RTVF 4415.003: Film History: Remakes Dr. Stephen Mandiberg ([email protected]) Fall 2017 - RTVF 4415.003: Film History: Remakes Thursday 3:00pm - 5:50pm in RTFP 184 Office Hours: T/Th 1-2pm in RTFP 224, and by appointment Course Description: Remakes, they’re so hot right now! From Disney’s live action Beauty and the Beast to Spider- Man’s newest incarnation in Spider-Man: Homecoming we see a never ending supply of remakes and reboots made every year, and 2017 is no different. In this class we will be looking at the history of movie remakes from their origins as ‘dupes’ at the turn of the 20th century to their current iteration as reboots in the 21st century. We will try to understand the cultural and industry logics behind remakes over the history of film. While we will focus on Hollywood remake practices, we will also spend time looking at intersections with French, Japanese, and Bollywood cinema. Course Goals and Learning Outcomes: • Students will become familiar with a variety of historic discourses of the film remake. • Students will apply different discourses of the remake to analyses of particular films. • Students will develop their audio-visual literacy through watching and writing about films. • Students will develop their descriptive and analytic writing skills by composing three essays. • Students will develop their presentation skills effectively communicating their final arguments through a presentation. Required Materials: • all undergraduate readings are available online, on reserves, or through Blackboard as PDFs • reserves password: 1174 • Some films available online when marked with a URL; all other films are available through the Media Library Reserves (2 and 4 hour loan times) (GRAD: Additional Materials): • Jennifer Forrest and Leonard R. Koos eds. 2002. Dead Ringers: The Remake in Theory and Practice. • Nitin Govil. 2015. Orienting Hollywood: A Century of Film Culture between Los Angeles and Bombay. • Henry Jenkins. 2006. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. • Barbara Klinger. 2005. Beyond the Multiplex: Cinema, New Technologies, and the Home. RTVF 4415.003: Film History: Remakes Dr. Stephen Mandiberg ([email protected]) Assignments: • Weekly Quizzes (lowest two dropped; questions from current and previous weeks’ readings) • Weekly Comparative Notes - These notes should be made while watching the films. You can watch with friends and discuss the films, but you must contribute your own descriptions and interpretations (Academic Integrity matters). These notes are descriptive, but they will help you be analytic later! You must hand in the notes twice (10/5 for review; 12/7 for a final grade). Possible formats include: paper notebook, textedit file, personal blog, or summarized vlog. • Writing #1 - Comparative analysis (3-5 pages) - Describe and analyze the similarities and differences between a remake and its original. • Writing #2 - Two takes on one remake (3-5 pages) - Drawing on the course concepts, analyze a film remake from two different perspectives. • Final Analysis - Presentation and Writing #3 - Pick a film remake, analyze it, and show how it matters. Demonstrate your expertise of the course’s theories by showing my why your interpretation, and the film itself, are valuable! This assignment includes both a 5 minute presentation and a written essay. (5-7 pages) (GRAD: 20-30 pages) • (GRAD) Annotated Bibliography - An annotation for each reading (200-500 words). Each bibliographical entry provides the citation, a brief summary of the argument, an explanation of connected readings/concepts, and finally it explain the reading’s (ir)relevance to you. (See: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/) Formula for Final Grade: Attendance and Participation (10%), Quizzes (20%), Notes (10%), Writing #1 (15), Writing #2 (15%), Presentation (10%), Final Analysis (20%). (GRAD): Attendance and Participation (10%), Quizzes (10%), Annotated Bibliography (10%), Notes (10%), Writing #1 (15), Writing #2 (15%), Presentation (10%), Final Analysis (20%). Grading Criteria: A. The student demonstrated a firm understanding of course material, and presented clear, well-articulated analysis in written works. The student is able to intelligently employ terms and concepts introduced in class in proving his or her thesis. The student was highly motivated and nearly always participated in discussions. [90-92 = A-; 93-100 = A] B. The student demonstrated accurate comprehension of course material, but the student’s understanding did not go beyond the basic requirements. Ideas are presented in clear and direct manner with few errors. Analysis was incomplete, the thesis was unclear, or there was a gap between the thesis and argument. The student was attentive in class, and often did not participate. [80-82 = B-; 83-86 = B; 87-89 = B+] C. The student demonstrated an incomplete understanding of course material. Written ideas and arguments were incomplete, unclear, often inaccurate, and generally needed editing. The student was often distracted in class, and rarely participated. [70-72 = C-; 73-76 = C; 77-79 = C+] D. The student showed inadequate comprehension of the basic premise, and core concepts of the course. Writing did not fulfill the assignment, and was constructed poorly. The student often failed to attend class, or inattentively attended class while on a device. [60-62 = D-; 63-66 = D; 67-69 = D+] F. Work not submitted; or submitted in a way that fails to fulfill basic requirements [0-59 = F] RTVF 4415.003: Film History: Remakes Dr. Stephen Mandiberg ([email protected]) Late or Missed Assignments: Late assignments will receive an automatic F. Exceptions may be granted for religious holy days, for active military service, for official university functions, for pregnancy/parenting under Title IX, and for medical or family emergencies. In the event of emergencies, documentation (e.g., doctor’s note) must be provide within 1 week following the absence. Upon returning to class you have 1 week to reschedule the exam and/or submit the assignment. Attendance and Participation: Attendance is mandatory. There will be a sign-in/sign-out sheet available at the beginning and end of each class. Tardiness and sleeping will result in being marked absent. Four or more unexcused absences will result in a failure for the course. In addition to being in a seat, your grade depends on active participation during class. If you are unable to participate during class please talk to me to work out alternate strategies for participation. Questions: If you have any questions, ask them! Short/simple questions are best through email; long/ complex questions are best through office hours. Grades may only be disputed in person during office hours. Problems: Please talk to me if you have any problems. Email me immediately if readings are no longer available through the eLibrary, or if the links provided are dead. That said, searching for the text through the library portal (or scholar.google.com) will often solve any broken link problems. Academic Integrity: Plagiarism of any sort will not be tolerated. As a minimum, plagiarizing will result in failure for the assignment. It might also result in further sanctions at the university level. Familiarize yourself with the UNT policy at: https://policy.unt.edu/policy/06-003. Disability Accommodations: If you require or think you may require accommodations for disabilities, please register with UNT’s Office of Disability Accommodation at 940-565-4323, Sage Hall Suite 167, or https://disability.unt.edu/. If you do not register and request we cannot make arrangements to fit your needs. Trigger Warnings: This class requires that you are willing to explore issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, and religion from a critical standpoint within an educational framework. If you are unable or unwilling to do this you should think about enrolling in a different class. Graduate Level: Students taking this course at the graduate level must fulfill additional requirements that are denoted in this syllabus by the (GRAD) mark. RTVF 4415.003: Film History: Remakes Dr. Stephen Mandiberg ([email protected]) Schedule: Week 1 - August 31 - Introduction • no reading Week 2 - September 7 - 1890s-1910s - “Technological and Legal Beginnings” • Leo Braudy. 1998. “Afterword: Rethinking Remakes.” In Play It Again, Sam: Retakes on Remakes: pp. 327-333 [eLibrary: https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login?url=http:// www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=41970] • Jennifer Forrest. 2002. “The ‘Personal’ Touch: The Original, the Remake, and the Dupe in Early Cinema.” In Dead Ringers: The Remake in Theory and Practice: pp. 89-126. [PDF/ RESERVES] • (GRAD) Jennifer Forrest and Leonard R. Koos. 2002. “Reviewing Remakes: An Introduction.” In Dead Ringers: The Remake in Theory and Practice: pp. 1-36. • The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station (1895) [https://unt.kanopystreaming.com/video/ new-beginnings], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgLEDdFddk] • Workers Leaving the Factory (1896) [https://unt.kanopystreaming.com/video/new-beginnings], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEQeIRLxaM4] Week 3 - September 14 - 1920s-30s - “From Book to Film to Film” • Thomas Leitch. 2008. Adaptations Without Sources: The Adventures of Robin Hood. Literature-Film Quarterly 36. pp: 21-30. [https://search.proquest.com/openview/ 970209ca8aaefc8e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=5939] • Stephen Knight. 1999. A Garland of Robin Hood Films. Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies Vol. 29, No 3-4: pp. 34-44 [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/ 396066/pdf] • (GRAD) Dan Georgakas. 1998. “Robin Hood: From Roosevelt to Reagan.” In Play It Again, Sam: Retakes on Remakes: pp. 70-79. [eLibrary: https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login? url=http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=41970] • Robin Hood (1922) [DVD 15138] - Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) [DVD 2308] • (GRAD) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) [MV 13269] Week 4 - September 21 - 1920s-30s - Sound From Silence • Ginette Vincendeau. (1988). “Hollywood Babel: The Multiple Language Version” in The Classical Hollywood Reader.