Taught online via Zoom

Sundays, June 9 - June 30, 2024
2pm - 4pm NYC
Admission: $100 Paying Patreon Members / $125 general admission

PLEASE NOTE: All classes will be recorded for those who cannot attend live

The passing of David Bowie in January 2016 left planet Earth decidedly blue. Dystopia, extraterrestrials, surrealism, the occult, psychosis, and androgyny are some of the themes in Bowie’s avant-garde artistry that endeared him to mavericks and weirdos the world over. He mastered musical genres as diverse as folk, glam, soul, rock, funk, drum & bass, industrial, and jazz, updating his image with every ground-breaking step. Bowie’s enduring impact reaches beyond music, influencing the fields of the internet, fashion, cinema, painting, dance, and theatre; we lost a veritable multi-media virtuoso.

Bowie’s embodiment and shedding of various alter egos (Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Thin White Duke) became a symbol of bold experimentation; these characters were masks he initially relied on as a performer to cover up shyness and crippling stage fright. In this course, we will rely on psychoanalytic theory as the interpretive framework of David Bowie’s music videos and filmography, with a focus on his personas, experience of childhood trauma, struggle with mental illness, addiction, isolation, resilience, and creative autonomy.

This course is a celebration of a unique musical genius, our dearly departed glamorous alien, one so evolved that he turned his own death into a work of art.

MUSIC VIDEOS

Exploring Bowie’s game-changing music video legacy, from the radical early years (Life on Mars), to the innovative Berlin period (Heroes), New Romantic phase (Ashes to Ashes), mainstream chart-topping success (Let’s Dance), via house, jungle, and techno (Little Wonder), culminating in the neo-classical era of a nostalgic artist reconnecting with modern culture (Where Are We Now?)

FILMOGRAPHY

Examining Bowie’s acting career and how his star status was reflected and elevated in feature film roles, including The Man Who Fell to Earth, Just a Gigolo, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, The Hunger, Absolute Beginners, Labyrinth, Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me, and The Prestige

Mary Wild is the creator of the Projections lecture series, applying psychoanalysis to film interpretation. She co-hosts Projections Podcast, contributes to the Evolution of Horror Podcast, and posts exclusive content on patreon.com/marywild. She is @psycstar on Twitter (X) and Instagram.