The USC School of Cinematic Arts Cinema and Media Studies Division
invites USC Students of ALL YEARS & MAJORS to Register
for the Spring 2026 Semester Course:

CTCS-464: Cons and Comedy

Taught by Professor George Carstocea

Why do con stories fascinate us, and what makes them different from more pedestrian crime fictions? Why do cons work? What makes us susceptible to them, and how do they reflect the structure of our desires? How does the world of cons react to technological change, and how are certain cons made possible or impossible by specific material, technological, and media affordances? How are cons presented in films, and how has our image of the con changed in the past century? What do we find funny about them, and how have con stories been used to elicit comedy in film? Can we place the current golden age of technologically-aided cons in a longer trajectory? All these questions and more will guide our inquiry into the cinematic genre of the con and its somewhat contentious relationship with comedy.

Screenings will likely include: F for Fake, Trouble in Paradise, The Lady Eve, The Sting, Paper Moon, The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, Chameleon Street, My Kid Could Paint That, Six Degrees of Separation, Kajillionaire, Close-up, and The Handmaiden.

Wednesdays from 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

All USC Students are eligible to enroll.
NO D-CLEARANCE NEEDED. 4 UNITS.

Find CTCS-464 on the USC Schedule of Classes:
https://classes.usc.edu/term/20261/catalogue/course/CTCS464

Contact Information

Email: critstudies@cinema.usc.edu