Coolidge Seminars: Wild At Heart
On the heels of what are arguably his best-known works—the 1986 film Blue Velvet and the 1990 network television series Twin Peaks—David Lynch released Wild at Heart, which won the Palme d’Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.
Adapted from Barry Gifford’s pulp novel, Lynch’s film allows him to indulge some of his greatest obsessions: 1950s pop culture, heated melodrama, sex, violence, the seedy underbelly of the American landscape, and The Wizard of Oz. Led by Harvard Ph.D. candidate Jonathan Knapp, this seminar will explore the complicated production history and mixed critical response of Lynch’s film, situating it within his remarkable 40-plus year career.
About the Speaker
Jonathan L. Knapp is a PhD candidate in Film and Visual Studies at Harvard University. His research revolves primarily around the American landscape, exploring how various media represent the specificities of place, and how these spatial concerns are bound up with questions of memory, history, atmospheric phenomena, and sensory experience. Also interested in representations of violence and horror, he has written a book, along with Aaron Kerner, entitled Extreme Cinema (Edinburgh UP, 2016). Jonathan holds a BA in English from Bowdoin College and an MA in Cinema Studies from San Francisco State University.
About Coolidge Education Seminars
Want to learn more about some of your favorite classic films? Coolidge Education is excited to introduce new one-night seminars at select Big Screen Classics events. Attendees can sign up to hear a 30 minute lecture before the film from an expert, and then stick around after the screening for a 45 minute moderated discussion with other seminar attendees. Tickets are $25 ($22 for Coolidge members and students) and include a reserved seat for the film screening.
