3.02.980 S Of Beautiful Laundrettes and Other Beautiful Things: Queer British Cinema -  

Event date(s) | room

• Donnerstag, 9.4.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 16.4.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 23.4.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 30.4.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 7.5.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 21.5.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 28.5.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 4.6.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 11.6.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 18.6.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 25.6.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 2.7.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113
• Donnerstag, 9.7.2026 14:00 - 16:00 | A14 1-113

Description

Course Description

If, as cultural studies hold, our identities do not come from inside ourselves so much as from the culture that surrounds us; and if, following Judith Butler, these identities are performative and thus shaped through imitation and repetition, then movies arguably count among the most influential media that, in Western culture, shape people's sense of self and their ideas about who they are. Whether through closeted subtexts or more outspoken independent productions, queer representation in film has for a long time provided a discursive cultural space in which queer desire has been negotiated – meaning censored, silenced and misrepresented but also articulated, liberated, or even empowered.
Situating each film within its relevant historical and theoretical contexts, this seminar will start with the discussion of the documentary film The Celluloid Closet, before taking a closer look at a selected number of films from queer British cinema, namely My Beautiful Laundrette, The Crying Game, and Beautiful Thing. For the remaining sessions, students will be given the opportunity to pick their own primary text from a pool of different British films so as to be able to prepare a presentation discussing a topic of their own choice.

Primary texts

The Celluloid Closet. Dir. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. Narrated by Lily Tomlin. 1996. Pro-Fum Media, 2007. DVD. [or any other version]
My Beautiful Laundrette. Dir. Stephen Frears. Perf. Gordon Warnecke, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Saeed Jaffrey. 1985. Studiocanal, 2010. DVD. [or any other version]
The Crying Game. Dir. Neil Jordan. Perf. Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, and Forest Whitaker. 1992. Studiocanal, 2018. DVD. [or any other version]
Beautiful Thing. Dir. Hattie MacDonald. Perf. Glen Berry, Scott Neal, Linda Henry, Tameka Empson, and Ben Daniels. 1996. Salzgeber, 2020. DVD. [or any other version]

Suggestions for presentations, including but not limited to

All of Us Strangers (2023)
Ammonite (2020)
Another Country (1984)
Bent (1997)
Billy Elliot (2000)
Blue Jean (2022)
Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
The Danish Girl (2015)
Edward II (1991)
The Favourite (2018)
God's Own Country (2017)
The Killing of Sister George (1968)
Maurice (1987)
Notes on a Scandal (2006)
Orlando (1992)
Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
Pride (2014)
Priest (1994)
Peter's Friends (1992)
Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
Rocketman (2019)
Saltburn (2023)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
A Taste of Honey (1961)
Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Victim (1961)
Wilde (1997)

lecturer

• Dr. Christian Lassen

Study fields

• Studium generale / Gasthörstudium

SWS
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Lehrsprache
englisch

Für Gasthörende / Studium generale geöffnet:
Ja