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The World of Aaron Sorkin
Four In-Person Sessions
Sat., Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25, 2025 10 am-12 pm MT

In the late 1950s, a group of French critics changed our understanding of films by proposing that the director was the guiding artistic force behind each movie. Although screenwriters have always stood up for the importance of their contribution—reportedly Robert Riskin once threw 120 blank pages on Frank Capra’s desk, shouting “Put the famous Capra touch on that!”—few movie-goers pay any attention to the people who write the scripts.

Aaron Sorkin is the exception: a contemporary screenwriter who has won recognition for his writing as opposed to his directing. Whether in theatre, television or film, “the Sorkin touch” is distinctive and recognizable. His characters are super-articulate (but flawed by their blind spots and egos). His stories take place in the (overlapping) arenas of sports, law, television, technology or politics. Moral and ethical questions rise to the fore in bravura monologues.

This course looks at the world according to Sorkin, noting its strengths and weaknesses, through examination of The West Wing episode 1 (1999), The Newsroom episode 1 (2012), The Social Network (Fincher, 2010), Steve Jobs (Boyle, 2015) and Molly’s Game (Sorkin, 2017). Before class, students watch the films on their own, so that class time can be devoted to in-depth discussion.

Concentrate on Sorkin’s handling of his source material, the ways he structures his plots, and his distinctive dialogue. Come away with not only an in-depth knowledge of one master screenwriter, but a more nuanced understanding of the “authorship” of films.

held the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowed Chair as a professor of film at Vassar College, where she taught film history for 33 years. She earned a PhD from Stanford University and BA from Dartmouth College. Her scholarly work includes Overhearing Film Dialogue (2000) and The Life of the Author (2014), as well as numerous other publications on American film.