Film analysis essay

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FMS 132/Eng 117/AH 136: Introduction to the Art of Film

Professor: Dr. Jason Middleton Meetings: T/R asynchronous online Email: [email protected] Zoom office hours: T 12-2 or by appointment Teaching Assistants: Victoria Taormina ([email protected]); Dylan Palmer ([email protected]); Justin Barski ([email protected]) T.A. meetings: The TAs will be available to meet with you by appointment. Please do not hesitate to contact them. Course Description: As an introduction to the art of film, this course will present the concepts of film form, film aesthetics, and film style, while remaining attentive to the various ways in which cinema also involves an interaction with audiences and larger social structures, including race, gender, and sexuality. In addition to narrative fiction film, the course will examine documentary and experimental film, and will explore issues such as globalization in relation to the cinema. Required Text (available at UR Barnes and Noble or online): David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction, Twelfth Edition Blackboard: All course materials will be available online through the Blackboard portal at: https://learn.rochester.edu. All readings not from the Bordwell and Thompson textbook are available through Blackboard. Click on the “Reading Assignments” content area to view the PDF files listed by author and title. All readings listed under a given date on the syllabus should be completed by that day. Make sure that you regularly check a University of Rochester email address. Course Structure: Under normal circumstances, this is a large lecture and discussion course that meets twice weekly along with a weekly film screening. Due to the ongoing need for social distancing and a class size of over one hundred students, the class will be taught asynchronously online for fall 2020. There will be no film screening. The course will be comprised of the following components:

• Video Lectures: Every Tuesday by 11am I will post short video lectures on the assigned readings and subject matter for that week of class. For Tuesday, watch these on Blackboard in the Video Lectures content area. On Friday of each week I will post one or more additional video lectures focused on the film(s) assigned for that week. On Tuesdays I will additionally post a slideshow outlining the key terms and concepts for the week.

• Film Viewing: You will be responsible for watching (usually) one film each week that illuminates themes and concepts discussed in the readings and video lectures assigned for Tuesday. These films are available in the Streaming Video content area. They should be watched by the end of the day on Wednesday in order to participate in the Thursday asynchronous discussion starting Thursday at 8am.

• Yellowdig Discussion: o The second class will be an asynchronous discussion lasting from Thursday at 8am

to Friday at 12pm on Yellowdig, a learning and discussion platform accessible through Blackboard (click on the Yellowdig Discussion content area). The class will be divided into four discussion groups of approximately 25 students each. Yellowdig discussion will give you an opportunity to apply terms and concepts covered in Tuesday’s materials to an analysis of the assigned film for the week, and to engage with your classmates’ responses.

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o I will post discussion topics to Yellowdig on Tuesday. You can refer to these topics

to guide your note-taking when you watch the film in advance of Thursday’s discussion. Wednesday. You are required to create by 8pm Thursday two substantive posts of approximately 5-6 sentences each. One post must respond to Discussion Topic 1, which is required. The second post can respond to one of the additional discussion topics, or you can create your own original topic. You are additionally required to make two comments on other students’ posts. These comments can be shorter than your own posts, but should thoughtfully engage with the original post--for example, by building on it with reference to a specific scene in the film, seeking clarification, politely debating the point, etc. These two comments on other students’ posts can be done any time during the Yellowdig discussion window, but must be made no later than noon on Friday.

o The consistency and quality of your posts and comments in Yellowdig will be tracked in order to assess your Yellowdig participation grade. The teaching assistants and I will add comments three times during the Yellowdig discussion window to help facilitate discussions: Thursday morning, Thursday late afternoon, and Friday morning.

• Film Analysis papers: You will complete five papers of 900-1000 words apiece (roughly three pages each) during the course of the semester. Each paper will be assigned on a Friday with a detailed prompt posted to Blackboard, and will be due the following Friday by 5pm (as indicated on the syllabus). The papers will be uploaded to Blackboard. You will receive feedback and a score of up to 15 points on the papers from me and from the teaching assistants. These papers will build upon the ideas you explore in the Yellowdig discussion and enable you to develop more sustained formal and critical analyses of the assigned films. Late papers will have two points deducted from their grade for each consecutive 24-hour period past the due date/time that they are turned in.

Academic Honesty: All assignments and activities associated with this course must be performed in accordance with the University of Rochester's Academic Honesty Policy (http://www.rochester.edu/college/honesty/policy/index.html) Disability Resources: The University of Rochester respects and welcomes students of all backgrounds and abilities. In the event you encounter any barrier(s) to full participation in this course due to the impact of a disability, please contact the Office of Disability Resources. The access coordinators in the Office of Disability Resources can meet with you to discuss the barriers you are experiencing and explain the eligibility process for establishing academic accommodations. You can reach the Office of Disability Resources at: [email protected]; (585) 276-5075; Taylor Hall; www.rochester.edu/college/disability. Course Evaluation:

• Film Analysis Papers: Five papers at 15 points each • Participation in Yellowdig discussion: 25 points

Grade Scale For Final Grades: 93-100: A 78-79: C+ 68-69: D+ 90-92: A- 73-77: C 63-67: D 88-89: B+ 70-72: C- 60-62: D- 83-87: B Under 60: E 80-82: B-

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Course Schedule: R 8/27: Course Introduction T 9/1: Early Cinema Video Lectures Tom Gunning, “An Aesthetic of Astonishment: Early Film and the (In)Credulous Spectator,” p. 114-125. (Reading Assignments content area on Blackboard) Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 12: Historical Changes in Film Art, p. 458-465, “Early Cinema (1893- 1903)” (Reading Assignments) R 9/3: Early Cinema, cont. Video Lectures Lectures will include discussion of these early films: A Trip to the Moon (Georges Meliès, 1902) The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903) The Lonedale Operator (D.W. Griffith, 1911) T 9/8: Film Form and Narrative Video Lectures Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 2: The Significance of Film Form James Naremore, “Style and Meaning in Citizen Kane,” p. 123-140. (Reading Assignments) Watch: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) R 9/10: Film Form and Narrative, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Citizen Kane F 9/11: Video lecture on Citizen Kane posted T 9/15: Film Narrative Video Lectures Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 3: Narrative Form, p. 72-99. Watch: Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) R 9/17: Film Narrative, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Memento F 9/18: Video lecture on Memento posted Writing Assignment: Film Analysis Paper #1 (900-1000 words, due F 9/25, uploaded to Blackboard) T 9/22: Gender in Hollywood Cinema Video Lectures Benshoff and Griffin, “What is Gender?”; “Chapter 11: Exploring the Visual Parameters of Women in Film” (Reading Assignments) Watch: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)

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R 9/24: Gender in Hollywood Cinema, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Rear Window F 9/25: Video lecture on Rear Window posted Film Analysis Paper #1 due, uploaded to Blackboard by 5pm T 9/29: Race and Genre in Classical Hollywood Video Lectures Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 9: Film Genres, p. 328-341. Benshoff and Griffin, “Chapter 3: The Concept of Whiteness and American Film,” p. 53-58; “Chapter 4: African Americans and American Film,” p. 75-90; Chapter 5: Native Americans and American Film” (Reading Assignments) Watch: The Searchers (John Ford, 1954) R 10/1: Race and Genre in Classical Hollywood, cont. Douglas Pye, “Double Vision: Miscegenation and Point of View in The Searchers” (Reading Assignments) Yellowdig discussion of The Searchers F 10/2: Video lecture on The Searchers posted T 10/6: Race and Genre in Contemporary Film: The Horror Genre Video Lectures Stephen Prince, “The Horror Film” (Reading Assignments) Mikal J. Gaines, “Staying Woke in Sunken Places, or, the Wages of Double Consciousness” (Reading Assignments) Watch: Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017) R 10/8: Race and Genre in Contemporary Film, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Get Out F 10/9: Video Lecture on Get Out posted Writing Assignment: Film Analysis Paper #2 (900-1000 words, due F 10/16, uploaded to Blackboard) T 10/13: Mise-en-scène and Genre: The Science Fiction Film Video Lectures Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 4: The Shot: Mise-en-Scène, p. 112-132 Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 12: Film Art and Film History, p. 465-468, 479-481 David Desser, “Race, Space, and Class: The Politics of Cityscapes in Science Fiction Films” (Reading Assignments) Watch: Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) R 10/15: The Science Fiction Film, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Blade Runner F 10/16: Video Lecture on Blade Runner posted Film Analysis Paper #2 due, uploaded to Blackboard by 5pm

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T 10/20: Cinematography Video Lectures Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 5: The Shot: Cinematography Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 1: Film as Art: Creativity, Technology, and Business, p. 9-16 (“Mechanics of the Movies”) Ed Guerrero, from Do the Right Thing, p. 9-26. (Reading Assignments) Watch: Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989) R 10/22: Cinematography, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Do the Right Thing F 10/23: Video Lecture on Do the Right Thing posted T 10/27: Editing Video Lectures Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 6: The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 12, Film Art and Film History, p. 470-473, 479-482 Watch: Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998) R 10/29: Editing, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Run Lola Run F 10/30: Video Lecture on Run Lola Run posted T 11/3: Sound Video Lectures Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 7: Sound in the Cinema Kathryn Kalinak, Settling the Score, p. 78-110 (Reading Assignments) Watch: The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) R 11/5: Sound, cont. Geoff King, “New Hollywood, Version I: The Hollywood Renaissance,” p. 11-24. (Reading Assignments) Yellowdig discussion of The Graduate F 11/6: Video Lecture on The Graduate posted Writing Assignment: Film Analysis Paper #3 (900-1000 words, due F 11/13, uploaded to Blackboard) T 11/10: Documentary Film Video Lectures Bill Nichols, “What Types of Documentary are There?” p. 99-125 (Reading Assignments) Bill Nichols, “Documentary and the Voice of the Orator,” p. 49-56. (Reading Assignments) Watch: Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002) R 11/12: Documentary Film, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Bowling for Columbine

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F 11/13: Video Lecture on Bowling for Columbine posted Film Analysis Paper #3 due, uploaded to Blackboard by 5pm T 11/17: Animation and Documentary Video Lectures Paul Wells, “Thinking about Animated Film” (Reading Assignments) Paul Ward, “Animation and Documentary Representation” (Reading Assignments) Watch: Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008) R 11/19: Animation and Documentary, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Waltz with Bashir F 11/20: Video Lecture on Waltz with Bashir posted Additional homework for T 11/24: Watch experimental short films:

• An Andalusian Dog (Dali and Bunuel, 1929) • Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943) • La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962) • Isle of Flowers (Jorge Furtado, 1989)

T 11/24: Experimental Film Video Lectures and Yellowdig discussion Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 10: Documentary, Experimental, and Animated Films p. 371-389 Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 12: Film Art and Film History, p. 468-472 Writing Assignment: Film Analysis Paper #4 (900-1000 words, due Friday 12/4, uploaded to Blackboard) R 11/26: No class, Thanksgiving Break T 12/1: Cinemas National and Transnational: The Martial Arts Film Sheldon H. Lu, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Bouncing Angels: Hollywood, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Transnational Cinema” (Reading Assignments) Stephen Teo, “Wuxia between Nationalism and Transnationalism” (Reading Assignments) Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 12, Film Art and Film History, p. 488-491. Watch: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) R 12/3: Cinemas National and Transnational, cont. Yellowdig discussion of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon F 12/4: Video Lecture on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon posted Additional Homework for T 12/8: Watch The Namesake (Mira Nair, 2006) T 12/8: Transnational Cinema and Diaspora Video Lectures and Yellowdig discussion of The Namesake Amardeep Singh, “‘Every Day Since Then Has Been a Gift’: The Namesake” (Reading Assignments) Writing Assignment: Film Analysis Paper #5 (900-1000 words, due Tuesday 12/15, uploaded to Blackboard)

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T 12/15 Film Analysis Paper #5 due, uploaded to Blackboard by 5pm