September 30, 2022 鈥擜s a kid growing up in New York in the 1960s, Broadway veteran
Nicholas Santa Maria remembers sitting on the floor with his siblings in front of
a 12-inch black-and-white TV screen watching a wild-eyed Bela Lugosi sink his fangs
into his latest victim鈥檚 neck.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen every movie a thousand times, and I could watch them again and again and again,鈥 Santa Maria said. 鈥淚鈥檇 watch them between my fingers!鈥
Santa Maria was one of the 鈥渕onster kids鈥 on the block who never missed 鈥淐reature Features鈥 or 鈥淐hiller Theater鈥 on Saturday nights and clustered together at the candy store every third Thursday of the month to wait for the latest issue of 鈥淔amous Monsters of Filmland鈥.
Santa Maria will share his love and knowledge of the earliest horror films in 鈥淢urder, Mayhem and Monsters: The Golden Age of the Horror Film,鈥 as one of 10 six-week classes being offered in the Fall II session of 鈥 (海角社区CI) Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).
Enrollment opens on Oct. 10 for the session, with classes starting on Oct. 24, meeting once a week for six weeks. OLLI offers a series of classes for students 50+, with some in person, some on Zoom and some a combination of both, or 鈥渉yflex鈥.
Instructors for the OLLI classes are experts from 海角社区CI and beyond, with the Fall II subject matter ranging from politics to history to art with dramatic readings from professional actors called 鈥淎ll New Short Stories Performed鈥 to 鈥淎gatha Christie: Mysteries and Misconceptions.鈥
For his class on the Golden Age of the Horror Movie, Santa Maria will cover the evolution of horror movies beginning in 1898 through 1948, highlighting horror icons like Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Lon Chaney as the Phantom of the Opera.
鈥淭he movies were very moody and shadowy, like Grimms鈥 Fairy Tales come to life,鈥 Santa Maria said. 鈥淭hese movies were just as memorable and full of folklore as any fairy tale.鈥
On the other end of the spectrum are classes covering contemporary politics and economics,
such as 鈥淐apitalism in China: Rise of a Global Giant,鈥 and 鈥淎 History of Russia,鈥
taught by veteran historian and OLLI instructor Bill Garlington, Ph.D.
With Russia topping the news for the last year with its invasion of Ukraine, Garlington will provide historical context to Russia鈥檚 tendency toward authoritarianism, from the 9th Century Vikings to the present-day Russian President Vladimir Putin.
鈥淗istorically, there has always been a tendency toward autocracy,鈥 Garlington said. 鈥淚f we go back to the communist regime, they promise safety and we鈥檙e seeing that again now. Russia has been invaded a number of times by the Mongols, the French, the Nazis. There is that notion of external fear and the idea that 鈥榳e have to protect ourselves.鈥 Something bad is happening to Mother Russia and we need someone strong to protect us.鈥
Garlington will also detail the reasons why, given the right circumstances, an authoritarian government can happen anywhere.
鈥淔ear is a dominant element for human beings,鈥 Garlington said. 鈥淣obody likes to feel unsafe. It is often said that the next stage after democracy is tyranny. Because democracy is slow and divisive and doesn鈥檛 get things done quickly. In time, the tendency is to feel that we need a strong man who will step up and provide protection and safety.鈥
Subjects reaching into ancient history include 鈥淧yramids Great and Small,鈥 in which ancient art history expert Patricia Butz, Ph.D., will examine six different pyramids from four different periods of ancient Egyptian history. Also, 鈥淎ncient Battles that Shape our Modern World鈥 will be taught by J. Paul Getty Museum docent Scott Jones.
U.S. history will be included in this Fall鈥檚 lineup, including a class on 鈥淭he Abolitionists,鈥 about those who fought against slavery in America, and 鈥淚mmigrants鈥 Stories of Jazz, Blues, Pop and Rock,鈥 about how the nation鈥檚 minorities helped shape 20th century music.
And in the realm of the curiosity is 鈥淪cientific Exploration: Imagination and the Human Spirit,鈥 by OLLI veteran Marc Olevin, whose specialty is the history of science.
鈥淭hroughout history, explorers are often depicted as swashbuckling adventurers in exotic settings or intrepid archeologists plundering steaming jungles,鈥 Olevin said. 鈥淚n reality, the most thrilling finds have been made by curious scientists toiling in quiet laboratories or isolated mountaintop telescopes, like detectives relentlessly following cryptic clues.鈥
The cost is $60 for each six-week class or a 鈥渟ession enrollment鈥 in which you can take unlimited classes per session for $150 for individuals or $200 for couples. There is also an annual $15 OLLI membership fee.
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