The
Hollywood
Novelists
Instructor:AmirTevel
CourseProposal
Whenwehearaboutapopularnovel,weusuallyask:"Whowroteit?"Withmovieswetalkaboutthe actors,thedirector,eventhecostumedesigners,beforewepausetoconsiderthepoorsoulwhowrotethescript. Inthiscourse,wewillbringanendtotheanonymity ofthescreenwriter,analyzingmoviesasiftheywere novels, seeingthemasrevealingexpressionsofawriter’screativegenius.Lookingtothefewscreenwriterswho have managedtotranscendthemurkyoblivionoftheprofession,wewillask:howdidtheydoit?Whatdoes theirsuccessteachusaboutstyle?Whatdoestheirprominenceaswritersallowthemtodo,andwhatarethe limitationsthattheirstylisticidiosyncrasiesimposeonthem?Whatdoesthefilmindustrygainfrom marginalizingitswritersandwhatdoesitdowiththosewriterswhodisobeyitsunwrittenmandates?
Thisnewunderstandingoftheauthor’s rolein Hollywoodwillinevitablyalterourperspectiveofthe filmsthemselves.Insteadofseeingthemasautonomousentities,wewillnowbeabletoask:whathappenstoa moviewhen itisseenaspartofanoeuvre?WhathappenstoAFewGoodMenwhen wecompareitwithThe AmericanPresident,ortoEternalSunshineofTheSpotlessMind when we"read"itasCharlieKaufman’s attemptat solvingtheproblemsraisedbyBeingJohnMalkovich?
Thesearechallengingquestions,buthelpisontheway!Asweslowlyunveilthesecretsofstyle,wewill enlistthenovelistwhoisarguablythegreateststylistofEnglishfiction,CharlesDickens.Byexamininghowhe establishedoneofthemostmemorableauthorialvoicesin literaryhistory,wewillhave anidealcasestudy throughwhichtoanalyzethescreenplaysofWoodyAllen,AaronSorkin,CharlieKaufman,andtheCoen brothers.AlongsideDickens,wewillacquirethetheoreticalbackingoftheenormouslyrichbody of20th centurycriticismonquestionsofstyleandauthorship,withsuchscholarlygiantsasBarthes andFoucault
framingourdiscussion.Finally,forquestionsonpopularandartisticsuccess,wewilloftenturntothe formativebody offilmreviewsbythelateRobertEbertandhiscontemporaries.Withsuchdistinguished company,eventhemostdauntingofintellectualtaskswillnotbebeyondourgrasp.
Goals oftheCourse
Toacquaintstudentswithdifferentmethodologies(linguistic, historical,social,narratological,etc.)for approachingthequestionofstyle.Tonuanceandsharpenthestudents’ criticalapproachtofilmsin generaland totheHollywoodindustryin particular.Toshowthevalueofinterdisciplinaryresearchthroughacoursethat spansbothdifferentkindsofliterarymediaanddifferentmeansofinvestigatingthesemedia.Toenrichtheways in whichstudentsdiscussthemostpopularartformofourtime.
ProvisionalTexts
CharlesDickens: selections from various novels.
Foucault:"WhatisanAuthor?"
Barthes:"DeathoftheAuthor",selections from other writings.
Sartre:"WhatisWriting?"
Selections from Screenwriting Manuals. Selections from Film Reviews.
Films
CharlieKaufman:BeingJohnMalkovich, Human Nature,Adaptation,EternalSunshineoftheSpotlessMind.
AaronSorkin: AFewGoodMen,TheAmericanPresident,TheSocialNetwork, Charlie Wilson’s War.
WoodyAllen:Stardust Memories, AnnieHall,CrimesandMisdemeanors, HollywoodEnding, Match Point.
CoenBrothers:BartonFink,The Big Lebowsky, OBrother,WhereArtThou,NoCountryForOldMen,TrueGrit
Assignments
1)Regularresponsestothemoviesandtexts.
2)Collaborative, in-classcreativewritingassignments.
3)Finalpaperof6-8pagesanalyzingthecinematicworkofaHollywoodnovelistofthestudent'schoice, focusingonthefilmsbutincorporatingafewcentralsecondarysources.
Note: Some of the works and subject matter that will be covered in this course will contain material that may be of a controversial nature, including films that depict strong violence, sexual content, nudity, and profanity.