Contemporary German Cinema
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Contemporary German Cinema (3 credits) From Weimar to Wall and Beyond Fall 2011 01:470:349:01 Index: 36006 Cross-listed with Comparative Literature 01:195:398:01 T 6 4:30 pm - 5:50 pm SC 219 Th 6 4:30 pm - 5:50 pm MU 213 Salvatore Pappalardo German House 172 College Avenue 732-932-7201 [email protected] Office Hours: Mondays 11.30 am – 12.30 pm or by appointment Course description: With innovative films by directors like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Volker Schlöndorff, Helma Sanders-Brahms and others, postwar German cinema garnered the attention of the international community. This course examines this development, which began with a manifesto proclaiming a “New German Cinema.” To fully appreciate the wave of innovation in German film we will briefly consider the cinema at the end of the Weimar Republic and then follow the trajectory through the postwar years, the post-unification period and present-day multi-cultural Germany. Screenings will take place within the context of the Leupp Hall special interest housing film nights, but copies of the film (in either DVD or VHS format) will be available on reserve at the Alexander Library. The objective of this course is to familiarize students with theoretical approaches to film and the historical development of German cinematography. Over the course of the semester, students will learn how to analyze and interpret films by learning about technical production (sound, shots, montage etc.) and by placing films against the background of transformations in German society. Taught in English Film screenings in German with English subtitles Required texts: James Monaco. How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia: Language, History, Theory (ISBN-13: 978-0195321050) Stephen Brockmann. A Critical History of German Film (ISBN-13: 978-1571134684) Anton Kaes. From Hitler to Heimat: The Return of History as Film (ISBN-13: 978- 0674324565) Books are available at the Rutgers bookstore. All other readings will be available on the Sakai website for this class. Requirements: Midterm paper (5-7 pages) 40 % Final paper (10-12 pages) 50 % Class participation 10 % A=90-100%; B+=85-89; B=80-84; C+=75-79; C=70-74; D=65-69; F=64 and below All written assignments must be printed in black ink on one side of white paper. Pages must be numbered sequentially in the bottom right hand corner. All papers must be written in Times New Roman size 12 (size and font used here). No other font and size will be accepted. All papers must have standard 1-inch margins on the top, bottom, left and right sides. Do not justify the margins of your paper – left alignment only. All papers must have a title, preferably a relevant one free of cliché and sentiment. All papers must be double-spaced. Papers not in compliance with the regulations will not be read and will not receive a grade. Learning goals: II.C.I This course satisfies the Core Curriculum Learning Goal II. C. I Attendance: All students must attend regularly and arrive prepared; if you expect to miss one or two classes, please use the University absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to me. Those who miss more than two class sessions without a compelling excuse (a doctor’s note, for instance) should expect a one-step reduction in the course grade (i.e. an A becomes a B+, a B+ becomes a B). Three late arrivals count as one absence. Note: It is the responsibility of students who have been absent (for any reason) to find out what they have missed and obtain materials that may have been handed out. Photocopies Disability Support Services: Students who may be requesting accommodations due to disabilities are encouraged to familiarize themselves with procedures and policies regarding disability support services at the following website: http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/ . It is recommended that students seeking accommodations begin filing paperwork as soon as possible as the documentation review process may take up to 30 business days. Students are encouraged to speak with teachers about these issues at the beginning of the term. All such conversations will be kept strictly confidential. Photocopies: Department photocopying fees add up quickly and impressively; we will therefore need to collect from each student 5 cents per page toward the cost of handouts other than the syllabus, quizzes and tests. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is an extremely serious matter, and can lead to a student’s failing the course and being referred to his or her dean for disciplinary action. When referring to ideas other than your own, always acknowledge your sources clearly and completely, whether you are quoting or paraphrasing. Please see the University’s policies on academic integrity at http://teachx.rutgers.edu/integrity/policy.html, and discuss with your instructor any questions you may have about this and related issues. Class schedule: Date Film Reading 9/1/2011 Introduction to content and format of the course. Siegfried Kracauer, From Caligari to Hitler (excerpts) 9/6/2011 James Monaco, pp. 1-43 Stephen Brockmann, pp.1-12 and pp. 43-58 Siegfried Kracauer, “The Little Shopgirls Go to the Movies” 9/8/2011 Josef von Sternberg: James Monaco, pp. 44-70 The Blue Angel / Der blaue Stephen Brockmann, pp. 97-112 Engel (1930) Béla Balázs, The Visible Human (excerpts) 9/13/2011 Anton Kaes, 1-36 James Monaco, pp. 71-98 Horkheimer/Adorno, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception” (excerpts) 9/15/2011 Fritz Lang: James Monaco: pp. 99-136 M / M – Eine Stadt sucht Stephen Brockmann. pp. 113-130 einen Mörder (1931) Horst Lange, “Nazis vs. The Rule of Law: Allegory and Narrative Structure in Fritz Lang’s M” 9/20/2011 James Monaco: pp. 137-155 Stephen Brockmann: pp. 285-302 Anton Kaes: 37-72 9/22/2011 Volker Schlöndorff: Young Das Oberhausen Manifesto (1962) Törless / Der junge Törless Alexander Kluge, “What do the ‘Oberhauseners’ (1966) Want?” Stephen Brockmann: pp. 315-328 Adorno, “Transparencies on Film” (excerpts) 9/27/2011 James Monaco: pp.156-190 Thomas Elsaesser, New German Cinema, A History (excerpts) Christopher Dietrich. “A Closet Full of Brutality: Volker Schlöndorff’s Young Törless ” 9/29/2011 Rainer Werner Fassbinder: James Monaco: pp. 191-234 The Marriage of Maria Anton Kaes: 73-136 Braun / Die Ehe der Maria Elsaesser, Fassbinder’s Germany pp. 13-44 Braun (1979) 10/4/2011 James Monaco: pp.235-288 Stephen Brockmann: pp.357-370 Thomas Elsaesser, NGC (excerpts) 10/6/2011 Volker Schlöndorff: James Monaco: pp.289-335 The Tin Drum / Stephen Brockmann: pp. 371-382 Die Blechtrommel (1979) Carol Hall. “A Different Drummer: The Tin Drum Film and Novel” 10/11/2011 James Monaco: pp.336-391 Thomas Elsaesser, NGC (excerpts) 10/13/2011 Werner Herzog: James Monaco: pp.392-420 Aguirre, the Wrath of God / Stephen Brockmann: 329-342 Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes John Davidson, De-territorializing the New (1972) German Cinema (excerpts) 10/18/2011 James Monaco: pp.421-440 Thomas Elsaesser, NGC John Davidson, “As Others Put Plays Upon the Stage: Aguirre , Neocolonialism, and the New German Cinema” Midterm paper due 10/20/2011 Wim Wenders: James Monaco: pp.441-479 Wings of Desire / Der Stephen Brockmann: 399-412 Himmel über Berlin (1987) Thomas Martinec: “Some Kind of Film-Poem” 10/25/2011 James Monaco: pp.480-512 Stephen Brockmann: 413-436 10/27/2011 Tom Tykwer: James Monaco: pp.513-577 Run Lola Run / Lola rennt Stephen Brockmann:457-468 (1998) Ingeborg M. Sickley. “Time and Desire in Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run ” 11/1/2011 James Monaco: pp.578-607 Robert Lauer. “ Run Lola Run and the Dawn of Postmodernity” 11/3/2011 Heiner Carow: James Monaco: pp.608-639 Legend of Paul and Paula / Stephen Brockmann: pp. 213- 234 and 259-276 Die Legende von Paul und Irene Dölling. “We all Love Paula but Paul is Paula (1973) More Important to Us” 11/8/2011 James Monaco: pp.640-676 Gertrud Koch: “Uneasy Pleasing: Film as Mass Art” 11/10/2011 Helma Sanders-Brahms: James Monaco: pp.677-691 Germany, Pale Mother / Susan Linville. “The Mother-Daughter Plot in Deutschland bleiche Mutter History: Helma Sanders-Brahms’s Germany Pale (1980) Mother ” 11/15/2011 Anton Kaes: 136-192 Gertrud Koch: “Ex-Changing the Gaze: Re- Visioning Feminist Film Theory” 11/17/2011 Michael Haneke: Garret Stewart: “Pre-War Trauma: Haneke’s The The White Ribbon / Das White Ribbon ” weisse Band (2009) Oliver Speck: “Self/Aggression: Violence in Films by Michael Haneke” 11/22/2011 Rosalind Galt. “The Functionary of Mankind. Haneke and Europe” Fatima Naqvi. “A Melancholy Labor of Love, or Film Adaptation as Translation: Michael Haneke’s Drei Wege zum See ” 11/23 – 11/27 Thanksgiving Recess No class 11/29/2011 Florian Henckel von Stephen Brockmann: pp. 489-500 Donnersmarck: Gary Schmidt. “Between Authors and Agents: The Life of Others / Das Gender and Affirmative Culture in Das Leben der Leben der Anderen (2006) Anderen ” 12/1/2011 Wolfgang Becker: Stephen Brockmann: pp. 469-478 Good Bye, Lenin (2003) Joseph Jozwiak and Elizabeth Mermann: “The Wall in Our Minds? Colonization, Integration and Nostalgia” 12/6/2011 Jennifer Creech: “A Few Good Men: Gender, Ideology, and Narrative Politics in The Lives of Others and Good Bye, Lenin! ” Anthony Enns: “The Politics of Ostalgie : Post- Socialist Nostalgia in Recent German Film” 12/8/2011 Fatih Akın: Stephen Brockmann: pp. 479-488 Gegen die Wand / Head On Schindler/Koepnick: The Cosmopolitan Screen (1998) pp.1-24 12/13/2011 David Gramling: “On the Other Side of Monolingualism: Fatih Akın’s Linguistic Turn(s)” Final Discussion 12/18/2011 Final Paper Due .