Scarecrow is thrilled to once again partner with Humanities Washington for this series of FREE online presentations that offer new perspectives on classic films.

Registration is required for these events. Find the registration links below. You will receive the link to login the day before the event.

Please join us for these fun and informative talks!

“This is the End: How Movies Prepared Us for the Apocalypse” with Robert Horton

Tuesday, September 14, 8:00 PM

Great city streets emptied of people; a population panicked; misinformation in the air. If some of our experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic seemed familiar, it might be because the movies already imagined them. Whether the cause is environmental factors (The Day After Tomorrow, Snowpiercer, Contagion), nuclear disaster (On the Beach), or unexplained doomsday (Midnight Sky, Children of Men), film has explored what it looks like when the “Big One” hits—and how we might react.

In this talk illustrated with clips, Robert Horton looks at the eerie imagery of apocalyptic movies, and how these films foreshadowed our responses during the pandemic: the extremes of divisiveness and community-building, the loneliness of isolation, and the tantalizing possibility of starting over again—but maybe doing it better this time.

Robert Horton, a member of the National Society of Film Critics, was the longtime film reviewer for the Seattle Weekly, Everett Herald, and KUOW. His books include a critical study of Frankenstein. He has been a Fulbright specialist, a Smithsonian Journeys speaker, and an instructor at Seattle University and the Architectural Association in London. He now hosts the radio program, The Music and the Movies.

Register here.

“An Appetite for Film: Food in the Movies” with John Trafton

Tuesday, September 21, 8:00 PM

A film can build tension through editing, just like a simmering stew builds flavor through a slow dance between ingredients. Putting food and film together, however, opens movie lovers up to a slew of wonderful experiences and shared memories. Food can help us to identify with characters who bond over meals, explore ideas about identity and belonging, or make a romantic tale more seductive.

Join film historian John Trafton to explore the complex relationship between food and film throughout history, and how this relationship continues to impact our cultural landscape. Take a deep dive into how movies from The Gold Rush and Get Out to Parasite and Pan’s Labyrinth use food to reveal hidden messages and enhance our experience.

John Trafton teaches film and media history at Seattle University and for the Seattle International Film Festival’s Education program. He has authored several works on film history and culture, including The American Civil War and the Hollywood War Film (2015). His recent work examines visual culture in Southern California from 1870 to 1930 and how Los Angeles became the epicenter of America’s motion picture industry.

Register here.

“Fighting for Love: Strong Women in Onscreen Romances” with Allison Palumbo

Tuesday, September 28, 8:00 PM

How do film and television portray romance for strong, independent women? Why should we care?

Join Professor Allison Palumbo as they explore 40 years of fighting female characters onscreen—from private eyes to cops and spies—who struggle to find love. Even in these fictional worlds, where anything should be possible, romantic relationships tend to disempower female-bodied characters, no matter how kick-ass or otherwise empowered they might seem.

Learn how love has been constructed in American culture based on heterosexual norms and power dynamics that favor men’s strength and independence. How do America’s ideals for romance create inequitable relationships? How can we imagine more inclusive and equitable ways of loving?

Allison Palumbo, or “Dr. P,” is a professor of English and gender studies at Big Bend Community College. Palumbo’s first book, Love and the Fighting Female: A Critical Study of Onscreen Depictions, reflects their lifelong love of all things romance and action. They have presented their research as a cultural critic and feminist scholar at the Seattle Institute for Film and the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center.

Register here.