THE SOUTHWEST IN FILM ENGLISH 3309.251 SPRING 2020 Dr. Kate McClancy MW 12:30–1:50 [email protected] Flowers Hall 225 Office Hours: FH M24, MW 11:30–12:30, W 3:30–5:00, and by appointment 512-245-3777 COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES: Ever since the founding of the United States, the western frontier has figured prominently in American culture. And ever since the founding of Hollywood, from the western to the film noir, the Southwest has figured prominently in American films. This course examines the Southwest in film: how film presents and constructs not only the region itself but its iconography in the American cultural consciousness. In the process, we will consider how the medium of film works to create place, ideology, and nation. Students will learn to engage with the medium of film in a critical register, looking not only at each film’s narrative but at its construction: its cinematography, mise-en-scène, editing, and sound design. We will situate these texts in the history of both American culture and film itself, and we will compare them in search of greater social meanings. We will also consider the unique characteristics of the medium of film itself, while improving our ability to analyze, discuss, and write about film. LEARNING OUTCOMES: The Department of English has adopted student learning outcomes for general education courses in writing and literature and for all degree programs. You will find these outcomes at http://www.english.txstate.edu/ about/learning.html. REQUIRED TEXTS: TEXTBOOK: Gocsik, Karen, Dave Monahan and Richard Barsam. Writing about Movies. 5th edition, W.W. Norton & Co, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-393-66490-4. Available at the university bookstore as well as from other vendors; also on 2-hour reserve at the library. Feel free to use other print or electronic editions; however, keep in mind that both content and pagination may be different. You do not have to bring this book to class. Abbreviated below as WAM. PDFS: Altman, Rick. “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre.” 1984. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, 7th edition, edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen, Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 552–563. Bazin, André. “The Western: Or the American Film Par Excellence.” What Is Cinema? Volume II, translated by Hugh Gray, University of California Press, 1971, pp. 140–148. Clover, Carol J. “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film.” Representations, vol. 20, 1987, pp. 187– 228. Elsaesser, Thomas. “Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Melodrama.” 1973. Film Genre Reader III, edited by Barry Keith Grant, University of Texas Press, 2003, pp. 366–395. 2 Mitchell, Lee Clark. “Dismantling the Western: Film Noir’s Defiance of Genre in No Country for Old Men.” Genre, vol. 47, no. 3, 2014, pp. 335–356. Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” 1975. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, 7th edition, edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen, Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 711–722. Porfirio, Robert G. “No Way Out: Existential Motifs in the Film Noir.” 1976. Film Noir Reader, edited by Alain Silver and James Ursini, Limelight Editions, 1996, pp. 77–93. Slotkin, Richard. “Myth and Literature in a New World.” Regeneration through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600-1860, University of Oklahoma Press, 1973, pp. 3–24. Tarancón de Francisco, Juan A. “Film Genre and the Power of Symbolic Thought: The Challenge to the National History Paradigm in John Sayles’ Lone Star.” Quarterly Review of Film and Video, vol. 29, no. 5, 2012, pp. 409–418. All PDFs are available under the Resources tab on TRACS. You do not have to print them out if you prefer to read them electronically and want to save trees; however, YOU MUST BRING THESE READINGS TO CLASS ON THE DAY THEY’RE ASSIGNED. If you don’t print them, bring your e- reading device. All reading assignments should be completed by the date indicated on the schedule below. FILMS: *El Mariachi. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, performance by Carlos Gallardo, Columbia, 1993. *A Fistful of Dollars. Directed by Sergio Leone, performance by Clint Eastwood, United Artists, 1964. *Giant. Directed by George Stevens, performances by Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean, Warner Bros., 1956. *Lone Star. Directed by John Sayles, performances by Chris Cooper and Elizabeth Peña, Columbia, 1996. *No Country for Old Men. Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen, performances by Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, Miramax, 2007. *Red River. Directed by Howard Hawks, performances by John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, United Artists, 1948. *Stagecoach. Directed by John Ford, performances by John Wayne and Claire Trevor, United Artists, 1939. *Tender Mercies. Directed by Bruce Beresford, performance by Robert Duvall, Universal, 1983. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Directed by Tobe Hooper, Bryanston Distributing, 1974. *Thelma & Louise. Directed by Ridley Scott, performances by Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, 1991. *Them! Directed by Gordon Douglas, performance by James Whitmore, Warner Bros., MGM, 1954. *Touch of Evil. Directed by Orson Welles, performances by Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, and Janet Leigh, Universal Pictures, 1958. Restored version. *Transpecos. Directed by Greg Kwedar, performances by Gabriel Luna and Johnny Simmons, Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2016. *Unforgiven. Directed by Clint Eastwood, performances by Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, and Morgan Freeman, Warner Bros., 1992. There will NOT be scheduled film screenings for this class; you are responsible for seeing the films on your own time. Films with an asterisk are available streaming through the library website, and those without are on two-hour reserve at the library as well as being readily available on the internet. Films available through the Swank database will not work with Safari; try Firefox or Chrome. Please make sure you are watching the right film. Some of these films have been remade, several times even; some have sequels or spoofs. When in doubt, check the year the film was released or email me. Films are significantly more enjoyable when they are not watched on your phone or in 14 parts on YouTube. Make an effort to watch these movies on the biggest screen available, with friends and popcorn, for the best experience. Also, be prepared to watch these films, particularly those you write on, more than once. 3 SCHEDULE: WEEK 1 1/22: Introduction WEEK 2 1/27: Stagecoach WAM ch. 2: “Looking at Movies” (19–34) 1/29: Bazin, “The Western: Or the American Film Par Excellence” WEEK 3 2/3: Red River WAM “Illustrated Glossary of Film Terms” (197–264) 2/5: WAM ch. 4: “Cultural Analysis” (55–100) WEEK 4 2/10: A Fistful of Dollars 2/12: WAM ch. 3: “Formal Analysis” (35–54) WAM ch.7: “Developing Your Thesis” (137–147) WEEK 5 2/17: Unforgiven 2/19: Slotkin, “Myth and Literature in a New World” WEEK 6 2/24: Them! 2/26: Altman, “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre” 2/28: FIRST SHORT PAPER DUE WEEK 7 3/2: Giant 3/4: Elsaesser, “Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Melodrama” WEEK 8 3/9: Touch of Evil 3/11: Porfirio, “No Way Out: Existential Motifs in the Film Noir” 4 SPRING BREAK WEEK 9 3/23: Texas Chain Saw Massacre 3/25: Clover, “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film” WAM ch. 8: “Considering Structure and Organization” (149–168) WEEK 10 3/30: Tender Mercies 4/1: WAM ch. 9: “Attending to Style” (169–181) WEEK 11 4/6: Thelma and Louise 4/8: Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” WAM ch. 5: “Generating Ideas” (103–123) 4/10: SECOND SHORT PAPER DUE WEEK 12 4/13: CLASS CANCELLED 4/15: El Mariachi WEEK 13 4/20: Lone Star 4/22: Tarancón de Francisco, “Film Genre and the Power of Symbolic Thought: The Challenge to the National History Paradigm in John Sayles’ Lone Star” WAM ch. 6: “Researching Movies” (125–135) WEEK 14 4/27: No Country for Old Men 4/29: Mitchell, “Dismantling the Western” WAM ch. 10: “Revising Your Work” (183–193) WEEK 15 5/4: Transpecos 5/8: SOURCE LIST AND TOPICS DUE 5/13: FINAL PAPER DUE 5 COURSE REQUIREMENTS: WEEKLY RESPONSES: Once a week you will be expected to email me with a 150–250 word response to the week’s film. These emails are meant to be informal, and should provide an opportunity for you to air your thoughts, experiment with different genres and techniques, and suggest topics for classroom discussion. These responses will not receive individual letter grades but rather will be given a holistic grade at the end of the semester. They are due Mondays before class (except week 12, which is due Wednesday before class). I will not accept late responses, but you may miss three of these responses before affecting your grade. Each missed response after that will lower your responses grade by one third, and missing more than five responses is grounds for a failing grade in the course. OF THE PAPERS: Due dates for papers are indicated on the schedule, and all essays are due at 5 PM. Essays should be submitted electronically to me via email as Microsoft Word documents—I do not need hard copies. Please do not send me PDFs or TextEdit files, and do not send me links to Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive for Business, etc.—send me the file as an attachment to the email. Students who do not turn in one of these assignments will not pass the course. Late papers will not be accepted unless we’ve worked something out before the paper is due. These papers should not be your first draft, completed 23 seconds before the paper is due; you should take the time to revise your first effort, both for macro-level problems such as organization and argument and for micro-level problems such as spelling and grammar.