Face Down in Noir: The Body in the Pool

Face Down in Noir: The Body in the Pool
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 / 17-19 hrs

Public lecture by Dick Hebdige, Professor of Film & Media Studies and Art Studio at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The body in the swimming pool as metonym for trouble in paradise is a recurrent motif bordering on cliché in Hollywood/West Coast sunshine noir. In this talk, Professor Dick Hebdige tracks the passage of the corpse floating face down in the pool across the American imaginary from Southern Gothic to Sunset Boulevard, from the LA Times news archive to contemporary U.S. TV series like Weeds and Breaking Bad. Accompanied by multiple slides, film and video clips, Hebdige tries to answer the overarching question that binds it all together: whatever happened to the American Dream?

A cultural critic and theorist, Dick Hebdige has published widely on youth subculture, contemporary music, art and design, and consumer and media culture. His books include Subculture: The Meaning of Style (1979), Cut ‘n’ Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music (1987) and Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things (1988). His current interests include the integration of autobiography and mixed media in critical writing and pedagogy.

Date: Tuesday 31 May 2016
Time: 17-19 hrs
Venue: Doelenzaal, University Library (Universiteitsbibliotheek)
Address: Singel 425, 1012 WP, Amsterdam
Entrance: free of charge and open for all to join!

More info & RSVP: facebook.com/events/789719974492565/ 

This public lecture is organized by the Department of Media Studies in collaboration with the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis (ASCA). Two days earlier, on Sunday May 29, Hebdige will also give a public lecture at the FUNK! Punk Culture festival at EYE, on the topic of the origins and evolution of punk.

Flyer_Hebdige