Conversation group with d.a.i. teacher Scott Stelle. Since the 18th century, political biography and contemporary history have been bestsellers, providing a news-hungry public orientation to the present and recent past. Today, biographic films seem to be filling this same hunger since “biopics” are being increasingly released in theaters and streaming servers. They also reach a much wider audience than books and thus have a greater influence on public opinion.

All films are narrative texts, yet some claim to be based in fact. Films that dramatize the lives of public figures follow the codes of the biographer and historian, who are not free to invent their story, though they may emphasize and omit certain events in the portrayal of a life.

Join us in a multimedia exploration of influential and controversial Americans, whose lives have substantially shaped the course of contemporary history.

12.1.: Edward Snowden, Permanent Record (2019: film, Snowden, 2016)

2.2.: Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs (2011: film, 2015)

1.3.: Wayne Barrett, Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story (2000: film, 2003)

In English

Admission: free

Location: d.a.i. “Ann Arbor” room