European Society and Cinema New York University in France - Spring 2012 DRLIT-UA 9502 / FREN-UA 9865 - 4 points Prof. Stephen Monteiro ([email protected])
Course hours: Wednesday, 4:30-7:30 PM (weekly screening time TBA) Office hours: Wednesday, 4:00-4:30 and 7:30-8:00 PM
Course description:
Hailed as the “seventh art” by European intellectuals and artists, cinema has played a singular role in the continent‟s politics and culture. This course examines film‟s contribution to, and critique of, modernity and contemporary society through the close study of selected European avant-garde and popular films and related historical and cultural topics. It explores not only how film narratives can depict the political and social conditions of a particular place and time, but also the many ways that cinema as an industry, mass medium and idea has been absorbed into constructions of European identity, national sovereignty and globalization. Films and readings will be supplemented by visits to Paris sites and institutions reflecting differing film cultures.
Texts:
Required: All readings listed in the class schedule are required unless otherwise noted. Readings are available at the course‟s Google Site: https://sites.google.com/a/nyu.edu/european-cinema- and-society---spring-2012
Recommended: Elizabeth Ezra‟s European Cinema (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) is recommended for its overview of European film history, while Mark Mazower‟s Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century (New York: Vintage Books, 2000) is recommended as a general history of twentieth-century Europe.
Evaluation and Grading:
Participation (20%) – Students are expected to attend all classes and visits, read required texts for the date due and contribute productively to class discussions. Each student must also attend at least two screenings in the Soirées Cinéma series and one meeting of the CineStories lecture series (dates indicated in the course schedule).
Visit response (20%) – Each student will write a 3-page response to one of the first three class visits
Mid-term Exam (30%) – This in-class exam concerns all lectures, readings and films from the first half of the semester.
Final Paper (30%) – The final paper (7-8 pages) will be on a topic in European cinema selected by the student from a list provided by the professor.
Class Schedule:
1. 1 Feb. Beginnings Films: short films by the Lumière brothers, Georges Méliès, and Fernand Léger Readings: List of film terms; Ezra, “A Brief History of Cinema in Europe”; Léger, “Ballet Mécanique”
*2 Feb., 6 PM CineStories seminar Nathalie Bittinger: « Le Baiser de la femme- araignée : dans la toile des recompositions transartistiques (Manuel Puig, Hecto Babenco, Wong Kar-wai) »
2. 8 Feb. Class Visit 1 – Cinema and the Urban Environment Readings: Bruno, “Visual Studies”; Friedberg, “Les Flâneurs”
3. 15 Feb. A Revolutionary Art Film: Dziga Vertov, The Man with a Movie Camera (1929) Readings: Vertov, “Artistic Drama and Kino- Eye”; Bordwell, “The Idea of Montage in Soviet Art and Film”; Recommended: Ezra, ch.2
4. 22 Feb. World War II and Occupation Cinema Film: Henri-Georges Clouzot, Le Corbeau (1943) Reading: Siclier, “The Psychology of the Spectator, or the „Cinema of Vichy‟ Did Not Exist”; Greene, “Mood and Ideology in the Cinema of Vichy France”
5. Fri. 24/2 Class Visit 2 (substitutes for 29 Feb. class) Reading: Barthes, “Leaving the Movie Theater”
29 Feb. NO CLASS
*29 Feb., 7 PM Les Soirées Cinéma de NYUF – Studio Galande Film: Laurent Gaillard & Florent Vassault, Honk
6. 7 Mar. Mid-Term Exam (attendance is mandatory)
*8 Mar., 6 PM CineStories seminar Olivier Maillart : « Le sentiment littéraire et sa traduction cinématographique »
7. 14 Mar. The Rise of the Nouvelle Vague Film: Alain Renais, Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959) Reading: Jean Domarchi, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Jean-Luc Godard et al, “Hiroshima, notre amour”
8. Fri. 16/3 Class Visit 3 (substitutes for 21 Mar. class) Reading: Paul, “The K-Mart Audience at the Mall Movies”
21 Mar. NO CLASS
*21 Mar., 7 PM Les Soirées Cinéma de NYUF – Studio Galande Film: Bertrand Bonello, L‟Apollonide Nb Two additional nights of Soirées Cinéma may be scheduled this semester, dates to be announced.
9. 28 Mar. Culture Wars: Europe and the US Film: Federico Fellini, La Dolce Vita (1960) Reading: Knieger: “La Dolce Vita: Twentieth- Century Man?”; Peri and Fellini, “Federico Fellini: An Interview”; Recommended: Ezra, ch.6
10. 4 Apr. The Eastern Bloc and Late Communism Film: Milos Forman, The Firemen’s Ball (1967) Reading: Milos Forman, Turnaround (excerpt)
*5 Apr., 6 PM CineStories seminar Katalin Por : « Usages de l’opérette à Hollywood aux débuts du parlant. »
*6 Apr. Edge Atlantic Film Festival Retrospective
11. 11 Apr. Dogma and Utopias Film: Thomas Vinterberg, The Celebration (1998) Readings: von Trier and Vinterberg, “Dogme 95: The Vow of Chastity”; Stevenson, “The Birth of Dogme and The Idiots”; Recommended: Ezra, ch.16
16-27 April SPRING BREAK
12. 2 May European Identity, National Identity Film: Alexander Sokurov, The Russian Ark (2002) Reading: Gillespie, “Identity and the Past in Recent Russian Cinema”; Putain, “Russia is Europe‟s Natural Ally”
*3 May, 6 PM CineStories seminar Marc Cerisuelo:« Questions de poétique filmique »
13. 9 May Colonialism’s Legacy Film: Gurinder Chadha, Bride and Prejudice (2004) Readings: Dudrah, “Singing for India”; Mathur, “From British „Pride‟ to Indian „Bride‟” (http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0705/06-mathur.php) FINAL PAPER DUE
14. 16 May Class Visit 4 Reading, “Belton: Digital Cinema: A False Revolution”
Paris film resources:
Allocine.com – cinema listings, searchable by film title, movie theater, zip code, etc. (Nb VO-film in its original language; VF-film dubbed into French)
Cinémathèque française (www.cinematheque.fr) – one of the world‟s largest film history collections. It also maintains a comprehensive screening schedule of classics and little-known films.
Centre Pompidou (www.centrepompidou.fr) – the city‟s principal cultural center, it houses an excellent public library, art museums and exhibitions. Its two cinemas offer film retrospectives and festivals, often with related exhibitions.
Forum des Images (www.forumdesimages.net) – the city‟s recently renovated film library and cinema, housed in the Forum des Halles. Besides regular screenings, a day ticket also allows access to individual viewing posts to consult the large collection of films related to Paris.
Cinemas d’Art et d’Essai (www.art-et-essai.org/accueil.htm) – Independent movie theaters (several are in the Latin Quarter, but they are found throughout the city) that often program retrospectives of important directors and major genres. They also screen current films that haven‟t found large distributors or that appeal to niche audiences.