LA 101
Seeing the Nazi in American Movies, 1940-2009
Dr. Cocks
Fall 2013
Syllabus
READINGS
College Bookstore:
Adams, The Best War Ever (1993)
The Bedford Handbook
“Course Materials” (www.albion.edu/academics/history/faculty-and-staff/12-geoffrey-cocks) :
Barber, “Documenting the Holocaust in Welles’s The Stranger” (2012)
Cocks, “Hollywood and the Nazis, 1938-1945” (2013)
Cocks, “Indirected by Stanley Kubrick” (2013)
Crim, “The Intergalactic Final Solution” (2010)
Dworkin, “Clean Germans and Dirty Politics” (1965)
Mariani, “Let’s Not Be Beastly to the Nazis” (1979)
Mosberger, “Adrift in Hitchcock’s Lifeboat” (1976)
Albion College ebrary:
Barta, “Film Nazis” (1988)
www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1975/feb/06/fascinating-fascism/?pagination=false :
Sontag, “Fascinating Fascism” (1975)
Classroom: Robinson 313, T 2:15-5, R 2:15-3:05, F 1-2 (Community Group Meeting)
Office: Robinson 209; Office Hours: MWF 10:30-11:30, R 3:05-4 + appointment/happenstance
Office Phone: 0390; Home Phone: 629-5795; email: gcocks@albion.edu
This seminar explores the American movie image of the most malevolent villain of the modern
age, the Nazi. There were many versions of the Nazi in Hollywood movies before and after
December 7, 1941. There was the Nazi as enemy of civilization, the Nazi as enemy of freedom,
the Nazi as military threat to America, and the Nazi as murderer of the Jews. After the Second
World War, the Nazi assumed new movie guises: the Nazi in hiding, the Nazi plotting a
comeback, and the Nazi as reflection of what was wrong with America. But the Nazi also
became the “not see,” as Germans in the 1950s became allies in the Cold War against
Communist Russia. From the 1960s on, the Nazi in American movies resolved itself into two
major images reflective of American culture. One was as the black, relentless, mechanical mass
murderer of the Jews. The other was as a profitable means of movie entertainment in dramas,
adventures, and comedies.
Class Discussion
Weekly discussion of films and readings will require students to acquire, examine, and articulate
knowledge and points of view in critical and creative ways. You must complete all reading
assignments before viewing the weekly film; take written notes as needed during the film
showings and use these notes in class discussion. If you want more information on a film before
and/or after viewing it in class, go to: www.mrqe.com or www.imdb.com.
No electronic devices may be used during film presentations or class discussions.
50 percent of your grade in the seminar will be based on your participation in class
discussion.
Papers
A 250-word paper on the Foreword and Preface in The Best War Ever that concisely analyzes the
purpose and argument of the book. Why does Adams call the Second World War “the best war
ever”? Submit electronically via email attachment before the beginning of class on Thursday,
August 29.
Four typed, double-spaced papers of 6 pages in length printed out on both sides of each sheet of
paper submitted electronically. Each paper must evaluate critically an important aspect or
aspects of the week’s film and reading; the paper must be submitted electronically by email
attachment by the beginning of class on the first day of class in the week following presentation
and discussion of the film. At least two of the papers must be submitted by Monday, October 24
and no more than one paper may be submitted in any one week. Citation of course readings
should be made parenthetically in the text, for example: (Adams, p. 42). Papers turned in late
without valid excuse will be subject to substantial grade penalties. All graded papers will
include comments and correction that should be studied as part of the educational process.
45 percent of your grade in the seminar will be based on your written work.
Community Meetings
These weekly meetings with your student mentors, Taylor Briggs and Ryan Denha, are
especially important for success in the seminar and the rest of your first year at Albion College.
5 percent of your grade in the seminar will be based on weekly attendance at the Friday
community group meetings.
8/27
The Great Dictator (1940; 128m)
READING: Adams, xi-xv, 1-42
9/3
Five Graves to Cairo (1943; 97m)
READING: Adams, 43-90; Cocks, “Hollywood and the Nazis,” 1-11
9/10
Casablanca (1943; 103m)
READING: Adams, 91-113; Cocks, 11-19
9/17
This Land Is Mine (1943; 103m)
READING: Adams, 114-35; Cocks, 19-23
9/24
Lifeboat (1944; 96m)
READING: Cocks, 23-25; Mosberger, “Adrift in Hitchcock’s Lifeboat”
,
,
Required Lecture: Memories of War: Visiting Battlegrounds and Bonefields in the Early
American Republic, Thomas Chambers, Professor of History, Niagara University,
Bobbitt Auditorium, 4:15-5 pm
10/1
Hotel Berlin (1945; 98m)
READING: Cocks, 25-35
10/8
The Stranger (1946; 95m)
READING: Adams, 136-59; Cocks, “Hollywood and the Nazis,” 34-35; Barber,
,
“Documenting the Holocaust in Welles’s The Stranger”
10/15 Operation Secret (1952; 108m)
READING: Dworkin, “Clean Germans and Dirty Politics”; Cocks, “Hollywood
,
and the Nazis,” 34-35
10/24, 29 Fräulein (1958; 97m)
READING: Cocks, “Hollywood and the Nazis,” 34-35
10/29, 31 Dr. Strangelove (1964; 93m)
READING: Cocks, “Hollywood and the Nazis,” 34-35
11/5
The Pawnbroker (1965; 111m);
READING: Cocks, “Hollywood and the Nazis,” 34-35
11/12 Harold and Maude (1971; 91m)
READING: Mariani, “Let’s Not Be Beastly to the Nazis”
11/19 The Shining (1980; 144m)
Cocks, “Indirected by Stanley Kubrick”
11/26 Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981; 115m)
READING: Sontag, “Fascinating Fascism”
12/3
Starship Troopers (1997; 130m)
READING: Crim, “The Intergalactic Final Solution”
12/10 Inglourious Basterds (2009; 153m)
READING: Cocks, “Hollywood and the Nazis,” 34-35