SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS
Voyage: Fall 2013 Discipline: Media Studies Course Number and Title: MDST 3559-101 Globalization Through Film Division: Upper Division Faculty Name: Gregory Mason
Pre-requisites: A previous course on film or media studies strongly advised. For those new to film study, necessary introductory and background materials will be briefly reviewed and indicated with readings
COURSE DESCRIPTION In the globalized world of today, Hollywood films rule. People everywhere eagerly watch films but most of them are made in the USA. From its earliest days, silent film was hailed as the bearer of a “universal language” of gesture that could unite humanity. Charlie Chaplin was the universal “little man,” and viewers embraced him worldwide. The advent of sound brought an accompanying babble of competing languages, while the postwar economic and political dominance of the United States led to a Hollywood-dominated film industry around the world. At the same time, the development of low-cost digital technology has allowed filmmakers worldwide to work, often outside the studio system, to develop original, alternative styles. Inspired by national and regional traditions, such filmmakers are expressing their memories, dreams and aspirations in visual and auditory languages that come not from Hollywood, but from their own cultures. They are also engaging the critical issues that arise from the conflicts between traditional ways and the pervasive, homogenizing influences of globalization. This course will study both films that celebrate the influences of globalization and those that resist it, as individual filmmakers try to reach large audiences and still chart their own authentic paths. At the same time, it will use the medium of film as a vehicle through which to explore and understand the many facets of globalization. Whenever possible, course films will be set in the countries of ports of call on our voyage and showcase some aspect of the country and its culture.
COURSE OBJECTIVES To study notable films from contemporary world cinema, and to gain an appreciation for their artistic richness and for range of individual and national styles they represent
To become more discerning critics of film through close attention to the nuances of style and expression in the films that that we study. To this end, students will write individual critical reflections and formal response papers, as well as a longer comparative paper on an approved topic of the student’s choice
To better understand the complex phenomenon of globalization, cultural, social, economic and political as it is expressed through the range of films we will study
To benefit from the films we study to better understand and appreciate the different ports of call on our voyage and the cultures that they represent and embody 1
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
AUTHOR: Manfred Steger TITLE: Globalization: A Very Short Introduction PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press ISBN #: 98-0199552269 DATE/EDITION: 2009, 2nd edition
The class is also highly encouraged to check often on David Bordwell’s blog for an ongoing discussion of contemporary issues in world cinema
TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE A1- August 26: Introduction. World Cinema and Globalization. Opening Questions Share course design and discuss class expectations. Collect class writing sample. Before A2, view sections of: October: Ten Days That Shook the World (Russia, Sergei Eisenstein, 1928), Man With A Movie Camera (Russia, Dziga Vertov, 1929) And all of Russian Ark (Russia, Alexander Sokurov 2002) Also recommended: Battleship Potemkin (Russia, Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
A2-August 28: Discuss opening readings on globalization and on elements of film Prepare for Saint Petersburg. Port field assignment prompt given Discuss October: Ten Days That Shook the World, Man With A Movie Camera, Russian Ark Readings in Corrigan summaries and Steger TBA Before A3, view The Edge of Heaven (Germany, Fatih Akin, 2007). Also Recommended: Head-On (Germany, Fatih Akin, 2003)
August 29-September 1: St. Petersburg
A3- September 3: Debrief and reflect on Saint Petersburg port stay Respond to The Edge of Heaven Prepare for Hamburg. Port field assignment prompt given Readings in Corrigan summaries and Steger TBA
September 5-8: Hamburg Recommended: Field Trip to Deichtorhallen Museum House of Photography
A4- September 9: Debrief and reflect on Hamburg port stay
Readings in Corrigan summaries and Steger TBA Before A5, view film In Bruges (UK, Martin McDonagh, 2008)
2 A5- September 11: Prepare for Antwerp and Le Havre port stays. Port field assignment prompt given Discuss film In Bruges Readings in Corrigan summaries and Steger TBA Before A6 view Exploring Globalization (2007, 44 mins, Jim Lehrer) An Inconvenient Truth (2006, 96 mins, Al Gore) Also recommended: Joyeux Noel: Merry Christmas (2005, 116 mins)
September 12-14: Antwerp September 15-16: Le Havre
A6- September 18: Debrief and reflect on Antwerp and Le Havre port Discuss Exploring Globalization and An Inconvenient Truth Prepare for Dublin port stay. Port field assignment prompts given Readings in Corrigan summaries and Steger TBA Before A7, view Five Minutes of Heaven (Ireland, Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2009) Also recommended: Sunday, Bloody Sunday (2001, 110 mins) Michael Collins (UK, 1996, 184 mins) The Wind That Shakes the Barley (UK, Ken Loach, 2006) FIRST FILM REVIEW OR PORT STORYBOARD ASSIGNMENT DUE
September 20-23: Dublin
A7- September 24: Debrief and reflect on Dublin port stay Discuss Five Minutes of Heaven Before A8 view Talk To Her (Spain, Pedro Almodovar, 2002) Prepare for Lisbon and Cadiz port stays.
A8- September 26: Review of film and globalization readings and theory, Readings TBA Discuss film Talk to Her Also recommended: All About My Mother (Spain, Almodovar, 1999) Pan’s Labyrinth (Spain, 2006, 112 mins) Before A9, view The Daughter of Keltoum (Algeria, Mehdi Charef, 2001)
September 27-28: Lisbon September 29: in Transit September 30-October 1: Cadiz
October 2: No Class. Morocco. Preparation. Recommended viewing: The Sheltering Sky (Italy, Bertolucci, 1990, 138 mins)
October 3-6: Casablanca
A9- October 8: Discuss The Daughter of Keltoum Review of film and globalization readings and theory 3
October 10: Study Day
A10- October 11: Before A11, view film Mooladé (Senegal, Ousmane Sembène, 2002) Also recommended: Black Girl (Senegal, Sembène, 1965, 80 mins) Hyenas (Senegal, Mambéty, 1992, 113 mins) Blood Diamond (US, 2006, 143 mins, set in Sierra Leone) Readings TBA
OTHER, EITHER FIRST FILM REVIEW OR STORYBOARD ASSIGNMENT DUE
A11- October 13: Discuss film Mooladé Prepare for Ghana port stays. Port field assignment prompt given Review of film and globalization readings and theory, Readings TBA
October 15-16: Takoradi October 17-18: Tema October 19. Study Day
A12- October 20: Debrief and reflect on Ghana port stays Before A13, view film Tsotsi (South Africa, Gavin Hood, 2005) Also recommended: Cry, The Beloved Country (James E. Jones 1995, 106 mins) Cry Freedom (1987, 159 mins, about Steve Biko) A Dry White Season (A Brink novel w/ Brando & Sutherland 1989, 107 mins) Yesterday (2004, 95 mins feature on HIV in Africa) In My Country (2004, 103 mins on Truth and Reconciliation Trials) Invictus (2009, 133 mins, Mandela supporting white SA Rugby team)) Boesman and Lena (1999, 84 mins, based on Athol Fugard play) Nelson Mandela (documentary, 2004, 103 mins)
A13- October 22: Globalization and Film Theory Discuss film Tsotsi , Readings TBA
October 23. Study Day
A14- October 25: MIDTERM IN-CLASS WRITING ASSIGNMENT
October 26-30: Cape Town
October 31. Study Day.
A15- November 2: Debrief and reflect on Cape Town port stay, Before A16 view film District Nine (South Africa, Neill Blomkamp, 2009)
SECOND FILM OR PORT FIELD STORYBOARD ASSIGNMENT DUE 4
November 4. Study Day.
A16- November 5: Globalization Beyond Location Discuss film District Nine Before A17, view film Dirty Pretty Things (UK, Stephen Frears, 2002) Readings TBA
A17- November 7 Globalization Beyond Location Discuss Dirty Pretty Things Before A18, view The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina, Juan Campanella 2010) Also recommended: The Official Story (1988, 114 mins) Evita (1996, 135 mins Readings TBA
November 8. Study Day.
A18- November 10: Discuss The Secret in Their Eyes Prepare for Buenos Aires port visit. Readings TBA Port field assignment prompt given, Before Nov 12, view Whisky Romeo Zulu (Argentina, Enriqe Piñeyro, 2004) PROPOSAL FOR COMPARATIVE PAPER DUE
November 12-16: Buenos Aires NOVEMBER 12: REQUIRED FIELD LAB IN BUENOS AIRES: Independent Filmmaking in Argentina: An Encounter with Enrique Piñeyro and His Work (see below)
A19- November 17: Debrief and reflect on Buenos Aires port visit. Before A20, view Central Station (Brazil, Walter Salles 1998) Also recommended: The Motorcycle Diaries (2004, 127 mins Walter Salles) City of God (2003, Fernando Meirelles, 130 mins) Readings TBA
A20- November 19: Discuss film Central Station, Readings TBA Before, A21 view The Mission (UK, Roland Joffe, 1986)
November 20-22: Rio de Janeiro
November 23. Study Day
A21- November 25: Debrief and reflect on Rio port visit. Discuss The Mission, Readings TBA Before A24, view The Constant Gardener (USA, Fernando Meirelles, 2005) SECOND OTHER, EITHER FILM REVIEW OR STORYBOARD ASSIGNMENT DUE
November 27. Study Day. 5
A22- November 28: Recommended: At Play in the Fields of the Lord (Hector Babenco, Brazil, 1991, 185 mins) The Emerald Forest (UK, John Boorman 1985, 114 mins) Fitzcarraldo (Germany, Werner Herzog, 1981, 157 mins) Life and Debt (documentary, 2001, 86 mins) FIRST DRAFT OF COMPARATIVE PAPER DUE
A23- November 30: Discuss The Constant Gardener Prepare for Manaus port visit. Port field assignment prompt given Before A24 view A Fierce Green Fire (US, Redford, 2012, 101 mins) December 1. Study Day.
December 2-5: Manaus
December 6. Study Day.
A24- December 8 Debrief on Manaus port visit. Discuss A Fierce Green Fire
December 10. Study Day.
A25-December 11; A Day Finals, Final In-Class Writing Assignment COMPARATIVE PAPER DUE AT FINAL EXAM
FIELD WORK
FIELD LAB
Independent Filmmaking in Argentina: An Encounter with Enrique Piñeyro and His Work
The day will begin in a seminar setting, where the class will meet with our host filmmaker, who will give the class some background about the current filmmaking scene in Argentina, and the situation of the independent filmmaker. The class will learn about the level of funding and other support filmmakers in Argentina enjoy, and more generally about the various challenges and opportunities they encounter. After discussion on these issues, Mr. Piñeyro will introduce one of his films and the class will then move to a viewing room where the film will be screened for us. After watching the film, Mr. Piñeyro will host a discussion of the film over lunch. In the afternoon, the class will take either a walking or driving tour to some destinations that are important for the city’s film culture, perhaps locations where films have been shot, archives where films are curated and stored, or even art cinemas or cafes that attract the city’s film aficionados.
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Student Assignment for Field Lab and Method of Evaluation
Each student will first write a reflective, critical response to the whole day’s experience, including your impressions of our host, how he differed from or confirmed your prior expectations, what you learned, and how your interest in and appreciation of film was affected by this encounter. Students will also write a response to the film they saw, their initial personal reactions and how their final response was altered or confirmed by the subsequent class discussion and Q and A session. Finally, students will be asked to sum up what this experience has taught them about World Cinema and the art of film that they couldn’t have learned from a book. Each student is encouraged include and incorporate any visual images, photos taken or sketches made as part of the day’s encounter, as part of the whole response essay.
Students will be evaluated for the field lab, based on attendance at all parts of the day’s program, on curious and engaged participation, and on the quality of their response papers. First informal drafts of response papers must be submitted within 48 hours. Revised versions may be submitted at a later date, after receiving instructor feedback. The Field Lab is worth 20% of course grade
FIELD WORK
Field Assignments for Other Ports of Call, Each student will be required to submit a “storyboard” assignment of at least five images for two separate ports of call of their choice during the voyage. A storyboard is a series of sketches of the shots in a scene. In this case they will be images captured by students, either sketched or photographed, to form some kind of action, process or mood-setting sequence. Typically, storyboards also contain notations about costume, setting, lighting and camerawork, and this will give students the chance to show their imaginative grasp of these filmic elements in hypothetical film sequences of their own designing. These field assignments will both require students to get a feel for the sense of place and the life of each port they choose, and to incorporate their knowledge as film critics into mini creative projects of their own. Storyboards can be filed as a paper or a power point. Images used must be provable images that students themselves have captured or created. No library or Internet images permitted. Storyboards will be evaluated both for their visual and narrative or lyrical quality, and for the understanding they display of the filmmaking process. This project is worth 20% of course grade.
METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC
Attendance and informed participation in class discussion* 20% Field Lab 20% Port Field Storyboard Assignments 15% Two Reviews of films viewed in class 15% Comparative Paper 15% Final In-Class Writing Assignment 15% * Attendance and Participation. Students must attend each class session and be sure to have completed the assigned reading and any other assigned preparatory tasks for the day’s session. Students should also participate actively in all class discussions, exercises, and group projects.
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AUTHOR: Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White TITLE: The Film Experience PUBLISHER: Bedford/Saint Martins ISBN #: 978-0312445850 DATE/EDITION: 2009, 2nd edition
AUTHOR: Tom Zaniello TITLE: The Cinema of Globalization PUBLISHER: Cornell University Press ISBN #: 978-0-8014-7306-7 DATE/EDITION: 2007
AUTHOR: Linda Badley, editor TITLE: Traditions in World Cinema PUBLISHER: New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers UP ISBN #: 0813538742 DATE/EDITION 2006
AUTHOR: Tyler Cowen TITLE: Creative Destruction: How Globalization is Changing the World’s Cultures PUBLISHER: British Film Institute ISBN #: 9780691090160 DATE/EDITION 2002
AUTHOR: Toby Miller, editor TITLE: Global Hollywood 2 PUBLISHER: British Film Industry Publishing ISBN #: 978184457039 DATE/EDITION 2005
ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS ADDITIONAL MATERIALS ACCESSED THROUGH ELECTRONIC FOLDER
AUTHOR: Tom Zaniello CHAPTER TITLE: Introduction BOOK TITLE: The Cinema of Globalization VOLUME: Cornell University Press ISBN #: 978-0-8014-7306-7 DATE: 2007 PAGES: 1-16
8 AUTHOR: Linda Badley, R. Barton Palmer, and Steven Jay Schneider, Eds. CHAPTER TITLE: Introduction BOOK TITLE: Traditions in World Cinema VOLUME: Rutgers UP ISBN #: 0813538742 DATE: 2012 PAGES: 1-12
AUTHOR: Tyler Cowen CHAPTER TITLE: Why Hollywood Rules the World and Whether We Should Care BOOK TITLE: Creative Destruction: How Globalization is Changing the World’s Cultures VOLUME: Princeton UP ISBN #: 9780691090160 DATE 2002 PAGES: 73-101
AUTHOR: Toby Miller, editor CHAPTER TITLE: Introduction (excerpt) and Ch. I (excerpt) BOOK TITLE: Global Hollywood 2 VOLUME: British Film Industry Publishing ISBN #: 978184457039 DATE: 2005 PAGES: 1-7, 50-59
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Each student will benefit greatly from having a personal laptop computer with DVD player capability, and a digital camera to record images at our ports of call (unless she or he is an excellent sketch artist).
HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University’s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager’s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense.
Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: “On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment.” The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed “[signed].”
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