Miley – Studies in American Cinema Syllabus – Spring 2021 – 1
ENGL A372-051: STUDIES IN AMERICAN CINEMA DAVID LYNCH T/Th 4:55-6:10 EXTREMELY ONLINE Course Syllabus Instructor: Mike Miley [email protected] Miley – Studies in American Cinema Syllabus – Spring 2021 – 2
ENGL A372-051—STUDIES IN AMERICAN CINEMA: DAVID LYNCH Instructor: Mike Miley ● [email protected] ● ONLINE ● 504.865.2286 Office hours: T/Th 4-4:45PM, 6:15-7:15PM, and by appointment
Course Description Studies in American Cinema is a special topics course offering a survey of certain trends and tendencies in American cinema. Through analyzing and discussing each film and filmmaker’s style, students will learn how to analyze a film’s visual structure and technique. More importantly, by being exposed to a diverse range of styles and approaches to filmmaking, students will come closer to developing a cinematic voice and style of their own. This semester the course will exclusively study the work of director David Lynch. In doing so, the course will ask students to ponder what it means to be an artist in 2021, how an artist can create a singular style (drawn through a variety of influences), and how an artist can build an identity and body of work that participates in multiple forms of media. By the course’s end, students should be able not only to define Lynch’s aesthetic but use their close study of Lynch’s aesthetic to cultivate their own. Textbooks Lynch on Lynch. Edited by Chris Rodley. Revised edition. Faber and Faber, 2005. ISBN: 978- 0571220182
Other Course Materials • Highly recommended: o Block, Bruce. The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV, and Digital Media. o Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing About Film (any edition). • Please note that instructor will disseminate course material via Canvas. Content Disclaimer/Trigger Warning Don’t let his pleasant Eagle-Scout demeanor fool you: David Lynch’s work is extremely unpleasant. It’s gory. It’s violent. It’s sexually explicit. It’s emotionally upsetting, often in ways you didn’t know you could be upset. Please inform your instructor if you require further information about the course material or if you feel unable to participate in any or all of the requirements of the class. Films Films will be made available for streaming via Canvas. Additional Lynch material will be available there as well for your enjoyment. Recommended prerequisite viewing: Un Chien Andalou (dirs. Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, 1929) Meshes of the Afternoon (dirs. Maya Deren and Alexander Hamid, 1943) Sunset Blvd. (dir. Billy Wilder, 1950) Vertigo (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) Week 2 Twin Peaks pilot episode (1989) + 1 Top 10 show from 1989-90 Weeks 3-4 Blue Velvet (1986) Week 5 Twin Peaks Miley – Studies in American Cinema Syllabus – Spring 2021 – 3
Weeks 6-7 Eraserhead (1977) Week 8 Twin Peaks Weeks 9-10 Lost Highway (1997) Week 11 Twin Peaks Week 12-13 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) Weeks 14-15 Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Objectives, Assessments, and Grade Percentages Students will be aware of the major films, figures, and developments in contemporary cinema and be able to discuss them in a broader context and relate them to each other. Additionally, students will be able to recognize a filmmaker or genre by style and be able to incorporate those styles into their own filmmaking as they find their unique cinematic voice.
Objective Assessment Grade Percentage Ability to research, synthesize, and convey major themes and developments in a filmmaker’s style & work Presentation 30% Ability to analyze a film on its own and within the context of a career Paper 20% Ability to develop and display a personal aesthetic in media Final Project 30% Ability to engage in thoughtful discussions of cinema style Class participation 20% Grading scale: 100-90%=A; 92-90=A-;89-87=B+; 86-83=B; 82-80=B-; 79-77=C+; 76-73=C; 72-70=C-; 69-67=D+; 66-60=D; 59% and below = F Course Work Plan on having at least one thing to watch and/or read each week and being ready to contribute to discussion frequently. Class Meetings You’ll meet for a synchronous discussion once a week during the scheduled class time. During the other class meeting, you’ll be working on your Research Project. Paper We will not be able to watch all of Lynch’s feature films, so you would select one of the films not listed above on the syllabus and write an analysis of it that contextualizes its style and themes with the rest of Lynch’s body of work. This paper should be at least 1250 words, double spaced. Miley – Studies in American Cinema Syllabus – Spring 2021 – 4
You’re encouraged to consult the chapters of Lynch on Lynch that cover your film and other secondary sources, but you’re not required to. If you do use secondary sources, please cite them in MLA format. Please feel free to make the paper any style you want: a letter to Lynch, a letter to a friend, a poetic analysis, a short story, an epic poem—make it in a way that makes sense to you so long as it 1) analyses the film with specific evidence and 2) relates it to Lynch’s filmography. Research Project David Lynch is a man of many talents and interests that go beyond the scope of the motion picture. To learn more about the Expanded Lynch Universe™, you’ll select another, non- cinematic aspect of his career to research in greater depth and share with the rest of the class. The form that this sharing takes is totally up to you, though think of it as some kind of presentation/share-out that can be delivered electronically and consumed asynchronously. This project may be done individually or in self-selected groups. You’ll work on this project during class time when you’re not in a synchronous discussion (i.e., if your discussion group meets Tuesday, you’d do this work during Thursday’s class). Please share some kind of update with me every two weeks (e.g., a journal, notes, etc.). Final Project Your final project for this course is a creative project, and it can have one of the following focuses: 1) Produce a work in any media that would meet the criteria of being Lynchian. 2) Produce a work in any media that defines your aesthetic as a creative person. For example, mine would be Mileyesque. Yours might be Jonesian or Brownian or Lee-esque, etc. You get to come up with that adjective. Regardless of which focus you choose or what kind of work you produce, you, like Lynch, will have to publish that work online. A 750-word statement defining the aesthetic and explaining how it appears in the work should accompany the final product. Policy on attendances/absences, late work, participation/class behavior There’s a pandemic going on (still). It is awful, and it is keeping us from doing our best on a daily basis. I would like for you to be present at every class and complete all your work and complete it all on time, but I realize that is impossible for you to guarantee and unrealistic for me to expect.
So let’s put it this way: we’re all taking this on because we want to learn something and enjoy ourselves doing it. That’s all that I want for you, and I have tried to design the course with that as the priority. I want to give you interesting things to watch and think about and I want to give you the chance to share those thoughts in a way that is authentic to who you are. So, I would like to see you in class and hear from you as often as possible, and you will receive full credit for any work that you turn in before the end of the semester, regardless of when it comes in.
Rules for Discussion Zoom is hard. And exhausting. And a poor substitute for in-person discussion. But we can still enjoy talking together about these films and working through some complex ideas. Miley – Studies in American Cinema Syllabus – Spring 2021 – 5
Here’s how we do it: Share your thoughts and build on the thoughts of others. If we share our thoughts and build on the thoughts of others with a “Yes, and …” approach, everyone will feel more encouraged to share more. Besides, we’re talking about David Lynch films, and there is nothing you can say that will be weirder or more uncomfortable than something he’s already done. Consulting with Me Even though we’re not able to meet in person, please reach out to me and consult with me frequently. I am here to help you in every way that I can. Even though my schedule is unusual, I will find time to work with you. Conferences I am going to schedule two conferences with you this semester to give me time to get to know you better and for you to get more individualized feedback and guidance. These conferences will take place during office hours before or after class. If you have a conflict during that time, we’ll find another time that works.
NOTE: This is not a Common Curriculum course.
DAILY SCHEDULE, SUBJECT TO CHANGE (LIKE *?@#&$%! EVERYTHING) Week 1 (1/21) *** EVERYONE MEETS *** Agenda: Introduction to course Assign discussion groups and meeting days Subscribe to Lynch’s YouTube and Social Media Feeds Week 2 (1/26 & 1/28) Material due for synchronous meeting: Watch Twin Peaks pilot episode Watch a Top 10 TV Show from April 1990 (choose from the selections on Canvas) Read Nicholas Rombes, “Blue Velvet Underground: David Lynch’s Post-Punk Poetics” Asynchronous work: Review Research Project Topics Submit pitches for your (or your group’s) Top 5 Research Topics (due by 1/29) Week 3 (2/2 & 2/4) Material due for synchronous meeting: Watch Blue Velvet Miley – Studies in American Cinema Syllabus – Spring 2021 – 6
Asynchronous work: Research Week 4 (2/9 & 2/11) Material due for synchronous meeting: Read Lynch on Lynch (pp. ) Read Todd McGowan, “Fantasizing the Father in Blue Velvet” Asynchronous work: Research Submit a Research Update This Week Week 5 (2/18) *** EVERYONE MEETS *** Material due: Twin Peaks, season 1, episode 3 Office Hours Conferences Week 6 (2/23 & 2/25) Material due for synchronous meeting: Watch Eraserhead Read Lynch on Lynch (pp. ) Asynchronous work: Research Submit a Research Update This Week Office Hours Conferences Week 7 (3/2 & 3/4) Material due for synchronous meeting: Read Steven Jay Schneider, “The Essential Evil in/of Eraserhead (or, Lynch to the Contrary)” Read Lynch on Lynch (pp. ) Asynchronous work: Research Paper due 3/4 Office Hours Conferences Week 8 (3/9) *** EVERYONE MEETS *** Material due: Twin Peaks, season 2, episodes 1 & 2 Miley – Studies in American Cinema Syllabus – Spring 2021 – 7
Office Hours Conferences Week 9 (3/16 & 3/18) Material due for synchronous meeting: Watch Lost Highway Read Lynch on Lynch (pp. ) Asynchronous work: Research Submit a Research Update This Week Week 10 (3/23 & 3/25) Material due for synchronous meeting: Watch Twin Peaks, season 2, episode 7 Read Frida Beckman, “From Irony to Narrative Crisis: Reconsidering the Femme Fatale in the Films of David Lynch” (*stop before the Mulholland Dr. section) Re-read Nicholas Rombes, “Blue Velvet Underground: David Lynch’s Post-Punk Poetics” Asynchronous work: Research Week 11 (3/30) *** EVERYONE MEETS *** Material due: Watch Twin Peaks, season 2, episode 22 Read Lynch on Lynch (pp. ) Read Sheli Ayers, “Twin Peaks, Weak Language, and the Resurrection of Affect” Office Hours Conferences Week 12 (4/6 & 4/8) Material due for synchronous meeting: Watch Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Asynchronous work: Research Submit a Research Update This Week Office Hours Conferences Week 13 (4/13 & 4/15) Material due for synchronous meeting: Read Martha Nochimson, “If You Are Falling in Space: Fire Walk With Me” Read Lynch on Lynch pp. Asynchronous work: Research Miley – Studies in American Cinema Syllabus – Spring 2021 – 8
Submit Research Presentation This Week Office Hours Conferences Week 14 (4/20 & 4/22) Material due for synchronous meeting: Watch Mulholland Dr. Read Lynch on Lynch pp. Asynchronous work: Work on Final Project Office Hours Conferences Week 15 (4/27 & 4/29) Material due for synchronous meeting: Read Greg Toles, “Auditioning Betty” Read Frida Beckman, “From Irony to Narrative Crisis: Reconsidering the Femme Fatale in the Films of David Lynch” (*read the Mulholland Dr. section) Asynchronous work: Work on Final Project Week 16 (5/4) *** EVERYONE MEETS *** Agenda for meeting: TBD
5/13 Final Project Posted Online by 7PM