Comedy Masterworks of Seventies Cinema — Pay at the Door

Instructor: Terry Ebinger
Thursdays, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22
2:00 – 5:00 PM (Note: Early start time), East Rec
4-week session. Cost: $95

Course Description:
Great movie comedies lift our spirits during hard times. In this spirit, the “New Hollywood” of the turbulent 1970s produced some of our most beloved and venerable comedy masterworks. Freed from thirty years of Hays Code censorship, this era’s cinema is renowned for its provocative themes and visionary storytelling.

These four works deftly spotlight the secret ingredient hiding within all great classic films: timeless themes from myth, folklore and fairy tale. We’ll dig into each movie’s origin story, unpack mythic and psychological themes, and identify the many ways movies are rooted in and driven by symbol and metaphor. Above all, we’ll share a big dose of laughter and fun!

HAROLD and MAUDE • 1971 • Hal Ashby
Grandmother Trickster Maude is a joy-bringer, disruptor and wise mentor to Harold — a gifted performance artist hung-up at the threshold of adulthood, hungry to be seen.

PAPER MOON • 1973 • Peter Bogdanovich
A madcap quest tale/road movie fueled by the wildly funny trials and triumphs of orphans, con artists, bibles, buxom blondes, and father-daughter power plays.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN • 1974 • Mel Brooks
Miraculously nutty bits fill this genius Borscht Belt-infused parody of the iconic horror classic, populated with and made by brilliant Jewish comics having a blast.

BEING THERE • 1979 • Hal Ashby
Chance, the archetypal Holy Fool, spurs this fated journey from childlike innocence to ersatz world leadership — with projection, platitudes, and media mania for all.

Course Details:
Each session will begin with an approximately twenty minute multimedia lecture. We then will watch the film in full, after which we will proceed with a lively, informative group discussion.

WEEK I : HAROLD and MAUDE
— Opening Scene as Summary of Core Themes / Filmmaking Techniques Highlights
— The Female Trickster Archetype as Wise Elder ‘Grandmother’
— The Hanged Man Archetype as Symbol of Being Stuck, Hung-Up, Self-Defeated
— Revisiting Sixties Values as Corrective to Seventies Darkness / Cat Stevens Score
— The Engulfing-Absent Mother Complex / Comic Surrogate Fathers / Sight Gags
— Parable of Lost Youth Becoming Authentic, Leaving Home, Claiming His Gifts

WEEK II : PAPER MOON
— The Girlhood Heroine’s Journey as Comical Quest Tale / Youngest Academy Award
— The Orphan Archetype in Mythic Stories / The Search for Belonging
— The Con Artist and His Gifted Apprentice / Family Dynamics as Real Life Mirror
— The Road Trip as Alchemy / Tension of Opposites / Conflictual Pressurized Vessel
— Polly Platt, the Genius Woman Behind the Lauded Director / Period Style Perfection
— Oedipal Pranks to Win Daddy’s Favor / Dispatching the Buxom Blonde Rival

WEEK III : YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
— Mel Brooks Channels Borscht Belt Humor Into a Comedy Masterpiece
— Leaning Into Vaudevillian Bits, Excesses, and ‘Bad Taste’ Hilarity
— Repertory Theatrical Troupe of Veteran Jewish Comic Actors Acting Out
— Original Intact “Bride of Frankenstein” Set / Costumes + Makeup = Character
— Sexual Double Entendres Galore / Sight Gags, Sound Gags, Running Jokes
— Disciplined, Visually Inventive, Excellently Written and Acted Pinnacle Work

WEEK IV : BEING THERE
— A Sociopolitical Satire That Transcends Specific Historical Period
— The Holy Fool Archetype as Childlike, Innocent, New Consciousness
— Television as “The Plug in Drug” that Captivates, Conditions, and Cons
— “Thus Spake Zarathustra” as Comic Musical Reference to Kubrick’s 2001
— Sellers’ Self-Identity as Having No Identity / Fully Absorbing the Character
— Mass Instinct Injury / Idealized Projection / The Yearning for Wise Leadership

Instructor Biography:
Terry Ebinger, MS is a passionate film scholar with forty years’ experience as a depth psychological practitioner, educator, dream consultant, and group leader. Her cinema studies synthesize myth, psychology, culture and film language. She teaches at Lifelong Learning programs, Depth Psychology Institutes, and her online Cinema Cafe.