The UofL Creative Writing Program's Axton Series brings you a Master Class with A.S. Hamrah: A public master class on criticism as a literary and analytical practice, focusing on close reading, judgment, and the responsibilities of cultural commentary.

Escape from End Times Cinema

In the age of streaming, when many films are watched at home instead of seen in movie theaters, what does it mean to write film criticism? It is a cliché to remind readers that film is a visual medium. Yet serious attention to cinema as a visual art is increasingly lost amid new modes of consumption. These modes downplay the image itself and instead reward forms of criticism that flatten films into plot summary, career context for actors and directors, or perfunctory readings of studio-sanctioned politics. At the same time, the rise of social media has emphasized takes over prose writing, leading to an unreflective, one-and-done approach. Hamrah will explore these shifts and their consequences for how we watch, think about, and write about movies.

Please come prepared to write about a film: Hamrah suggests you watch a movie in the theater (ideally) a day or two before the master class so that its details are fresh in your mind.