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FILM 20A:
The Film Experience
Fall 2007, UC Santa Cruz
Professor Peter Limbrick
Office: 129 Communications, ph (831) 459-1239
Office hours: Tues, Thu: 11am-12pm or by appointment.
Email: via WebCT, please.
Course website: http://ic.ucsc.edu/~limbrick/film20a/
WebCT: http://ic.ucsc.edu/webct
Lectures: Tuesday, Thursday: 2pm-3.45pm (Media Theater, M110)
Screening: Tuesday, 4.00pm-6.45pm (Media Theater)
Teaching Assistants: Please see course website.
Section times: Please see course website.
Course goals: This course is an introduction to the critical, formal
analysis of film. It will assist you in developing a critical vocabulary
and methodology for analyzing films. It is not a course in film appreciation
or evaluation, but learning how to better analyze a film will certainly
enhance your understanding and enjoyment of it. You will learn to identify
and analyze mise-en-scène, editing, cinematography, and sound,
and you will develop an understanding of how each is utilized as part
of filmic discourse. As you do so, you’ll also gain an introduction
to important historical and theoretic approaches to film study. The
course will mostly concentrate on Hollywood narrative films, although
we will also discuss non-narrative films and alternatives to Hollywood.
Lectures:
The twice-weekly lectures will explore the topics for the week and will
amplify and extend the issues raised in the reading material. Lectures
will always include clips and discussion, and are a key component of
the course.
Discussion sections:
Discussion sections will continue the week’s topics, with the
opportunity for more intensive analysis of films and readings for the
week and for discussion of films not screened on the course. Attendance
at sections is required, and the roll will be taken each week by your
TA. Missing more than two sections is grounds for failure.
Screenings:
Tuesday evening screenings are mandatory. While many of the films screened
in lectures are available on DVD or video, this may not always be the
case. Sometimes video or DVD copies will be in different formats, and
in some cases it will be vital to see the film the way it was made to
be screened. Consequently you should treat screenings as compulsory.
If for some unavoidable reason you miss a screening, it is your responsibility
to locate (if possible) and view the film before your section and the
Thursday lecture.
Readings:
Please complete all reading for the week prior to the Tuesday lecture.
This will ensure you are prepared to follow the lecture and screening
that week. Reading for the week will be referred to in the lectures,
and you must be prepared to discuss it thoroughly there and in your
section time. (You may study the week’s DVD-ROM material any time
before your section).
Requirements and assignments:
Paper 1: Sequence analysis (approx. 1500wds, 20%). Due in Week 5 (October
23).
Midterm exam: Multiple-choice and short answer questions covering films,
lectures, readings, and DVD-ROM study to date (20%). Given in class,
Week 8 (November 13).
Paper 2: Analytical film essay. (approx. 1800wds, 20%). Due in Week
11 (December 4).
Final exam: To cover all course materials (Tuesday December 11, 4pm-7pm,
30%). Please plan accordingly: you are responsible for being present
at this date and time and make-ups are not offered. More exam info from
the registrar: http://reg.ucsc.edu/soc/2078/sched.htm#Fall2007
Participation, quizzes, attendance: (10%). You are expected to attend
lectures and screenings every week, and to attend and participate fully
in discussion sections. Quizzes, for credit, will be held in section
and online or in lecture. If an absence from section is unavoidable
for medical or personal reasons, please advise your TA in advance, if
you can, and be prepared to document your absence.
Your papers and exams will be graded by your teaching assistant, and
narrative evaluations will be drafted by your TA. All grading and evaluation
takes place under the close supervision of Professor Limbrick. Papers
are due in hard copy only at the date and time noted. Extensions can
only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and only with prior permission
from your TA. Essays that are late without an extension will not be
accepted.
Required texts:
1. Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White, The Film Experience, Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins, 2004 (also available on 2-hr reserve at the McHenry
Library)
2. Kolker, Robert. Film, Form and Culture (DVD-ROM only, 3rd edn). (There
is an earlier edition on CD-ROM; if you find this “used”
you may use it, but it may be hard to run on recent versions of Windows
and MacOS). The DVD-ROM is also on reserve at the Media Education Resource
Center (MERC) in McHenry.
Additional readings will be made available on E-Reserve at McHenry http://eres.ucsc.edu
(search under Professor Limbrick’s name or course; password “filmexp”)
Reserve items at McHenry Film and Music Center:
Many (but not all) of the films on the course are held on reserve at
the Film and Music Center so that you may view them again when preparing
for papers and exams. Be aware that some of these materials may get
heavy use and may not always be available.
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT POLICY:
Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to cheating, fabrication,
plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty.
Acts of academic misconduct during the course, including plagiarism,
will result in failure of the course. Your case will be reported to
the College Provost as per the Academic Integrity guidelines found on
the web at:
http://www.ucsc.edu/academics/academic_integrity/undergraduate_students/
LECTURE AND
SCREENING SCHEDULE:
1. (Sep 27): Introduction to The Film Experience.
Readings: Corrigan and White, 5-39.
Kolker (DVD-ROM): Introduction: Film and Representation
2. (Oct 2-4):
Mise-en-scène
Screening: Singin’ in the Rain, dir. Stanley Donen, 1952. (104min)
Lectures: Introduction to course and concepts; film form; formal patterns.
Readings: Corrigan and White, 42-74; 327-41.
Kolker: Mise-en-scène; Lighting.
3. (Oct 9-11):
The Shot: Mise-en-scene and Cinematography
Screening: Citizen Kane, dir. Orson Welles, 1941. (119min)
Lectures: Cinematography continued, especially: the long take.
Readings: Corrigan and White, 75-109.
Kolker: The Long Take; Camera.
4. (Oct 16-18):
Continuity Editing.
Screening: The Lonedale Operator, dir. D.W. Griffith, 1911. (17min)
Meet John Doe, dir. Frank Capra, 1941 (122min)
Lectures: Classical cinema, filmic space; continuity editing.
Reading: Corrigan and White, 110-44; 352-57.
Kolker: Continuity Editing; Comparison of Three Films
5. (Oct 23-25):
Discontinuity and Disjunctive Editing
SPECIAL EVENT: CO-PRESENTED WITH ARAB FILM FESTIVAL (www.aff.org)
Screening: A Muslim Childhood, dir. Moumen Smihi, 2005 (83min)
Introduction and discussion with director Moumen Smihi.
***SEQUENCE ANALYSIS DUE, OCTOBER 23 at lecture, 2pm.***
Lectures: Alternatives to continuity editing; Soviet montage; experimental
and avant-garde cinema; European cinemas; Moroccan cinema.
Reading: Corrigan and White, 145-65; 437-50; Extracts from Roy Armes
and Moumen Smihi, E-Res.
Optional: Corrigan and White 365-79.
Kolker: Montage
6. (Oct 30-Nov
1): Sound:
Screening: Punch Drunk Love, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2004. (95min)
Lectures: Sound and narrative; point of view.
Reading: Corrigan and White, 166-211; 348-50; 357-64.
Kolker: Sound and Music; Point of View
7. (Nov 6-8):
Narrative and Genre
Screening: North by Northwest, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1959. (136min)
Lecture: Narration and narrative; genre
Reading: Corrigan and White, 214-56; 288-323; 342-52.
Kolker: Genre.
8. (Nov 13-15): Non-fiction forms and documentary cinema
***NOVEMBER 13: 2PM-3.45pm: IN-CLASS MIDTERM***
4PM: Screening
(as usual)
Thursday Nov 15: 2pm, lecture as usual
Screening: Paris is Burning, dir. Jennie Livingston, 1990. (76min)
Lectures: The non-fiction film; documentary practices; the construction
of history.
Reading: Corrigan and White, 275-87.
Bill Nichols, “What Types of Documentary are There?” (E-Res)
9. (Nov 20)
Experimental, Short, and Non-Narrative Film and Video
Screening: Selections from the work of Bruce Conner, Len Lye, Stan Brakhage,
Maya Deren, Sadie Benning, Martin Arnold, Nguyen Tan Hoang, and others.
Reading: Corrigan and White, 257-75; 474-502.
Nov 22: THANKSGIVING DAY: NO CLASSES
10. (Nov 27-29): Film Histories and Theories: Gender, sexuality, ideology.
Screening: Gilda, dir. Charles Vidor, 1946. (110min)
Lectures: Gilda and feminist theory, queer theory, oppositional readings.
Reading: Corrigan and White, 383-408; 450-73
Richard Dyer, “Resistance Through Charisma: Rita Hayworth and
Gilda” and “Postscript: Queers and Women in Film Noir.”
(E-Res)
11. (Dec 4-6):
Film Histories and Theories: Auteurs, National cinemas, Art cinema.
Screening: Whale Rider, dir. Niki Caro, 2002. (101min)
Lectures: Authorship, national and international cinemas, “art/house
cinema,” indigenous cinema.
Reading: Corrigan and White, 365-87; 408-36.
***ANALYTICAL FILM ESSAY DUE, DECEMBER 4 at screening.***
FINAL EXAM: TUESDAY DECEMBER 11, 4PM-7PM, (M-110/MEDIA THEATER)
NB: Please note that this syllabus is subject to change during the quarter.
Any changes will be announced in class and electronically (website and/or
email).
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