DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA, CULTURE, AND COMMUNICATION E59.1007 FILM: HISTORY & FORM Course Objectives: This is a survey course designed to introduce you to the broad range of theoretical, formal, and historiographic issues specific to cinema. We will pay careful attention to how the film medium differs from other media as a condition of its stylistic and formal properties, its institutional production, and its historical reception. There will be a heavy emphasis on watching short and feature films such that we can more rigorously dissect their formal grammar in light of historical context. By the end of the course, students can expect to be familiar with: the basic language of film analysis and composition (editing, mise-en-scene, lighting, etc); a range of scholarship and epistemology specific to film (auteur theory, documentary, genre, star studies, etc.); and the broad social, institutional, historical developments of the medium over the last 120 years in this country. This course maintains film form and history as truly interdependent, and we will use that overlap at the end of the course as a tool with which to theorize the current and future status of a still nascent, but ever-decaying cultural form. Required Readings: Bordwell, David & Kristin Thompson Film Art: An Introduction (9 th ed) 2010. (most recent addition available at the NYU bookstore) Essay readings (labeled pdf) will be posted as a link or in pdf form on Blackboard under Course Documents. Supplementary readings will occasionally also be required. All readings are to be finished before the first class of the week in which they are listed on the syllabus. Required Screenings: You are responsible for viewing all required films on your own. While the films should be available on reserve in the library, it will behoove you to make your own viewing arrangements (as scheduling conflicts are likely). An online DVD delivery service such as Netflix is a good strategy, or you can find a local video store. Another possibility is to arrange your own group screenings with other members of the class. Regardless of your arrangement, all films are to be watched before the class period for which they are assigned on the syllabus. METHODS OF EVALUATION: Attendance and Participation 20% Good class participation involves contributing to the ongoing discussion of the class in an informed and responsible manner, being attentive to that conversation, and being respectful of the participants in it. Monopolizing discussion time and/or interacting aggressively with your classmates are examples of disrespectful behavior. From time to time, you may be asked to write in class on a topic of concern to the course. These in-class writings are required as part of your class participation and they cannot be made up should you miss class. You are also encouraged to come to my office hours at least once during the course. This allows me to answer any questions/concerns you may have about the class as well as to get to know each of you a bit better, making for a more dynamic class overall. More than two unexcused absences will automatically result in a lower grade. Chronic lateness will also be reflected in your evaluation of participation. Regardless of the reason for your 1
absence you will be responsible for any missed work. Travel arrangements do not constitute a valid excuse for rescheduling exams. Screening Reports and Journal 20% The screening journal is designed to help you to engage critically with the films. Use the journal as a way to maintain an active engagement with the assigned films. Take notes on everything you watch. What questions does the film raise? Note details, problems, and ideas for discussion. Bring your journal to every class, as I will occasionally check to be sure you re up to date. The screening reports are exercises that enable you to tie the assigned readings to the films. You are responsible for turning in 4 screening reports over the course of the semester, each about 2 pp. in length. You can turn these in at your own discretion, but be sure not to let them pile up for the end of the semester. Midterm 25% You will be responsible for completing a midterm examination on March 11. If for any reason you need to miss that day of class, please see me beforehand to discuss an alternative date to take the exam. We will hold a review session in class on March 9; please come to this class prepared with questions and concerns so we can make good use of our time. Final Exam 35% You will be responsible for completing a final examination on May 11 (from 8-9:50 AM). If you have a conflict with this final exam period you need to schedule an alternative exam time with me well in advance of the end of the semester. As this kind of scheduling is notoriously difficult, please plan on taking your exam at the scheduled time. Evaluation Rubric: A= Excellent This work is comprehensive and detailed, integrating themes and concepts from discussions, lectures and readings. Writing is clear, analytical and organized. Arguments offer specific examples and concisely evaluate evidence. Students who earn this grade are prepared for class, synthesize course materials and contribute insightfully. B=Good This work is complete and accurate, offering insights at general level of understanding. Writing is clear, uses examples properly and tends toward broad analysis. Classroom participation is consistent and thoughtful. C=Average This work is correct but is largely descriptive, lacking analysis. Writing is vague and at times tangential. Arguments are unorganized, without specific examples or analysis. Classroom participation is inarticulate. D= Unsatisfactory This work is incomplete, and evidences little understanding of the readings or discussions. Arguments demonstrate inattention to detail, misunderstand course material and overlook significant themes. Classroom participation is spotty, unprepared and off topic. F=Failed 2
This grade indicates a failure to participate and/or incomplete assignments Plus (+) or minus (-) grades indicate your range within the aforementioned grades. POLICIES: General Decorum: Slipping in late or leaving early, sleeping, text messaging, surfing the internet, doing homework in class, eating, etc. are distracting and disrespectful to all participants in the course. Avoid such behavior. Notes on Written Work: All written assignments must be typed, double-spaced, in 12 point Times font, and properly cited. On all written work include your name, the course number, my name, and the date. Number your pages. Please make sure to keep a hard copy (printed out! not just backed up digitally) of each assignment you turn in. While unfortunate computer malfunctions happen to all of us and always at the worst possible time, they will not be accepted as an excuse for late papers. Writing help is available through the Writing Center, 411 Lafayette, 3rd Floor. The telephone number is: (212) 998-8866. I encourage you to use this resource. Grade Appeals: Please allow two days to pass before you submit a grade appeal. This gives you time to reflect on my assessment. If you still want to appeal your grade, please submit a short but considered paragraph detailing your concerns. Based on this paragraph I will review the question and either augment your grade or refine my explanation for the lost points. Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism: Please be sure that you have read and understand NYU s Statement of Academic Integrity. If you have any questions concerning plagiarism in general, be certain that you ask them. Please note that plagiarism is grounds for automatic failure of this course. Please see NYU Steinhardt s Statement of Academic Integrity for further information on this matter: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/policies/academic_integrity. Academic integrity is the guiding principle for all that you do you violate the principle when you: cheat on an exam; submit the same work for two different courses without prior permission from your professors; receive help on a take-home courses without prior permission from your professors; receive help on a take-home that calls for independent work; or plagiarize. Plagiarism, whether intended or not, is academic fraud. You plagiarize when, without proper attribution, you do any of the following: copy verbatim from a book, article, or other media; paraphrase or restate someone else s facts, analysis, and/or conclusions (see Steinhardt School Bulletin 2008-2010 p. 177-8) Students With Disabilities: Any student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to a chronic, psychological, visual, mobility and/or learning disability, or is Deaf or Hard of Hearing should register with the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980, 240 Greene Street, http://www.nyu.edu/csd. COURSE SCHEDULE Please Note: This syllabus is subject to an occasional change, and it is your responsibility to keep track of those changes as we progress through the semester. Unless otherwise noted, all reading/viewing assignments are to be prepared for the day they appear in the syllabus. 3
Week 1: --no reading January 19 --Introductions and Overview January 21 --Interview Assignment due in class Week 2: Film Form, Film Sense I: Narrative, Style, Meaning --Whitney Museum: Attend the Alice Guy Blache film program before the 24 th!! --Hastie, Circuits of Memory and History --Bordwell Ch. 1-3 January 26 Citizen Kane; Orson Welles, 1941 January 28 Pulp Fiction; Quentin Tarantino, 1994 Week 3: Film Form, Film Sense II: Cinematography, Editing, Lighting, Mise en Scene --Bordwell Ch. 4-6 & pp. 417-422 February 2 --The Birds, Hitchcock, 1963 February 4 --Chungking Express; Wong Kar Wai, 1994 Week 4: Early Days of Cinema and Historiography --Bordwell pp. 454-461 --Stacey The Lost Audience: Research Cinema History (pdf) --Gunning, Theory and History: Narrative Discourse (pdf) --Hansen, Early Cinema, Late Cinema (pdf) February 9 A Trip to the Moon, Melies, 1898 The Kiss, Edison, 1896 Watering the Gardener, Lumiere Bros., 1895 February 11 Birth of a Nation; Griffith, 1915 Week 5: German Expressionism, Russian Formalism --Bordwell Ch. 8 & 461-469 --Vertov, selections (pdf) February 16 October; Eisenstein, 1927 February 18 4
Nosferatu; Murnau, 1922 Week 6: Classical Hollywood: The Rise of Stars, Studios --Bordwell, pp. 470-473 --DeCordova, The Emergence of a Star System in America (pdf) --Allen, The Role of the Star in Film History (pdf) --Gomery, The Rise of the Studio System (pdf) February 23 The Kid, Chaplin, 1921 February 25 Grand Hotel, Goulding, 1932 Week 7: Euro Lead: Neorealism, New Wave, and Auteur Theory Bordwell, pp. 473-477 Bazin, The Evolution of the Language of Cinema (pdf) Stam, The Cult of the Auteur (pdf) March 2 Ladri di biciclette (The Bicycle Thief); De Sica, 1948 March 4 Les Quatre Cents Coups (The 400 Blows); Truffaut, 1959 Week 8: Watch The Academy Awards Sunday, March 7th March 9 Oscar Talk, Review for Midterm March 11 Midterm Exam Week 9: NO CLASS --- SPRING BREAK --- MARCH 15-20 Week 10: Genre Over Time The Western, the Film Noir --Bordwell, pp. 328-348 --Cook, Melodrama and the Women s Picture (pdf) March 23 Mildred Pierce; Curtiz, 1945 March 25 My Darling Clementine; Ford, 1946 Week 11: Documentary Histories and the Claim to Truth --Vivien Ellen Rose, Julie Corle, "A Trademark Approach to the Past: Ken Burns, the Historical Profession (pdf) --Nichols, Introduction to Documentary, selections (pdf) --Bordwell, pp. 349-365 & 425-431 5
March 30 Grey Gardens; Maysles, 1975 April 1 The Thin Blue Line; Morris, 1988 Week 12: 70 s American Cinema and the Rise of the Blockbuster --Bordwell, pp. 477-482 --Gomery, The Modern Studio System selections (pdf) --Biskind, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls selections (pdf) April 6 Bonnie and Clyde; Penn, 1967 April 8 The Godfather; Coppola, 1972 Week 13: Indie Movements and Festival Culture --Turan, Sundance to Sarajevo (pdf) --Biskind, Down and Dirty Pictures (pdf) --Bordwell, pp. 366-381 April 13 Sex Lies & Videotape; Soderbergh, 1989 April 15 Dead Man; Jarmusch, 1995 Week 14: National Cinema and 3 rd Cinema? Then and Now --Shohat & Stam Unthinking Eurocentricism (pdf) --Rocha, An Aesthetic of Hunger (pdf) --Naficy, An Accented Cinema: Exilic and Diasporic Filmmaking (pdf) April 20 TBA April 22 TBA Week 15: Cinephilia and the Future of Film --Sontag The Decay of Cinema, NYT 1995 (pdf) --Valck and Hagener, Down with Cinephilia? Long Live Cinephilia? And Other Videosyncratic Pleasures (pdf) -- FILM CRITICISM IN CRISIS?: A New York Film Festival panel discussion hosted by Film Comment September 27, 2008 (pdf) 6
April 27 no film April 29 Review for Final Exam; Wrap up no film May 11 FINAL EXAM (8-9:50) 7