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Updated 3/22/07
English 416/516 and 691 (Section 2): Film Theory and Criticism, Spring 2007
Tuesday/Thursday, 10:00-11:45 am, PA 104
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Professor: Donald F. Larsson |
E-Mail Address: donald.larsson@mnsu.edu |
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Office: 301-L Armstrong Hall |
Office Phone: 389-2368 |
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Office Hours: Monday, 4-5 pm; Wednesday, 10-11 am, Friday, 11 am -1 pm; and by appointment |
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NOTE CHANGES IN FINAL EXAM FORMAT AND PRESENTATIONS |
Note corrected dates |
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Required Texts:
Hayward, Susan. Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. 3rd ed.
Braudy, Leo, and Marshall Cohen. Film Theory and Criticism. 6th ed.
Recommended:
Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. 7th or 8th ed.
or another introductory film textbook
Geiger, Jeffrey and R.L. Rutsky. Film Analysis: A Norton Reader.
Course Objectives:
The term “film criticism” tends to conjure up images of thumbs pointing up and down, of stars and grades, of ripe and rotten tomatoes, all relegating movies to FilmHeaven, CineHell, or MovieLimbo. But this is not a course in film reviewing as such. While we will pay some attention to questions of evaluating films and to some film reviewers and the cultural and economic roles that they play, we will be trying to look more deeply at the nature of film itself, its social and psychological roles, and the interrelationship of individual films and film industries with viewers. Some of the questions that we will deal with include:
· Just exactly what is the cinema?
· What makes cinema different from other art forms?
· Is film a record of reality or a way to alter reality?
· What is the "language" of film?
· In what sense is film an art?
· Who is the artist behind the film?
· Are movies products of their culture or do they shape that culture?
· How do audiences react to and interpret what they see?
· Are filmgoers actually shaped by what they see?
· How do race, gender, sexual orientation and other factors affect the relationship between film and viewer?
· How do changes in technology affect the nature of film and of spectatorship?
These questions and others like them have been asked since audiences first began watching movies more than 100 years ago. We will explore some of the answers that critics and theorists have proposed and the ongoing debates that those answers have in turn created. We will read a variety of essays from different critical and theoretical perspectives and look at parts of films and some whole films as examples for discussion. By the end of the semester, you should be able to:
· know and use basic film terminology
· understand and discuss major trends in film criticism and theory
· analyze films using different critical approaches
· articulate your own ideas about film in relation to these trends and types of criticism
UNDERGRADUATE COURSE REQUIREMENTS (REGISTERED FOR ENGLISH 416):
1. Regular attendance and participation. Unless you have made specific arrangements with me, every three absences will lower your final grade by one full grade. If you have legitimate reasons for missing class, contact me as soon as possible.
2. Completion of all reading and viewing assignments before the class meeting. (Even when an article is particularly difficult, I expect that you will be able to address the question of what you found difficult about it.)
3. Question of the Week (on D2L, 20 points): Before the first class meeting each week, you should pose a question (on D2L) in relation to one of the films you have seen or articles you have read over the weekend. You can pose the question in just one or two sentences (or more, if you are so inclined). Each question will be worth 2 points over 10 weeks (Jan. 23-April 24) for a total of 20 points.
4. Weekly response (on D2L, 75 points): After the Thursday class each week, you should submit a measured response in about 1 page (250 words) to an issue, statement, premise, interpretation or other item that has been part of that week’s discussion. This includes responding to one or more of the classroom presentations during the last two class weeks. There will be 15 responses @ 5 points, for a total of 75 points.
5. Mid-Term Exam (45 points). This will be an in-class exam, on Thursday, March 8. It will include identification questions and an essay responding to a question that I will give you the week before the exam.
6. Take-Home final exam (60 points). I will give you the questions the week before the final exam period, when you will bring the answers in. It will be similar to the mid-term exam, but cumulative in content.
7. An In-Class Presentation (50 points). This presentation will offer an analysis of a film, using one or more of the theoretical approaches and issues that we have studied, or a critique of a particular critical or theoretical article. The presentation must be accompanied by an outline and bibliography. See attached Guidelines.
GRADUATE COURSE REQUIREMENTS (REGISTERED FOR ENGLISH 516 or 691):
Same as above, except that graduate students will have different exam questions and the in-class presentation will be a verbal and visual presentation of a written research paper. The grade for the presentation will be based primarily on the written paper. In addition, each graduate student will have to lead off one class session by posing his or her Question of the Week to the class. This will be accompanied by a written self-analysis that will substitute for one Weekly Response.
In addition, graduate students registered under the Colloquium will submit a Final Paper whose emphasis deals with the substance of a particular theoretical or critical approach, rather than analysis of a specific film.
SCHEDULE OF
(Subject to change)
All readings are in Film Theory and Criticism unless otherwise indicated
FA = Recommended readings in Film Analysis: A Norton Reader
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Dates |
Topics |
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1 |
1/16, 1/18 |
Tues: What is at stake here? Basic Film Terms Thurs: What is film? Early short films |
Introduction to Part I, 1-6 Comolli & Narboni, 812 Pudovkin, 7-12 |
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Weekend Viewing: Birth of a Nation, Potemkin, FA: Littau (42), Gunning (64), Bernardi (82), Nichols (158) |
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2 |
1/23, 1/25 |
How do pieces of film make a whole? Film as Constructed Artifact: Soviet montage, Psychological and aesthetic approaches |
Eisenstein, 13-40 Arnheim, 183, 322, 326Belazs, 314, 316 |
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Weekend Viewing: Citizen Kane, The Bicycle Thief FA: Naremore (340), Nowell-Smith (422) |
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3 |
1/30, 2/1 |
Does film record, shape, or create reality? “Realist” approaches |
Bazin, 41, 166, 170, 174 Kracauer, 143, 303 Mast, 339 Carroll, 332 |
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Weekend Viewing: Bringing Up Baby, FA: Salamensky (282), Polan (362) |
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4 |
2/6, 2/8 |
Who (or what) is the film “artist”? The auteur “theory” vs. the studio system |
Sarris, 561 Wollen, 565 Jewell, 581 Schatz, 652 |
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Weekend Viewing: The Women, Mildred Pierce |
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5 |
2/13, 2/15 |
Why are there film stars? Formalist, social and historical approaches |
Cavell, 345 Ellis, 598 Allen, 606 Haskell, 620 |
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Weekend Viewing: Shall We Dance, Shadow of a Doubt |
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6 |
2/20, 2/22 |
What is a film genre? How does it shape our expectations?
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Braudy, 663Altman, 680 Schatz, 691 Wood, 717 |
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7 |
2.27, 3/1 |
Catch-up and mid-term exam |
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Weekend Viewing: Great Expectations, Bride and Prejudice |
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8 |
3/6, 3/8 |
How can a film adapt a story from another source? Narrative, narratology, and adaptation (View Renoir’s Partie a la Campagne in class) |
Eisenstein, 436Chatman, 445 Andrew, 461 Gunning, 470 |
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3/13, 3/15: SPRING BREAK |
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Weekend Viewing: Stagecoach FA: Bernstein (319) |
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9 |
3/20, 3/22 |
What is the spectator’s role in film? Ideological approaches |
Benjamin, 791 Dayan, 106 Browne, 118 Baudry, 206, 355 Carroll, 224 |
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Weekend Viewing: Rear Window, Alien FA: Cowie (474) |
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10 |
3/27 3/29 |
What role does gender play in watching a film? Feminist and psychoanalytical approaches |
Mulvey, 837 Modleski, 849, 764 Williams, 727 Freeland, 742 |
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Weekend Viewing: Yeelen/Brightness, Do the Right Thing FA: Ukadike (756), Willis (776) |
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11 |
4/3, 4/5 |
How are race and ethnicity portrayed and understood in films? |
Stam and Spence, 877 Diawara, 892 |
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Weekend Viewing: The Seventh Seal, Ivan the Terrible (Parts 1 and 2), Glen or Glenda |
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12 |
4/10, 4/12 |
What are some other ways of understanding film? Excess and Neo-Formalism |
Bordwell, 774 Thompson, 513 Sconce, 534 |
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Weekend Viewing: To be announced |
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13 |
4/17, 4/19 |
How is technology changing “film” and spectatorship? |
Prince, 270 Belton, 386 Ellis, 395 Belton, 901 Friedberg, 914 |
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14 |
4/24, 4/26 |
In-class presentations |
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15 |
5/1 5/3 |
In-class presentations |
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Final Exam Week |
Thurs., 5/10 8-10 am |
In-class presentations Take-home Final Exam due |
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All
readings are from Film Theory and Criticism (6th ed.) except
for Recommended readings in Film Analysis. You should use the
Weekend viewing films and tapes will be available for viewing at the Library ERC in the basement, unless otherwise indicated.