Media, Manipulation, and the Demise of Public Discourse
Our community enrichment cinema course continues in fall 2026. Participants will watch and discuss three movies exploring the portrayal of comedy in cinema. Our public course will examine how humor has changed over time, including the decline of the romantic comedy.
Each class session will include a pre-screening lecture followed by a showing of the film. Afterward, audience members will engage in conversation about the content events featured, the ways directors presented the subjects, and cinematic techniques used that may answer some questions while raising others.
Each class begins at 6:00 p.m. in Morgan Auditorium at Penn State Schuylkill’s Student Community Center.
Cost: $30 for community members
Free for Penn State Schuylkill students, faculty and staff members (see campus newsletter for details)
Film Schedule
Monday, September 21, 2026
Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella)
(Roberto Benigni, 1997)
Rated: PG-13 | Runtime: 1h 56m
This Academy Award-winning film blends comedy and drama as an Italian Jewish father uses humor and imagination to shield his young son from the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp, convincing him that their imprisonment is part of an elaborate game.
Monday, October 19, 2026
The Farewell
(Lulu Wang, 2019)
Rated: PG | Runtime: 1h 39m
After her beloved grandmother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, a Chinese American woman returns to China for a family gathering secretly designed to say goodbye to the family matriarch. When it becomes apparent that her grandmother is the only one unaware of the diagnosis, she struggles to keep the secret while navigating the tension between cultural traditions and personal beliefs.
Monday, November 9, 2026
American Fiction
(Cord Jefferson, 2023)
Rated: R | Runtime: 1h 56m
Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, a novelist and English professor, finds that his work is dismissed because it is not considered "Black enough." To satirize the publishing industry's stereotypes and hypocrisies, he writes a novel under a pseudonym. Its unexpected success forces him to embrace a false identity while confronting difficult questions about authenticity, race, and artistic integrity.
Meet the instructor
This course is taught by Dr. D.J. Higgins, assistant teaching professor of film/video and music at Penn State Schuylkill. Dr. Higgins earned the Doctor of Philosophy in Modern Languages from Middlebury College and is an active filmmaker, having directed, written, and produced several award-winning short films.
For more community events at Penn State Schuylkill, check out the programming at Art Space.