Through a focus on film, this course interrogates Hip Hop as a historically constituted discursive claim—a representation, a partial and inconsistent realm of interpretation, a site of constantly contested meanings that are always impure, ambivalent, and ambiguous. This includes, but is not limited to, examining the first films focused on defining Hip Hop, such as Wild Style (1983); the first to star mainstream Hip Hop artists, such as Boyz ‘n the Hood (1991); and films accompanied by soundtracks largely or entirely featuring Hip Hop music, such as Above the Rim (1994). (Not offered 2024-25).

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