Communication and Media Studies (Audio)

Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet (1948) was adapted and directed by its star. Mark Rose (English, UCSB) and Jim Kearney (English, UCSB) discuss this cinematic treatment of Hamlet and examples of Shakespeare on film. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33503]

Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy-nominated composer, Robert Kraft, talks with David Novak (Music, UCSB) about the power and influence of film scores and the unique challenges with the process. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33501]

Populist rhetoric, the influence of religion in politics, and the role of the media in elections all arise in this conversation about Gregory La Cava’s 1933 film Gabriel Over the White House. Carsey-Wolf Center director Patrice Petro and renowned journalist Jeff Greenfield explore the influence of financier William Randolph Hearst on the film’s ideology, and the circuitous legacy of this once-popular, then largely-forgotten story of a driven politician who attempts to strong-arm his way through domestic and foreign entanglements. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33502]

Revenge, justice, and betrayal in Shakespeare’s play and in the history of the politically-disputed Kashmir region arise as core topics in this discussion about the Hindi film Haider between Priya Jaikumar (USC) and Bhaskar Sarkar (UC-Santa Barbara.) The two professors interrogate and celebrate the film and play’s ability to combine local cultural specificity and popular accessibility. Arguing Haider offers new understandings of the character of Hamlet, the pair also question the concepts of “the original” and “the derivative.” Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33500]

Screenwriters Todd Louiso and Jacob Koskoff join moderator Jim Kearney (UCSB, English) for a conversation about their 2015 adaptation of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Louiso and Koskoff discuss how the film was originally intended to star the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, the challenges of making the supernatural elements of the play scarier, and unraveling the metaphor of Shakespeare’s soliloquies through foregrounding grief, trauma, and reinterpreting key scenes. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33499]

The real-life married couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon (they co-wrote the script, and Nanjiani stars as a character with his own first name) discuss their acclaimed film "The Big Sick," loosely based on their own relationship's rocky start. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33375]