University of Tennessee – Fall 2019 Cinema Studies 482/Global Studies 482/MFLL 482/Italian 493 Introduction to World Cinema Course Syllabus

Periodicity: Fall 2019 Time and Location: T 11:10-12:25; TH 11:10-1:55 Hodges Lib. 252 Instructor: Flavia Brizio-Skov Phone: (865) 974-7007 Mailbox/Main Office: MFLL - 701 McClung Tower E-mail: [email protected] Office: 614 McClung Tower Office hours: Tuesday 12:30am – 3:30pm or by appointment

Prerequisite: none

ON LINE: parts of The Global Film Book, by Roy Stafford, Routledge, 2014 (ISBN 978-0-415-68897-0); parts of Reading the movies by William V. Costanzo pp. 1-73; articles (a list of reading assignments will be posted on Canvas, under course materials). All the films are subtitled in English and streamed.

Course description: the course will explore the wonders of foreign films, will look at the industry, modes of production, audience, consumption and the relationship of international films to Hollywood. We will investigate key auteurs, popular genres, and influential film movements. We will start with Hollywood and then we will study transnational, diasporic film-makers and global films. Through a multidisciplinary approach, this course will explore how filmmakers observed, criticized, mirrored and sometimes even anticipated cultural and social transformations in different societies. We will be watching in class 13 films, the films could be loosely grouped into three thematic clusters: political/social critique/social changes (how 2 the personal reflects the political); diversity/clash of cultures/racial difference; foreign genre films (how other cultures re-interpret the Hollywood models: horror, romantic comedy, organized crime stories.

Course requirements: Consistent and careful preparation of assigned work is especially important in order to participate in class discussion. As general guidelines, students taking courses within the College of Arts and Science are generally expected to spend a minimum of two hours preparing for each hour spent in class. What follows here below is a brief overview of the various components of the course and of the instructor’s expectations with regard to your participation. Students will be asked to employ a range of critical thinking and planning skills in completing assigned reading outside of class, in preparation for class discussions, oral presentations, film viewings. Students will work towards proficiency in articulating a clear and compelling line of reasoning in both written and spoken forms, analyzing filmic texts, constructing arguments, and evaluating the validity of their thesis.

Language Disclaimer: Although the class will be conducted in English, Italian Majors and Minors are required to watch some films in Italian and have the option of choosing to write the final paper in Italian. Some of the material (films) might be considered sexually explicit or too violent by some students, you can discuss this problem with the instructor and you may watch a different film.

Course objectives: At the end of the course, successful students should be able to:

Describe and compare social aspects of your own culture and foreign culture.

Read, understand and discuss critically cinematic texts and scholarly articles.

Attain a deeper understanding and appreciation of a foreign culture through a variety of rich and diverse cultural texts.

Increase your ability to think critically and creatively, reason logically, and express one’s thoughts orally and in writing with clarity and precision through thoughtful analyses of individual texts that display various aesthetic and ideological approaches.

Learn how to write analyses in which you compare two or more texts in terms of structure, characterization, and themes.

Interpret and analyze a variety of historical and social sources, and be able to draw your own interpretation through careful analysis of historical and social changes.

Be capable of integrating knowledge from diverse sources.

Class participation and recommendation for student success: Class participation is understood to include regular attendance, active participation in class discussions, timely completion of all assignments, and thorough preparation for each class session.

Course Outcomes: successful students will:

Demonstrate through oral presentations, and other class assignments a reasonable knowledge of the cultural practices of other countries.

Identify and analyze cultural traits and concepts relevant to the country and society in question.

Recognize and distinguish different kinds of texts and arguments. Be able to use writing to reflect on their learning.

Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate historical discourse, and to develop conclusions about the past and the processes that create change over time. 3

Engage in critical thinking and analysis regarding various approaches and ideologies.

Disability Statement : If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a documented disability, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 2227 Dunford Hall (telephone/TTY 865-974- 6087; e-mail [email protected]) by August 25. This will ensure that you are properly registered for services.

Dean of Students Please refer to the Dean of Students’ website http://dos.utk.edu and Student Handbook for any questions concerning your right as a student.

Ready for the World Objective At the end of this course, you will be knowledgeable of cultures other than your own, and you will be able to analyze a filmic text through critical thinking.

Classroom behavior expectations Students are expected to assist and maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Disruptive behavior is prohibited. Examples are: the use of cellular phones and beepers, eating and drinking, excessive tardiness, making offensive remarks, reading newspapers during class, sleeping, overt inattentiveness, and the use of computers when it is not related with class material. For more information, please consult Student Handbook 2012-2013 http://dos.utk.edu/files/Hilltopics%202012.pdf

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a very serious offense that can result in failure of the class or even dismissal from the university. See http://www.lib.utk.edu/instruction/plagiarism/honor.html for a discussion of the University’s policy on plagiarism and academic honesty. Specific examples of plagiarism are: *copying without proper documentation (quotation marks and a citation) written or spoken words. *summarizing ideas from another source and passing them off as your own. *borrowing facts, statistics, graphs, pictorial representations, or phrases without acknowledging the source. *collaborating on a graded assignment without the instructor’s approval or having someone else write a paper for you.

Course information and requirements

Course Grade: Your final grade will be determined based on the following components.

Course Requirement and Evaluations:

Participation/Attendance 10% Final Paper 30% Group Presentations (2) 30% 2 Exams 30%

GRADING SCALE

A 94-100% B 84-86.9% C 74-76.9% D 64-66.9% A- 90-93.9% B- 80-83.9% C- 70-73.9% D- 60-63.9% B+ 87-89.9% C+ 77-79.9% D+ 67-69.9% F 0-59.9%

Participation: Your active participation in class is imperative. Rather than through lectures, the course will be conducted through discussions, making the input and questions of every student crucial. It is for this reason that attendance and participation account for such a significant portion of 4 your final grade, and it is for this reason that there might be some in-class quizzes to ensure that you keep up with the readings. In order to take an active part in the class discussion, it is essential that you come to class prepared, having read the material and having done the assignments. The instructor will carefully record your participation for each day. You will receive a participation grade of:

Level of participation and preparation Grade

Excellent participation; very well prepared; shows courtesy toward other students and to A professor; thoroughly engages in course material and interacts with others’ opinions Good participation; well prepared; courteous; engages in course material and interacts B with others’ opinions Average participation; adequate preparation; interjects but does not interact C Little participation; inadequate preparation; interrupts discussion; tangential interaction D Present in class; minimal participation; unprepared F Present in class; no participation; unprepared; shows no respect for others; disrupts 0 points discussion; reads or writes text messages

Class attendance: Attendance is required and mandatory; you are allowed 3 unexcused absences. Beginning with the 4th absence, your final course grade will drop one-half percentage point for each absence. If a regularly scheduled exam is missed due to an authorized university activity, you will be given an opportunity to make up the exam, provided that an official written excuse from a coach or other university official is presented to the instructor within 10 days of the absence.

Make-Up Exams: Missing an exam and asking to take a make-up exam are strongly discouraged and will only be permitted in very limited circumstances. The following policy from the UT Student Handbook will be followed in this class: “The University's policy on class attendance is clear and straightforward: Students are expected to attend classes to take exams on schedule except under extraordinary circumstances.” The “extraordinary circumstances” listed in the Student Handbook which will allow a missed exam to be made up are “serious illness or family emergencies.” “Serious illnesses” are limited to “those involving hospitalization, or catastrophic accidents or illness.” In all other situations, including minor illness, you are expected to be present to take exams on the dates they are given in class. Work is accepted only on or before the due dates specified in the syllabus. If you are absent from class, you are responsible for making arrangements to have your work handed in on the due date, before class, and for informing yourself of the information covered in class during the period of your absence. Make-ups are not permitted without documented excuse. If you are absent for a regularly scheduled exam because of authorized university activities, or serious illness, you will have the opportunity to make up the exam during office hours of the next scheduled class meeting. You are also responsible to contact me promptly. No other make-up will be given for any reason. Test material will cover: in-class discussions, lectures, screenings, and course readings.

POP Quizzes: Quizzes are unannounced and take place at the beginning of class time. If you arrive late, you will not be allowed to take the quiz, and will receive a zero. Unless absent with official documentation (a doctor’s note, for example) or in order to represent UT (for athletics and other official activities), there are no make-up exams for any reason. If you will be absent with official documentation, please let your professor know ahead of time. In Exams and Quizzes point reductions will be made for answers that fail to identify certain important terms, concepts, etc. and/or fail to discuss the questions. The severity of the point deduction will be based on the 5 number of missing terms, concepts, etc. and the degree to which your answer fails to show a clear understanding of the material.

Exams: You will be docked 5-10 points for insufficient length. DO NOT SUMMARIZE; these are exercises in synthesis/analysis, not plot summary. Without an extension arranged with the professor beforehand, a hard copy of all written work will be turned in on the day it is due. Based on questions derived from the material read and the films viewed/discussed in class.

No late Finals will be accepted past the deadline!

Final Exam: printed copy, Times New Roman 12, minimum 6 pages, double spaced, due on December 9, Monday, by noon (NO LATER). Presentations: You will give two group presentations. You must prepare a power-point presentation with clips, still images etc. However, students WILL have to talk about the film text in detail, they also need to present questions to the class and involve the class as a whole in a debate. Questions from fellow students and the instructor will be a fundamental part of the experience. The class will be divided in groups and each group will be assigned a film presentation/comment/analysis on a rotation basis. If you miss your group presentation, the penalty will affect every student in the group! Your group presentation will explore the social, political, technological, industrial, aesthetic and cultural elements that relate to the film (including production and reception). You can engage with popular and scholarly sources, books and periodicals, DVDs and web sites, trailers and advertisements, statistics and movie reviews and any historical document that informs us about the period. You can select a few clips from the film to illustrate your arguments, especially if dealing with types of camera shots. After presenting your analysis, ask questions to your classmates, they may have observed something about the film that you hadn’t (See the group presentation guideline on Canvas) Use the notes taken in class during the film viewing to recall information and thoughts! Most of the presentations will be based on the articles posted on line. Students will have to use the articles on line and find extra critical sources on the film they present via library, internet, or film journals. Students will have to watch the film assigned many times on their own, one screening in class will not be sufficient for analyzing a filmic text. IMDB pictures and just a few clips from the internet will not constitute a presentation. Cell Phone Policy: Cellular phones and other electronic devices (including but not limited to PDAs, iPods, Blackberry) are not to be used in class. All such devices must be turned off before the beginning of the class period and placed out of sight (for example, in a backpack or purse) until the class has concluded. Failure to comply with this policy may result in your being asked to leave class, with that class counted as a course absence. No email, texting or other activities during film viewing!

Any electronic announcements will be posted on Canvas, especially in case of bad weather. You are responsible for monitoring the course Canvas. Any minor revisions to the syllabus will be announced in class and posted on Canvas.

If you are a student of Italian, check out the Italian Club at [email protected] for extracurricular activities such as:

*Italian Language Table *Travel Abroad – Bologna Summer Program – Italian Events

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Suggested Reading: Film Art (8th edition), by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, McGraw-Hill, 2002 Film History (2nd edition), by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, McGraw-Hill, 2002 Watching Films, by Rick Lyman, Henry Holt, 2002 The Film Experience, by Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White, St. Martin’s, 2012, 3rd edition

Week Reading material on line (Canvas) August Course Introduction Film: Life of Pi, Ang Lee, 130’, USA- Search for an 22 Taiwan-UK-Canada. article/review on the Th GF Book: p. 13 Life of Pi film, print it and bring it to class on Tuesday Aug. 28.

27 Discussion on Life of Pi. T Costanzo’s pp. 1-9 29 Lecture Film: La Haine (Hate), Mathieu Kassovitz, Th France, 1995, 97’ Costanzo’s pp. 13-15 (medium)

3 September Leading Group 1 Discussion: La Haine Article 1 on La T GFBook: pp. 1-7 and case study 26-27 Haine.pdf Costanzo’s pp. 15-19 (film) 5 Film: Bicycle Thief, Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 2 Neorealismo/De Th 1948, 89’ (Oscar ‘56, Golden Globe ‘50) sica’sThief.pdf (Neorealism) Costanzo’s pp. 19-24

10 Leading Group 2 Discussion: Bicycle Thief T GFBook: case study pp. 83-84 Costanzo’s pp. 25-27 (word) 12 Lecture Film: Die Welle/The Wave, Dennis Gansel, 3The Th Germany, 2008, 107’ Wave/Band’s/Pan’s. GFBook: pp. 7-12 (produce?) pdf Costanzo’s pp. 27-30 (code)

17 Leading Group 3 Discussion: Die Welle T GFBook: pp. 17-21 (films) and case study pp. 72-75 Costanzo’s pp. 30-33 (counts) 19 Lecture Film: The band’s visit , Eran Kolirin, Th Israel/US/France, 2007, 87’ GFBook: pp. 21-25 (audience) Costanzo’s pp. 34-39 (lab)

24 Leading Group 4 Discussion: The band’s visit, T GFBook: pp. 29-32 (1930) Costanzo’s pp. 39-43 (production) 26 Lecture Film: Pan’s Labyrinth (El laberinto del Th fauno), Guillermo del Toro, 2006, Spain/Mexico, 113’ GFBook: pp. 32-37 (production) Costanzo’s pp. 43-46 (postproduction)

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1 October Leading Group 5 Discussion: Pan’s Labyrinth T GFBook: case study pp. 119-122 (1976) Costanzo’s pp. 46-49 3 Lecture Film: documentary on Ten Canoes - 4 Ten Th Ten Canoes, Australia, 2007, Rolf de Heer Canoes/Australian and Peter Djigirr, 90’ Cinema.pdf GFBook: pp. 37-41(next) Costanzo’s pp. 52-55 (take over)

8 Lecture GFBook: case study pp. 89-94 (Fence) T Costanzo’s pp. 50-52 (MGM)

10 Film: Yŏpkijŏgin kŭnyŏ (My sassy girl), J.Y. Th Kwak, South Korea, 2001, 122’

Watch on your own /streamed: (Eviga Ogonblick),/Denmark/Norway/Fin land/Germany, 2008, Jan Troell, 131’

15 Leading Group 1 Discussion: Ten Canoes T Costanzo’s pp. 55-58 (1990) 17 Lecture Fall Break Holiday Th Watch on your own and My sassy girl, USA, 2008, 92’, remake of the Korean one above. GFBook: pp. 43-50 (Chapter 9) Costanzo’s pp. 58-61

22 In class EXAM 1 T 24 Leading Group 2 (MY Film: In order of disappearance, by Hans 5A In order of Th SASSY GIRL 1 and 2) Petter Moland, 2014, disappearance/ Norway/Sweden/Denmark, 116’. 5B Headhunters Discussion: My sassy girl 1 and 2 and Trollhunter.pdf GFBook: pp. 65-68 (and 12), case study. GFBook: case study Nordic Films, pp. 116- 119 Costanzo’s pp. 62-64 (675-94)

29 October Leading Group 3 Discussion: In order of disappearance T GFBook: pp. 71-72 (closely) and 96-104 (France) Costanzo’s pp. 64-66 (themselves) Watch on your own between today and November 19: Trollhunter, 2010, André Ovredal, 103’, Norway, and Headhunters, 2011, Morten Tyldum, 96’, Norway/Sweden/Denmark/Germany. 8

Film: Let the right one in, Tomas 31 October Lecture Alfredson, 2008, Sweden, 115’ (PN 1995.0 6 Let the right one Th F 67 L372) Watch on your own/ streamed in.pdf Let me in, Matt Reeves, USA, 2010, 115’, remake of Let the right one in. GFBook: pp. 104-107 (1990s) Costanzo’s pp. 67-68 (thought)

5 November Leading Group 4 Discussion: Let the right one in T GFBook: pp. 113-119 (diaspora cinema) Costanzo’s pp. 69-70 (moving on) 7 Lecture Film: Nader and Simin: A Separation, 7 A Separation and Th , Iran, 2011, 123’ Paradise now. pdf

12 GFBook: case study pp. 161-166 (Kurdish T diaspora)

14 Leading Group 5 Discussion: A separation Th Film: Paradise Now, Hany Abu-Assad, Palestine/Netherlands, 2005, 90’ GFBook: pp. 171-174 (Instanbul)

19 In Class EXAM 2 T Topics for Final Paper – General Discussion: Paradise Now

21 Lecture Film: Masaan, by Neeraj Ghaywan, Th India/France, 2015, 109’

26 Review and submission of topics for Final T Papers –

28 Thanksgiving Holiday Th

3 December Review Discussion about Final papers T LAST DAY OF CLASS

All graduate students at the 400 or 510 level must talk to me in order to make arrangements for the final exam. They will write a longer paper, for 400 level class: 6-8 academic sources, 10-15 pages; for 510 level class: 8-10 academic sources, 15-20 pages.

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Final reminder: This course has three components: the textbooks (Global Film Book and Costanzo’s); my power point lectures on the most important trends of cinema, on the development of cinema as an industry, and on the history of cinema (depending on the time we will look at neorealism, French realism, German expressionism, Russian montage etc.); the articles, posted on Canvas.

Students enrolled in this class BUT MAJORING OR MINORING IN ITALAIN will have to read some cinema articles in Italian and watch some films in Italian, they need to discuss the matter with the instructor who will assign the special material.

Below: The Great Beauty ( La grande bellezza) by Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France, 2013, 142’, Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and Golden Globe in 2014, and Youth (Giovinezza) by Sorrentino, 2015, and Masaan, by Neeraj Ghaywan, India/France, 2015, 109’.