American culture in the twentieth century will be examined in relation to the impact of cinema on its ideals and values.  For each decade of the century a popular film by a prominent director whose work addresses significant cultural issues will be viewed and discussed in terms of its relationship to contemporary historical, social, political, and artistic events.  Topics will include cinematic techniques and their developments, the emergence of the studio system in the production of films, sources of inspiration, the role of women as pretty faces and shapers of opinion, Senator McCarthy and the "blacklists," the way directors shape their material to their own artistic ends, and the basic underlying themes in film in relation to the societal values that they define.