Categories: Movie News

Free online film noir course to coincide with TCM’s Summer of Darkness

For those of you looking to dive into the genre of film noir, TCM and Ball State University have set up a really cool opportunity for folks to take advantage of this summer. Starting June 1st, a nine-week course will run concurrently with Turner Classic Movies' Summer of Darkness programming event in which 24 hours of film noir will air every Friday during the months of June and July. The course is designed to enrich viewers' understanding of the film noir phenomenon – from the earliest noir precursors to recent experiments in neo-noir. You will be able to share thoughts online and test your movie knowledge with a worldwide community of film noir students and fans. JoBlo's own Chris Bumbray is enrolled in the course and to top it off, this course is 100% FREE.

Students will:

  • gain a deeper appreciation of classic Hollywood movies
  • be able to identify the characteristics of a film noir
  • be able to explain the origins and history of film noir
  • be able to perform close analyses of films noir

Topics include:

  • What is Film Noir?
  • Film Noir and Its Influences
  • Film Noir in the Studio System
  • Film Noir Themes and Characters
  • Film Noir in the Postwar Period

For those of you interested who don't have TCM, the course will have free links to online public domain films, so anyone can participate. The course will take 2-4 hours per week (not including the time spent watching films) and there will be live events via social media and Google Hangouts on Air. If you're not able to attend those, the videos will be archived. There will also be a certificate upon completion. Click here if you're interesting in enrolling!

I've only dabbled in film noir myself, but there's no denying its effects in the realm of cinema. From THE MALTESE FALCON to L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, TCM has a hell of a line-up this summer and it's great that they're teaming up with instructor Dr. Richard L. Edwards to bring a little more knowledge and appreciation to fans of the genre. So what are you waiting for?!?

The Into the Darkness: Investigating Film Noir course begins June 1, 2015.

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Published by
Sean Wist