Magical Realism & Contemporary Trends in World Cinema

Michelle Cartier, Department of Film, HSU. Zoom webinar https://humboldtstate.zoom.us/s/96131713626 This lecture and curated discussion will examine the emphasis of “the fantastic” and “the magical real” through the lens of world cinema that pivots this narrative strategy as an”aesthetics of liberation” to tell stories that couldn't otherwise be told. Magical realism in film acts as a backdrop to free up stories and characters to a uniquely crafted “social imaginary” that, further, tends to disarm the viewer and inspire opportunities for them to think ideas and concepts that are not usually thought of together. Participants will connect how such world cinema storytelling devices are maneuvering to disrupt and delight us out of certain “canonic norms'”while shifting the conventional narrative frameworks of cinema towards a richer space and deeper exchange of social justice and human values.