POR 350K: Brazilian Film and Culture (45940) Prof. Jason Borge, BEN 3.136; Office hours Th 1-4 Fall 2012, TTh 11-12:30 MEZ 1.210
Course Description
In this course students will be given a critical overview of Brazilian cinema, from the silent era to the present day, with an emphasis on the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The course will consist of two main components. On one hand, students will read and analyze written texts from a wide range of film historians, scholars and directors, the goal being a competence in basic film vocabulary as well as a familiarity with Brazilian political and social history—themes such as race, gender, national identity, dictatorship, poverty and globalization. The second component will be a close, informed analysis and discussion of the films themselves, which students will view outside of class, either on DVD or through the Internet.
Students will be expected to view eleven films outside of class over the course of the semester. You must submit a 3-4 page analysis of three of the films (of your choice), to be turned in on the day of the discussion; additionally, you must also turn in a one-page written summary of the remaining eight films (35% of your grade). There will be one mid-term exam (20%) and one final examination (25%), both based largely on the course readings. Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 512-471-6259, http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/.
Regular attendance and active class participation are a fundamental part of the course (and 20% of the final course grade). Consequently, absences due to illness, injury or other emergencies must be well justified, preferably with reasonable documentation from an authorized source (e.g. physician, coach, etc.). In the case of absences due to military service or observance of religious holidays, students should inform the professor within the first 14 days of the date(s) when and why they will have to miss class. Each unexcused absence, or repeated tardiness, will result in an automatic 5% deduction of your participation grade. Finally, absolutely no texting or e-mailing is permitted during class. Food is also prohibited, though beverages are ok.
All exams, summaries and analyses must be written in Portuguese. The course will be taught entirely in Portuguese. Readings in English and Portuguese will be made available through Blackboard.
Course Schedule
August 30
Introduction
September 4
Lisa Shaw and Stephanie Dennison, “The Vargas years (1930-1945 and 1951-54)” John King, Magical Reels, 20-25 Michael Korfmann, “Limite.” http://www.mariopeixoto.com/home.htm Scenes from Limite (Mário Peixoto, 1931)
September 6
O Descobrimento do Brasil (Humberto Mauro, 1936) (Youtube)
September 11
Ely Azeredo, “A Atlântida e a Chanchada” Maria Rita Galvão, “Vera Cruz: A Brazilian Hollywood” In class: Scenes from The Gang’s all Here (Busby Berkeley, 1943); and Carnaval Atlântida (Carlos Manga, 1952)
September 13
O Cangaceiro (Lima Barreto, 1953) (ITS Lab Reserve)
September 18
Lisa Shaw and Stephanie Dennison, “Cinema novo” Robert Stam and Randal Johnson, “The Cinema of Hunger: Nelson Pereira dos Santos’s Vidas Secas” Glauber Rocha, “Eztetyka da Fome” Scenes from Deus e o diabo na terra do sol (dir. Glauber Rocha, 1964)
September 20
Vidas Secas (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1963) (Netflix Instant/DVD; Youtube; Fine Arts Library DVD—two copies)
September 25
Lisa Shaw and Stephanie Dennison, “Filmmaking and the Dictatorship (1964-84)” Ana de Oliveira, “Movimento—Tropicália” Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, “Cannibalism and Self-Cannibalism” Scenes from Macunaima (dir. Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1969)
September 27
Como era gostoso o meu francês (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1971) (Netflix Instant/DVD; Youtube-no subtitles)
October 2
Lisa Shaw and Stephanie Dennison, “The Pornochanchada” Ana Maria Mauad, “Bye Bye Brasil e as fronteiras do nacional-popular”
October 4
Bye Bye Brasil (Carlos Diegues, 1980) (Netflix Instant; Fine Arts Library DVD—Reserve; Benson Library DVD—reserve; ITS reserve)
October 9
Review for exam
October 11
MID-TERM EXAMINATION
October 16
Lisa Shaw and Stephanie Dennison, “Cinema and Redemocratisation” (1984-2006) Lúcia Nagib, “Introdução,” O cinema da retomada Bruno Barreto, “Depoimento,” from O cinema da retomada
October 18
O Que É Isso, Companheiro [Four Days in September] (Bruno Barreto, 1997) (Netflix DVD; ITS Reserve; Fine Arts Library DVD]
October 23
Ivana Bentes, “The sertão and the favela in contemporary Brazilian film” Scenes from Pixote, a lei do mais fraco (Hector Babenco, 1981)
October 25
Central do Brasil [Central Station](Walter Salles, 1998) (Amazon Instant-Purchase; Netflix DVD; Fine Arts DVD, Benson Library DVD)
October 30
Lúcia Nagib, “An Interrupted Utopia” Paulo Lins, Cidade de Deus (fragment)
November 1
Cidade de deus (Fernando Meirelles, 2000) (Netflix DVD; Amazon Instant; Youtube rent; Fine Arts Library DVD—3 copies)
November 6
Leu, Lorraine “Performing Race and Gender in Brazil: Karim Ainouz’s Madame Satã”
November 8
Madame Satã (Karim Ainouz, 2002) (Netflix DVD; youtube-no subtitles; Fine Arts, Benson libraries DVD)
November 13
Eduardo Coutinho, Ismail Xavier, & Jorge Furtado, “O sujeito (extra)ordinário,” from O Cinema do Real (Maria Dora Mourão & Amir Labaki, eds) Scenes from Edifício Master (Eduardo Coutinho, 2002)
November 15
Ônibus 174 [Bus 174](José Padilha, 2002) (Netflix DVD; Fine Arts DVD, Benson DVD; ITS reserve)
November 20
Reading TBA Scenes from Antônia—O Filme (Tata Amaral, 2006)
November 22
THANKSGIVING
November 27
Blanca Freire-Medeiros, “‘I went to the City of God’: Gringos, guns and the touristic favela.” 20.1 (2011)
November 29
Tropa de Elite 2 – O Inimigo Agora é Outro [Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within] (José Padilha, 2010) (Amazon Instant; Netflix Instant/DVD/Blu-Ray; Fine Arts DVD)
December 4
Review
December 6
FINAL EXAMINATION