Economization of Power in 21st Century German Cinema

How is power exercised interpersonally and locally in our present age? Who possesses it, and who is subjected to it? How does the increasing centrality of the market bring itself to bear on individual lives? In this course we will analyze the slow-burn thrillers of the Berlin School as well as comedies and dramas by the likes of Maren Ade and Fatih Akin. Through their depictions of contemporary European life, these films interrogate individual and structural power as they intersect with gender, race, class, and sexuality.