Blockbuster Central: Does the Box Office Belong in the Classroom?

In his first column on the subject, Peter Gutiérrez looks at the divisive genre of the blockbuster. He aims to neither embrace the blockbuster uncritically nor dismiss it out of hand, but to view it as a vital cultural force that must be reckoned with. Ultimately, the aim is to encourage students to develop habits of enquiry that are neither positive nor negative regarding the blockbuster per se, but that can be used for either purpose – or neither.