This is my analysis of some key scenes in Fassbinder's Ali:Fear Eats the Soul. It uses the 10/40/70 method of film interpretation (following the one employed by Nicholas Rombes in his book of the same title). It was written for my students in Thought and Image of Fall 2014.
HUM 425
Initially focused on the concept of paradigms in the work of Benjamin, Foucault, and Agamben, subsequent semesters of Dr. Thomas’ Thought and Image featured a variety of texts, concepts, and works of expression. The course remains anchored by the work of Todd Haynes, Ranier Werner Fassbinder, and Douglas Sirk. Conceptualized as a course about “The Power of the Image” (which includes power as potentiality), Haynes’ alternate title for Far From Heaven, “The Surface of Things,” has served as an apt descriptor for the class.
