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1/10/2019 History of Documentary Syllabus Spring 2019 - Google Docs Journalism 286 History Of Documentary Spring 2019 3 units, Wed 2:00pm ­ 5:00pm, Production Lab, Room 101 Carrie Lozano, Lecturer office hours: By appointment. Please send an email, and we’ll set a time. (email) [email protected] (phone) 323­673­1508 Course Description The course covers the evolution of American documentary film from 1920 to the present. We will focus on both commissioned and independent films produced for a variety of distribution outlets including theatrical, broadcast, and digital. Where possible, we will also discuss international documentaries. Please note that this course is prerequisite for graduate students who are considering specializing in documentary. In addition to a historical overview, we will concentrate on the practicalities of producing non­fiction documentaries for broad audiences, and on documentary materials, structure, genre, points­of­view and ethics. I hope the class will be fun, interesting, inspiring, and occasionally paradigm shifting as we delve into deep philosophical, creative and journalism questions. House Rules This syllabus is a living document and will change from time to time. I will give fair warning when it does. But please check bcourses regularly. All assignments must be posted to bcourses, and I will make any changes to the syllabus there. I will start class at 2pm sharp on Wednesdays in the TV Lab, adjourning at 5:00pm. Grades are determined by class attendance, class preparedness, class participation, and written assignments. All students are expected to engage in discussion each week. Arrive prepared, with questions, and with ideas that you want to discuss. Documentary filmmakers are characterized by their incessant curiosity and outsized creativity, come to class wearing your documentary hat. Required Screening: Approximately two to three hours per week (sometimes more, sometimes less), with additional screening in each class session. The film list includes major films from the documentary canon, as well as documentaries in current popular culture. Note the lengthy listing of additional films which are of interest, either because they are excellent examples of a genre, a betrayal to the audience, or a complication of documentary’s promise. We will attempt to make assigned films available through streaming as much as possible. Chris O’Dea will invite you to BOX, where many assigned films are available. We will also use Kanopy, available via your Calnet account. From time to time, we will access films via Netflix, Hulu or Amazon. When not available online, we will direct you to the appropriate resource. Many DVDs are available at the Media Resources Center of Moffitt Library, where they may be viewed on the big screen, and at the Berkeley Public Library. We will provide hard to find films on DVD. However you watch the films, do it 1 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OBYudphmyBHSD3OY97aTtJBGLt5JyralFfD7qILFmhc/edit 1/14 1/10/2019 History of Documentary Syllabus Spring 2019 - Google Docs uninterrupted on as big a screen as possible with good sound. Google Chromecast ($35.00) is an excellent way to watch digital films on a bigger screen. Always screen the week's films before you do the week's reading, since it is important to first experience the documentary as a naive viewer would, unencumbered by the meta and the production backstory. Keep concise and coherent notes as you go. If you’ve seen the film before, even recently, watch it again. Group screenings are highly recommended. Organizing screenings in the library, TV lab or at someone’s house make class even more fun and lively. Required Reading: 10 ­100 pages per week will be assigned from the text, D ocumentary, A History Of Non­ Fiction Film, third edition, by Erik Barnouw still the classic after all these decades. Additional readings will be posted on bcourse. The readings are not taxing. Note that some of the readings in the syllabus are optional. Optional Reading Bill Nichols’ excellent I ntroduction To Documentary, available at your local bookseller or online, offers a good overview of documentary, organized not around chronology, but around questions of documentary practice. Also useful is Pat Aufderheide’s excellent small survey, Documentary Film, a Very Short Introduction available via Amazon. Required writing: Written work 300 words (no more, no less) each week on various topics relating to the assigned films. These weekly papers are due by 10:00 am every Wednesday, uploaded to bcourses. Papers should be dense, original, and well written. It is the director’s job to engross you in the story, such that you hardly notice the elements, materials and devices that create the story. The purpose of these essays is to dissect the films: How are they assembled? What’s missing? Why does it work or not work? Is it true? How do you know? Sometimes I’ll give extensive feedback, sometimes I’ll just acknowledge the work. This writing is a class requirement, but it’s also essential practice. Writing about film is a critical skill in documentary filmmaking. If you cannot clearly, convincingly and engagingly write about documentary, you will have a hard time successfully pitching your own films. Students planning to apply for the documentary production track in their second year are required to write a 2­page concept paper for a proposed documentary in the final week of the course. An outline will be provided. Please note that documentary is a dynamic and ever­changing field. Things of interest happen weekly, especially in the spring as the new festival season launches. At times, content in class will diverge from the syllabus, but you must stay on track with required screening and reading. January 23 – W hat is Documentary Film? • Introduction to the course • Documentary filmmaker skill set • Chronology of Visual Media • Overview of documentary genres and documentaries in popular culture Read before class Documentary, Barnouw 1­33 Screen in class ­ possible selects from: 2 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OBYudphmyBHSD3OY97aTtJBGLt5JyralFfD7qILFmhc/edit 2/14 1/10/2019 History of Documentary Syllabus Spring 2019 - Google Docs Lumiere Studios Films, Eyes On The Prize, Bowling for Columbine, Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter, Growing Up Female, Brother’s Keeper, Why We Fight, Crumb, Grey Gardens, Chasing Corral, Whose Streets, The Thin Blue Line, I’m not your Negro, The 13th, Tongues Untied, Ethnic Notions, Hoop Dreams, LA 92, O.J. Made In America, Frontline, Fault Lines, Vice, Op­Docs ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ January 30 – T he Other: ethnographic film and the language/materials of documentary filmmaking • The materials and constructions of documentary ­ Useful Documentary Terms • Ethnographic film • Representation and who gets to tell the story? Screen before class Nanook Of The North, 1920, Robert Flaherty Read before class Barnouw 33­1 00 Anonymous Nanook review (via bcourses) Ethnographic Film , Karl G. Heider 2 0­24 (via bcourses) Writing What is Flaherty’s contract with the audience? Separate yourselves from the reading: What do you believe to be true or not true in N anook? From the film, what can you glean about the filmmaker’s relationship to the subject? Screen in class ­ possible selects from: Nanook Revisited, 1994, Claude Massot, National Film Board Of Canada Taking Pictures, 1996, Les McClaren and Annie Stiven Unzipped, 1988, Douglas Keeve Cadillac Desert, 1997, Jon Else Crumb, 1994, Terry Zwigoff The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer The Devil Never Sleeps, 1995, Lourdes Portillo The Last Day of Freedom, 2015, Dee Hibbert­Jones and Nomi Talisman Wonders Are Many, 2007, Jon Else Additional films of interest Forest Of Bliss, Robert Gardner In And Out Of Africa, I lisa Barbach Sweetgrass, Ilisa Barbash and Lusien Taylor Louisiana Story, Robert Flaherty Man Of Aran, R obert Flaherty 1934 The Ax Fight, Timothy Asch, Napoleon Chagnon Les Maitres Fous, Jean Rouch Surname Viet, Given Name Nam, Trinh T. Minh ha 3 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OBYudphmyBHSD3OY97aTtJBGLt5JyralFfD7qILFmhc/edit 3/14 1/10/2019 History of Documentary Syllabus Spring 2019 - Google Docs Imagining Indians , Victor Masayesva Stranger With A Camera, Elizabeth Barrett 2000 Coming To Light, Edward S. Curtis, 2001, Anne Makepeace Tokyo Waka, 2012 John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson Virunga, 2015, Orlando Von Einsiedel ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ February 6 – P artisanship, Propaganda, Point­of­View, Advocacy and Journalism • How do these genres differ, what devices are used, and how do we know if a film can be trusted? • Contract with the audience. Read before class Barnouw 100­182 “Ethics of Imagemaking,” Jay Ruby Screen before class Triumph Of The Will , Leni Rieffenstahl (first 60 minutes only) Harvest Of Shame, 1960, CBS, Edward R. Murrow (52 minutes) Writing Assignment Is there a clear distinction between advocacy films and propaganda films? Explain. In this week's screening, what elements of cinematic language are used to further the filmmaker's point­of­view? Screen in class ­ possible selects from: Reassemblage, 1983, Trinh T. Minh­ha Fahrenheit 911, 2002, Michael Moore Trapped, 2016, Dawn Porter Know Your Enemy, Japan, 1944, Frank Capra The Mercy Of Nature, 1997, Else Primus Video, 2000, Else Football America, 1988, Phil Tuckett, NFL Films The Wonderful, Horrible Life Of Leni Rieffenstahl , 1991, Ray Mueller The Cove, 2009, L ouie Psihoyos The Invisible War, 2012, Kirby Dick Occupy Unmasked, 2012, Steve Bannon Vaxxed, 2016, Andrew Wakefield Additional Films Of Interest Das Blaue Licht, Leni Riefenstahl The Plow That Broke The Plains, Pare Lorentz The River, Pare Lorentz Listen To Britain, Humphery Jennings Outfoxed , Robert GreenwaldOlympiad , 1937, Leni Riefenstahl 4 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OBYudphmyBHSD3OY97aTtJBGLt5JyralFfD7qILFmhc/edit 4/14 1/10/2019 History of Documentary Syllabus Spring 2019 - Google Docs The Cove, 2008, Louie Psihoyos Waiting For Superman, 2009, Davis Guggenheim Food Inc., 2008, Robbie Kenner The Invisible War, 2011, Kirby Dick The Hunting Ground, 2015 Kirby Dick Rape in the Fields, 2013, Andres Cediel Rape on the Night Shift, 2015, Andres Cediel and Daffodil Altan ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Feb.

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