Film 162 The Afro-Brazilian Experience and Brazilian Cinema Fall 2008: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:00-9:50; Horace Mann 193 Instructor: Vincent Bohlinger Office: Craig-Lee 355 Telephone: x8660 E-mail:
[email protected] Office Hours: Thursdays 10:00-11:50, also by appointment Course Overview: This course serves as an introduction to the cinema of Brazil by way of exploring issues of race and representation. We start with a study of the international stereotypes surrounding Brazil, then examine the Cinema Nôvo movement, and finally move toward commercial and critical successes of the past few decades. We will be analyzing a number of challenging films in order to understand their broader political, cultural, and aesthetic contexts. Required Text: Robert Stam, Tropical Multiculturalism: A Comparative History of Race in Brazilian Cinema and Culture (Duke UP, 2004) Recommended: one of the following dvds (for the analysis paper): Pixote (Hector Babenco, 1981); City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002); Madame Satã (Karim Aïnouz, 2002); Bus 174 (José Padilha, 2002); The Man Who Copied (Jorge Furtado, 2003); Antônia (Tata Amaral, 2006) Course Requirements: 10% Participation (note attendance policy below) 20% Mid-Term Exam (in class) 20% Research Paper (5-7 pages) 20% Analysis Paper (5-7 pages) 30% Final Exam (in class) Course Policies: - Attendance is mandatory and counts toward the participation grade. More than three absences will result in a lower grade and possibly course failure. - Please come to class on time and remain in class for the duration of the session. Late arrivals and early departures count as partial absences, as do temporary exits during screening, lecture, or discussion.