibly navigate, the culture of surveillance in which we find ourselves? And what role does cinema play in both constituting and contesting surveillance culture?
This three-week course will meet in person to view three films: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 111 min.), All the President’s Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976, 138 min.), and Citizenfour (Laura Poitras, 2014, 113 min.). Each of the three screenings will be preceded by a brief introduction and followed by a discussion of roughly one hour. Optional additional readings and viewings will also be suggested.
—
This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full- or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All sliding-scale needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $220 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Nicole Berland | Thursdays May 8-22 | 6:00-9:30 PM | In-Person, 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
In 2017, David Lyon developed the term “surveillance culture” to describe the way people have come to participate in, and often initiate, their own surveilling. Concerns over surveillance in American culture, however, are much older. Ours is a world long imagined in thrillers and science fiction: thumbprints can open doors; algorithms can recognize unique faces throughout the life cycle; our personal devices can track our location, heart rate, activity level, and sleep; the list goes on. In short, we are legible to any number of human and non-human actors, who can use our data for whatever purposes they choose.
Film has often explored questions and concerns surrounding the power dynamics of watching and being watched, or listening and being overheard. This course will take up just a few of the many examples of American surveillance cinema. What do they tell us about the politics of transparency? How can they help us understand, and possibly navigate, the culture of surveillance in which we find ourselves? And what role does cinema play in both constituting and contesting surveillance culture?
This three-week course will meet in person to view three films: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 111 min.), All the President’s Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976, 138 min.), and Citizenfour (Laura Poitras, 2014, 113 min.). Each of the three screenings will be preceded by a brief introduction and followed by a discussion of roughly one hour. Optional additional readings and viewings will also be suggested.
—
This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full- or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All sliding-scale needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.