Course

Most film scholars argue that film noir as a Hollywood movement had run its course by 1955. This course suggests, however, that film noir continued as a powerful force throughout the late 1950s and into the early 1960s; it changed and broadened its subjects, but it was still leftist in outlook, still “tough on America” — still tough on authority in general. This persistence of film noir says something more broadly about American culture: the late ’50s weren’t all prosperity and repression. And the Sixties didn’t come out of nowhere.

Faculty Bio

Art Eckstein received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and went on to become professor of history and distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

This is an Livestreamed + Recorded Course

• Classes will stream live on the scheduled day and time
• Classes will also be video recorded
• You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.

Schedule Highlights

• Course starts on Monday, Sept. 14, and ends on Monday, Oct. 19
• Classes meet for 6 weeks, 1.5 hours per session (1–2:30 PM)
• All course materials will remain available to view and enjoy in Member Dashboards through Dec. 31

Member Praise for Art Eckstein

"Professor Eckstein's deep knowledge and passion for film was inspiring and gave me new insights."

"Great instructor! He was knowledgeable about history, politics, and psychology. He placed movies in context and provided personal experience in a very useful and entertaining way." 

Faculty Q&A

• Read an interview with Art Eckstein from our archive.