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