GLOBAL NEOREALISM SENIOR SEMINAR Program in Cinema Studies Prof

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GLOBAL NEOREALISM SENIOR SEMINAR Program in Cinema Studies Prof. Rhiannon Noel Welch 01:175:425 [email protected] Rutgers University – New Brunswick Office #5113 Spring 2020 15 Seminary Place AB 4140 Office Hours: Tuesdays 1-3pm and by appointment 15 Seminary Place, College Avenue Campus Seminar: Tuesday 9:50am-12:50pm Screenings: Monday 6-9pm

On-location shooting, shoestring budget, non-professional actors, and social commentary on the everyday struggles of the so-called ‘common man.’ These are among the hallmark elements of Italian neorealism—a body of films that emerged out of the literal and figural rubble of fascism and World War II, and gave a nation recovering from a bombastic dictatorship a humble new self-image. Few national film movements have been as revered, mythologized, and seemingly self-evident as neorealism. And yet, since its inception, its very status—as a tradition, a school, a genre, and/or as a distinctively Italian set of films—has been fiercely contested. This course explores neorealism itself as a site of numerous transnational transactions, from its origins—in dialogue with Soviet realism and 'escapist' Hollywood—to its resonance in China, Senegal, Colombia, India, and beyond. Students will examine selections from the neorealist 'canon' (films by Rossellini, De Sica, and Visconti), along with a selection of their global intertexts (films may include: Pather Panchali, 1955, dir. Satyajit Ray; Black Girl, 1966, dir. Ousmane Sembène; Still Life, 2006, dir. Jia Zhangke; Wendy and Lucy, 2008, dir. Kelly Reichardt).

GRADE DISTRIBUTION

Participation. 20% Regular bodily attendance is mandatory. As this is a seminar course, students are expected to participate consistently in each day’s discussion. Highest grades for participation are earned by students who come to class on time having read and viewed the material assigned for each class, who pose thoughtful questions, offer their insights consistently, communicate their thoughts effectively, and listen respectfully to the contributions of other students.

Scene analysis presentations. 10% Over the course of the semester, students will prepare TWO 8-10 minute presentations in which they conduct a detailed scene analysis to share with the class. Students will select a 1-3 minute scene or sequence to play for the class and analyze in terms of mise-en-scène (acting, space, costumes, lighting); cinematography (framing, scale, movement); editing (transitions, styles, durations); and/or sound (source, quality, etc.). The scene analysis should—first and foremost—critically analyze some aspect of film form. It should also make reference to the assigned readings of the day, or to further research on the day’s main topics conducted independently by the student.

Journal entries. 10% Students will keep a hand-written journal in which they write notes on the films and readings (at home), and complete reflective writing assignments on a topic assigned by the professor (during class time). Students should feel free to make these journals as creative as they want—they can be spaces for collage, pasting memorable stills from films, etc.

Quizzes. 10% There will be two in-class quizzes (multiple choice, short answer, and essay) to assess your knowledge of the course readings and gauge your level of engagement with class discussions. Please consult the course calendar for quiz dates.

Final research paper abstract, outline, and annotated bibliography. 10% Students will submit a 150-word abstract, a detailed paper outline, and annotated bibliography in class on Tuesday, MARCH 24. Students will come to class prepared to present their research projects to the class, and we will workshop paper ideas, writing strategies, and additional resources together.

Student research symposium: individual grade 15%; group grade 5 % Students will collaborate in organizing a research symposium for the final day of class, Tuesday APRIL 28. Students will be given time in class to discuss an appropriately broad but relevant title based on a theme that encompasses students’ respective individual topics. Outside of class, students are expected to prepare a poster and/or flyer for the event that includes a schedule of all participants and presentation titles. On the day of the 1 symposium, each student will deliver one well-rehearsed and accurately timed 7-8 min. final presentation. The student research symposium is an opportunity to reflect meaningfully on the course’s major themes by connecting them to a topic of the student’s choice, and to the class’ interests as a whole. For their individual presentations, students should prepare a brief, conference-style version of their final research paper, or a detailed outline for a future research project along with clips and/or a PPT, Keynote, or Prezi. 10% of the assignment will be graded individually, based on the student’s individual research presentation. 5% of the assignment will be graded as a group, based on the overall final outcome of the symposium and the group’s ability to collaborate equitably, productively, and collegially.

Final research paper. 20% Students will write one 2,500-word (roughly 10-page) research paper. Papers should demonstrate the ability to: 1) formulate a clear argument about one or two films with a thesis statement; 2) perform a close reading of one or two films by discussing specific examples; 3) identify, utilize, and cite appropriate scholarly sources; and 4) effectively communicate complex ideas in written English. Late papers are not accepted, no exceptions. DUE THURSDAY, MAY 7 @ 5PM (submit via Sakai Dropbox).

COURSE POLICIES

REQUIRED TEXTS All assigned materials—including films—will be available in the Resources folder on Sakai. Students are required to print out and annotate all readings and bring them to class during discussion. Accessing readings on a laptop, tablet, or phone during class time is strictly prohibited.

VIEWING www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/eres/fal19/welchr_16_560_691_01_template_fal19.html

LAPTOPS, TABLETS, PHONES Are STRICTLY prohibited during class time, unless otherwise instructed.

ATTENDANCE POLICY Punctual attendance at all class meetings is mandatory. Students are allowed 2 absences total per semester. There are no exceptions to this policy. If you expect to miss one or two classes, please use the University absence reporting website to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to me. https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/. Tardiness is not acceptable, and will begin to negatively affect your participation grade if you arrive late to class more than twice.

ACCESSIBILITY ACCOMMODATION Students who would like to request special assistance or accommodations should follow the procedures outlined at: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/applying-for-services

LATE OR MISSING WORK Students are required to submit all written work in class on the day it is due. Late assignments are not accepted. In extreme cases, I will accept a late assignment, but points will be deducted for tardiness on a case-by-case basis. If you are unable to turn in an assignment on time, you must inform the professor well ahead of time to make arrangements. Last-minute emails do not constitute a good faith attempt to contact the professor in advance, and are not likely to receive a favorable response.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If the professor forms a reasonable suspicion that a student in the course has committed an act of plagiarism, she will contact the proper authorities at the University so that measures can be taken. Plagiarism is taken extremely seriously and can lead to academic probation or suspension. If you are unfamiliar with the academic code of integrity here at Rutgers University, you can read about it in detail by following this link: http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/academic-integrity-policy/

A SPECIAL NOTE: Students often assume that because information is available on the INTERNET it is public information, does not need to be formally referenced, and can be used without attribution. This is a mistake. All information and ideas that you derive from other sources, whether written, spoken, or electronic, must be attributed to their original source.

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS

Week 1. Tues. JAN 21 Introductions Nettezza Urbana (1948; 11 min.), dir. Michelangelo Antonioni

Week 2. Tues. JAN 28 Obsession/Ossessione (1943;140 min.) dir. Luchino Visconti

Open City/ Roma, città aperta (1945; 104 min.) dir. Roberto Rossellini

Reading for Tues David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, “Postwar European Cinema: Neorealism and its Context, 1945-1959.” Film History. An Introduction (353-371). 2

Christopher Wagstaff, “A Standard Introduction to Neorealism.” Italian Neorealist Cinema: An Aesthetic Approach (409-413).

Millicent Marcus, “Introduction.” Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism (3-29).

Week 3. Tues. FEB 4 Shoeshine/Sciuscià (1946; 90 min.) dir. Vittorio De Sica

Paisan/Paisà (1946; 134 min.) dir. Roberto Rossellini

Reading for Tues Andre Bazin, “An Aesthetic of Reality: Neorealism (Cinematic Realism and the Italian Scholl of the Liberation)”

Cesare Zavattini, “Some Ideas on the Cinema”

Peter Bondanella, “The Masters of Neorealism: Rossellini, De Sica, and Visconti,” Italian Cinema from Neorealism to the Present (31-73).

Week 4. Tues. FEB 11 The Earth Trembles/La terra trema (1948; 165 min.) dir. Visconti

Bicycle Thief/Ladri di biciclette (1948; 93 min.) dir. V. De Sica

Reading for Tues Alessia Ricciardi, “The Italian Redemption of Cinema: Neorealism from Bazin to Godard.” The Romantic Review. 97: 3-4. 2006 (483-500).

Catherine O’Rawe and Alan O’Leary, “Against Realism: On a ‘Certain Tendency’ in Italian Film Criticism.” Journal of Modern Italian Studies 2011 (107-128).

Lorenzo Fabbri, “Neorealism as Ideology. Bazin, Deleuze, and the Avoidance of Fascism,” The Italianist, 35. 2, June 2015 (182–201).

Week 5. Tues. FEB 18 Germany Year Zero (1948; 68 min.) dir. R. Rossellini

Umberto D (1952; 91 min.) dir. V. De Sica

Reading for Tues Saverio Giovacchini and Robert Sklar, “Introduction. The Geography and History of Global Neorealism.” Global Neorealism. The Transnational History of a Film Style (3-18).

Laura Ruberto and Kristi Wilson, “Introduction.” Italian Neorealism and Global Cinema (1-24).

Week 6. Tues. FEB 25 QUIZ

Pather Panchali (1955; 126 min.) dir. Satyajit Ray

Reading for Tues Neepa Majumdar, "Importing Neorealism, Exporting Cinema. Indian Cinema and Film Festivals in the 1950s." GN (178-193).

Neepa Majumdar, “From Neorealism to Melodrama.” Film Analysis (511-527).

Week 7. Tues. MAR 3 Borom Sarret (1963; 20 min) dir. Ousmane Sembène

3 Black Girl (1966; 59 min.) dir. Ousmane Sembène

Reading for Tues Sada Niang, ”Neorealism and Nationalist African Cinema.” GN (194-208).

Marcia Landy, “Politics and Style in Black Girl.” Jump Cut 27 (1982) 23- 25.

Week 8. Tues. MAR 10 Killer of Sheep (1977; 73 min.) dir. Charles Burnett

Reading for Tues Paula Massood, “An Aesthetic Appropriate to Conditions: Killer of Sheep, (Neo)Realism, and the Documentary Impulse.” Wide Angle (21:4) October 1999, 20-41.

Sarah O’Brien, “Nous revenons à nos moutons: Regarding Animals in Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep.” Cinema Journal (53:3) 2015, 21-43.

Week 9. Tues. MAR 17 SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS

Week 10. Tues. MAR 24 PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH TOPICS/STUDENT SYMPOSIUM WORKSHOP

ABSTRACT, OUTLINE, AND BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE IN CLASS

Week 11. Tues. MAR 31 Rodrigo D: No Future (1990; 93 min) dir. Victor Gaviria

Reading for Tues Kristi M. Wilson, “From Pensioner to Teenager: Everyday Violence in De Sica’s Umberto D and Gaviria’s Rodrigo D: No Future” INGC (144-164).

Alice Driver and Joshua Jennings Tweddell, “Cinematic Realism and the Restoration of Everyday Ltife. An Interview with Víctor Gaviria.” Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies 12 (2008) 237-254.

Week 12. Tues. APRIL 7 QUIZ

Still Life (2006, 112 min.) dir. Jia Zhangke

Reading for Tues Jie Lu, “Walking on the Margins: From Italian Neorealism to Contemporary Chinese Sixth Generation,” Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies 2:3 (2014) 317-333.

Week 13. Tues. APRIL 14 Wendy and Lucy (2008, 80 min) dir. Kelly Reichardt

Reading for Tues AO Scott, “Neo-Neorealism.” New York Times (2009)

Week 14. Tues. APRIL 21 IN CLASS screening and discussion: Roma (2018, 135 min.) dir. Alfonso Cuarón

Week 15. Tues. APRIL 28 STUDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

THURSDAY MAY 7 FINAL PAPERS DUE BY 5PM ON SAKAI DROPBOX

FILMOGRAPHY Bicycle Thief/Ladri di biciclette (1948; 93 min.) dir. Vittorio De Sica 4 Black Girl (1966; 59 min.) dir. Ousmane Sembène Borom Sarret (1963; 20 min) dir. Ousmane Sembène The Earth Trembles/La terra trema (1948; 165 min.) dir. Luchino Visconti Germany Year Zero (1948; 68 min.) dir. Roberto Rossellini Killer of Sheep (1977; 73 min.) dir. Charles Burnett Man Push Cart (2006, 87 min.) dir. Ramin Bahrani Obsession/Ossessione (1943;140 min.) dir. Luchino Visconti Open City/ Roma, città aperta (1945; 104 min.) dir. Roberto Rossellini Paisan/Paisà (1946; 134 min.) dir. Roberto Rossellini Pather Panchali (1955; 126 min.) dir. Satyajit Ray Rodrigo D: No Future (1990; 93 min.) dir. Victor Gaviria Roma (2018, 135 min.) dir. Alfonso Cuarón Shoeshine/Sciuscià (1946; 90 min.) dir. Vittorio De Sica Still Life (2006, 112 min.) dir. Jia Zhangke Umberto D (1952; 91 min.) dir. Vittorio De Sica Wendy and Lucy (2008, 80 min) dir. Kelly Reichardt

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