Revised 8-31-07
FMST 001 · Fall 2007 Professor Bob Rehak · brehak1 Class meetings: TTh 11:20-12:35, SCI 183 Office: LPAC 204, x6204 Screenings: M 7-10 p.m., LPAC Cinema Hours: TTh 1-2:30, W 10-12 & 1-4
INTRODUCTION TO FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES
Overview
The emergence of cinema at the end of the 19th century and its diffusion into digital forms at the end of the 20th bookend a fascinating period in which mass screen entertainment has profoundly shaped our worlds and identities as art, technology, commodity, social practice, and psychological experience. This course explores the aesthetics, history, and theory of moving- image media, focusing on narrative fiction and nonfiction cinema with some attention to television, experimental art, and new media.
This lecture/discussion course is designed as a general introduction and the required foundation for minors and special majors in the Film and Media Studies Program. It has two main goals:
1. Familiarize you with the basic vocabulary of film form and develop your skills in written film analysis. This means learning to (a) analyze how as well as what a film’s sounds and images mean; (b) understand the social and political questions raised by dominant modes of cinematic representation; and (c) grasp the mechanics of structuring a written argument about a film’s meaning.
2. Provide you with an overview of the theories, methods, and concerns of film and media studies. Readings and screenings will introduce important concepts (e.g. realism, self- reflexivity, authorship, narrative, genre, national cinema), modes of film practice, and critical approaches, preparing you for future work in the discipline.
Texts (available at College Bookstore)
Required
Corrigan, Timothy and Patricia White. The Film Experience. Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing About Film. 6th Ed. (If buying used, make sure to get the 6th edition!)
Recommended
Murch, Walter. In the Blink of An Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing. 2nd Ed. Taubin, Amy. Taxi Driver. Williams, Linda and Christine Gledhill (Eds). Reinventing Film Studies.
Copies of all texts are on two-hour reserve at McCabe. However, I strongly encourage you to purchase your own copies, if for no other reason than that you need to bring them to class meetings. Please complete all readings before each Monday-night screening.
Blackboard
Required course readings marked (X) can be downloaded from the FMST 01 site on Blackboard (blackboard.swarthmore.edu). I will also use Blackboard for announcements, discussion, and
This and all handouts can be downloaded from Blackboard under “Course Documents.” F MST 01 · Page 2 sharing student writing. For assistance with Blackboard, contact the ITS helpdesk at x4357 (on- campus), 610-328-8513 (off-campus), or email help. You can also access the Blackboard guide at www.swarthmore.edu/its/documents/StudentGuide_Bb6.pdf.
Screenings
Attendance at Monday night screenings is required, and you are expected to take notes on all films. Films will be presented on DVD. Copies are on reserve at McCabe for repeat viewings and assignments. Please note that a few screenings will run more than three hours, so on those nights, be ready to sit for a while! (We will take breaks). Also, be warned that some screenings contain graphic and objectionable material – violence, racism, nudity, sex (and sexism). I apologize for any discomfort this may cause, and encourage you to communicate your feelings to me openly, with the understanding that they are an important dimension of your response to a media text.
A note on screening etiquette
Cell phones should of course be turned off; please, no texting while the lights are down. Students using laptops, PDAs, or anything with a lit screen should sit toward the back of the Cinema. Please, no browsing/chatting/gaming; to get the most out of the screenings, stay in the same mental & perceptual space as the picture.
Assignments (more details at end of syllabus)
Item Due Date Value Attendance (including screenings & lib session) Throughout term -5% for each absence over 3 Participation Throughout term 10% Discussion board postings Throughout term 15%
Warmup writing (2 short responses) September 6 &15 5% Expanded storyboard October 4 15% Midterm exam October 11 15% Research project: film biography November 15 20% Take-home final December 20 20%
Avoiding Trouble
I penalize late work a third of a grade for each calendar day it is overdue. Late assignments cannot be turned in for credit after that assignment has been handed back to the rest of the class (I can still give you comments and suggestions for improvement, however). All of this applies unless you’ve made an arrangement with me in advance. I am generally very understanding about the pressures and deadlines of student life, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you anticipate missing a deadline. Similarly, please consult me immediately if you know you will miss a class or screening. In the event of an unplanned absence, I appreciate the courtesy of an email. I am always available to meet and discuss questions pertaining to coursework and content, and to work with you on targeting specific areas for improvement.
In assessing cases of academic misconduct (e.g. cheating, plagiarism, etc.), I follow the guidelines laid down in section 7.1.2 of the Swarthmore course catalog (http://www.swarthmore.edu/cc_collegelife.xml). I expect you to be up to speed on these criteria, never submitting scholarship that is not your own, citing sources without proper attribution, or recycling work done for other classes.
FMST 01 · Page 3
CALENDAR Screenings and readings may change.
Week 1: September 3-7 Introduction and Overview
Reading: The Film Experience (FE) Chapter 1 (“Preparing Viewers and Views”); A Short Guide to Writing About Film, Chapters 1-2
Recommended: Noël Carroll, “Introducing Film Evaluation” Reinventing Film Studies (RFS) Jane M. Gaines, “Dream/Factory” (RFS)
Screening: Assorted trailers (30 min); Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939, 96 min) Note: This screening will be held in Kohlberg 116
Supplemental: High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952, 85 min); The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1967, 161 min); Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969, 110 min); McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971, 120 min)
Due: Review of Stagecoach due in class Thursday, September 6
Unit I: Reading Film
Week 2: September 10-14 Formal Analysis & The Storytelling System
Reading: FE Chapter 6 (“Telling Stories About Time: Narrative Films”) Writing About Film, Chapter 3
Recommended: FE Chapter 12 (“Writing a Film Essay”) Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, “How Films Mean” (RFS)
Screening: La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1963, 28 min); Smoke (Wayne Wang, 1995, 112 min)
Supplemental: The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946, 114 min); Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950, 100 min); Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951, 101 min); Primer (Shane Carruth, 2004, 77 min)
Due: Critical response to supplemental film, Saturday, Sept 15 by 6 p.m.
Week 3: September 17-21 Mise-en-scène
Reading: FE Chapter 2 (“Exploring the Material World: Mise-en-scène”) Synopses of Macbeth and The Tempest (links on Blackboard)
Recommended: Macbeth and The Tempest, complete texts (links on Blackboard)
F MST 01 · Page 4
Screening: Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 1957, 109 min) Forbidden Planet (Fred M. Wilcox, 1956, 98 min) Note: This will be an extra-long screening!
Supplemental: The Scarlet Empress (Josef von Sternberg, 1934, 104 min); The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948, 133 min); Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959, 100 min); Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979, 116 min)
Week 4: September 24-28 Cinematography
Reading: FE Chapter 3 (“Seeing Through the Image: Cinematography”)
Recommended: Amy Taubin, Taxi Driver (BFI)
Screening: Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976, 113 min)
Supplemental: M (Fritz Lang, 1931, 110 min); The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949. 104 min); Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978, 95 min); Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979, 163 min)
Week 5: October 1-5 Editing
Reading: FE Chapter 4 (“Relating Images: Editing”) Walter Murch, excerpts from In the Blink of an Eye (X) Sergei Eisenstein, excerpts from Film Form (X)
Recommended: Walter Murch, In the Blink of an Eye (complete book)
Screening: Battleship Potemkin vs. Untouchables (30 min) The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodore Dreyer, 1928, 82 min)
Supplemental: Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais, 1959, 90 min); Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960, 90 min); Face/Off (John Woo, 1997, 138 min); The Limey (Steven Soderbergh, 1999, 89 min)
Due: Storyboard analysis, Thursday, Oct 4
Week 6: October 8-12 Sound
Reading: FE Chapter 5 (“Listening to the Cinema: Film Sound”)
Recommended: Steven Cohan, “Case Study: Interpreting Singin’ in the Rain” (RFS)
Screening: Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952, 103 min)
Supplemental: Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977, 89 min); Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978, 115 min); The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993, 121 min); Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001, 114 min)
Due: Midterm exam, Thursday, Oct 11 (taken in class) FMST 01 · Page 5
October Break
Unit II: Adventures in Theory and History
Week 7: October 22-26 Theory Comes of Age; Gender
Reading: FE Chapter 9 (“Conventional Film History”) & Chapter 11 (“Critical Methods and Theories); Writing About Film, Chapter 4
Recommended: Gill Branston, “Why Theory?” (RFS) Bill Nichols, “Film Theory and the Revolt Against Master Narratives” (RFS)
Screening: Orlando (Sally Potter, 1992, 93 min) Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987, 94 min) Note: This will be an extra-long screening!
Supplemental: Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955, 111 min); Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968, 136 min); Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991, 112 min); Kids (Larry Clark, 1995, 91 min)
Week 8: October 29-November 2 The Master’s House: Auteurs and Genre
Reading: FE Chapter 8 (“Movie Genres”); Writing About Film, Chapters 6 & 7 Linda Williams, “Discipline and Fun: Psycho and Postmodern Cinema” (X)
Recommended: Christine Gledhill, “Rethinking Genre” (RFS) Christine Geraghty, “Re-examining Stardom: Questions of Texts, Bodies, and Performance” (RFS)
Screening: George Lucas in Love (Joe Nussbaum, 1999, 8 min) Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960, 109 min)
Supplemental: Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960, 101 min); The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988, 107 min); The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991, 118 min); American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000, 101 min)
Week 9: November 5-9 True Stories: Documentary and Experimental Films
Reading: FE Chapter 7 (“Other Cinematic Shapes: Documentary and Experimental Films”) Maya Deren, “Cinematography: The Creative Use of Reality” (X)
Recommended: Christopher Williams, “After the Classic, the Classical and Ideology” (RFS)
Screening: Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943, 18 min); Harlan County, U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple, 1976, 103 min)
Supplemental: Don’t Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, 1967, 96 min); Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, 1983, 100 min); Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Errol Morris, 1997, 80 min) F MST 01 · Page 6
Week 10: November 12-16 Other Voices: Third Cinema and Queer Films
Reading: FE Chapter 10 (“Global and Local: Inclusive Histories of Movies”)
Recommended: Vivian Sobchack, “What is Film History? Or, the Riddle of the Sphinxes” (RFS) Ravi S. Vasudevan, “The Politics of Cultural Address in a ‘Transitional’ Cinema: A Case Study of Indian Popular Cinema” (RFS)
Screening: Sink or Swim (Su Friedrich, 1990, 48 min) Black Girl / La Noire de … (Ousmane Sembene, 1966, 60 min)
Supplemental: The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966, 121 min); Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971, 97 min); Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (Férid Boughedir, 1990, 98 min); Poison (Todd Haynes, 1991, 85 min)
Due: Research project: film biography, Thursday, Nov 15
Week 11: November 19-21 High and Low: The Politics of Taste
Recommended: Sharon Willis, “ ‘Style,’ Posture, and Idiom: Tarantino’s Figures of Masculinity” (RFS)
Screening: Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966, 83 min) Glen or Glenda (Ed Wood, Jr., 1953, 65 min)
Supplemental: Robot Monster (Phil Tucker, 1953, 66 min); Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Russ Meyer, 1970, 109 min); Pink Flamingos (John Waters, 1972, 93 min); Grindhouse (Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, 2007, 191 min)
Thanksgiving Break
Unit III: Beyond Cinema
Week 12: November 26-30 The Small Screen: Television
Reading: TBA
Screening: Two hours of “Flow”
Supplemental: A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1957, 126 min); Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976, 121 min); Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983, 87 min); Series 7: The Contenders (Daniel Minahan, 2001, 86 min)
Week 13: December 3-7 Convergence and Technical Change
Reading: Henry Jenkins, excerpts from Convergence Culture (X) Laura Kipnis, “Film and Technological Change” (X)
FMST 01 · Page 7
Recommended: Anne Friedberg, “The End of Cinema: Multimedia and Technological Change” (RFS)
Screening: Sin City (Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, 2005), 124 min
Supplemental: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968, 141 min); TRON (Steven Lisberger, 1982, 96 min); Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1995, 82 min); The Polar Express (Robert Zemeckis, 2004, 99 min)
Week 14: December 10-11 Wrapup
Screening: Students’ Choice
Student evaluations
Due: Take-home final, Thursday, December 20
Note: there is no final exam meeting in this course.
Summary of Assignments Detailed guidelines will be provided for certain items.
Attendance (including all screenings) Due: Throughout term Worth: -5% for each absence over 3
3 times late to class = one absence
Participation Due: Throughout term Worth: 10%
One of the goals of FMST 01 is to help you develop a strong, clear, confident voice in written work, online, and in the classroom. I measure participation by both quality and quantity, preferring the former over the latter. I want you to express yourself freely in the various forums of this course, but always with tolerance, patience, and respect for your classmates.
Warmup writing (2 short responses) Due: September 6 & 15 Worth: 5% (2.5% each)
In this pair of preliminary writing exercises, you will try out two modes of film writing described in A Short Guide to Writing About Film: the review and the critical essay.
2-3 paragraph review of Stagecoach: due at start of class, September 6 2-3 paragraph critical response to supplemental film in Week 2: post on Blackboard by 6 p.m., September 15
Expanded storyboard Due: Thursday, October 4 Worth: 15%
This assignment asks you to work in teams of two to anatomize and analyze a short scene from a movie drawn from the supplemental screening list. With your partner, you will (A) select a diverse but continuous sequence of 8-12 shots; (B) diagram each shot in F MST 01 · Page 8
storyboard format; (C) briefly describe each shot’s contents using proper terminology (i.e. the language of mise-en-scène, lighting, camera position and movement); (D) describe transitions between shots using correct editing terminology. Finally, (E), you will write a 1-2 paragraph analysis of the sequence, evaluating the relationship of technique and meaning.
Midterm exam Due: In class, October 11 Worth: 15%
The midterm exam covers the first six weeks of the course, with an emphasis on recognizing standard film techniques, identifying those techniques using accurate terminology, and answering short questions about film style and aesthetics. The exam will be given in class on Thursday, October 11 and will include identification, short answer, and analysis based on film clips.
Research project: film biography Due: November 15 Worth: 20%
In this 5-7 page paper, you will write the “biography” of a film you choose from the supplemental viewing list, treating the movie as a living entity with its own life story. Based on primary sources wherever possible, you will trace the movie’s genesis from preproduction to distribution, discussing how it was received commercially and critically. Finally, you will place the movie in a generic tree, noting its influences as well as the later films that were influenced by it. Note: this assignment will be done in conjunction with a session in media research methods at McCabe, to be scheduled after October Break.
Take-home final Due: Thursday, December 20 Worth: 20%
On the last day of class, I will give you a list of questions asking you to write several short essays, to be turned in at my office by noon on December 20. These questions will be based on our final class screening, to be chosen by students from the supplemental viewing list. We will discuss and vote on these films throughout the semester.
Six discussion board postings Due: Throughout term Worth: 15%
Based on movies you choose from the supplemental screenings, these six postings are worth 2.5% each: two reviews, two critical responses, and two substantive replies to other students’ postings. These should be distributed throughout the semester, with a goal of having at least three done by midterm; don’t wait until the last minute!
Remember: if you are unclear about what’s expected of you in FMST 01, or encounter difficulty of any kind, please contact me right away. I am always available to meet to discuss the course and your performance, read rough drafts, and brainstorm ideas for improvement. I want you to enjoy FMST 01 and get a lot out of it. I’m also happy just to talk about movies and readings with you!