American Screen Comedy

354:2??, AHP

Professor John Belton

DESCRIPTION:

This course focuses on American screen comedy from the 1920s to the 1960s, with two more contemporary comedies screened and discussed in the last two weeks. It asks students to examine the psychoanalytic theory of the function of jokes, both on an individual and social level; discuss the relationship between film comedy and the repressed truths of American culture; describe the history of racism in American comedy; discuss comedy as the integration of an individual into society, and list several ways in which individuals can be integrated into social groups; discuss the class status of comedy as a historical genre as well as that of comedy as an American film genre; examine the reasons behind the concentration of social mobility plots in the genre of comedy; and describe comedy's attitude toward change, and the relationship between change and narrative.The course will include explore the work of comedians such as Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Jerry Lewis, and Woody Allen. Among the comic directors to be covered are Ernst Lubitsch, Leo McCarey, Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder.

OBJECTIVE:

This course asks students to examine the psychoanalytic theory of the function of jokes, both on an individual and social level; discuss the relationship between film comedy and the repressed truths of American culture; describe the history of racism in American comedy; discuss comedy as the integration of an individual into society, and list several ways in which individuals can be integrated into social groups; discuss the representation of the interactions between different social and economic classes; examine the reasons behind the concentration of social mobility plots in the genre of comedy; and describe comedy's attitude toward change, and the relationship between change and narrative.

SAS CORE GOAL AND ASSESSMENT PLAN FOR AHp:

This course is designed to address SAS CORE learning goal AHp, “Analyze arts and/or literatures in themselves and in relation to specific histories, values, languages, cultures, and technologies.” Assessment will be conducted using the using the generic rubric for AHp, and will be based on one of the three essays students will be writing for the course. Please see sample essay assignment attached.

REQUIREMENTS:

The course will meet during two 80-minutres class periods each week and will have one evening screening (outside of class) from 6:10 to 9:00 once each week. Given the lab-like nature of the extra two periods of class time, the course will be valued at four credits. Attendance at both lectures and screenings is mandatory. Students may have no more than five unexcused absences. If you expect to miss one or two classes, please use the University absence reporting website to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to the instructor.Reading must be done before class. Required reading: xeroxed materials posted on Sakai (). Students are expected to have completed the readings on the day for which they were assigned. Written Assignments: Students will be asked to write three 4-5 page papers. Late papers will be penalized. Plagiarism will not be tolerated (English Dept. subscribes to Turnitin.com). Exams: Short quizzes will be given periodically on the readings and there will be a final exam during the examination period. Final grades will be based on the papers (25% each), the final exam (15%), and the quizzes (10%).

SYLLABUS:

I. Narrative and/vs. Gag

Week one: Silent Slapstick Comedy. For Monday read Karnickand Jenkins on “Funny Stories” and Belton on Classical Hollywood Film Style. Screen Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman(1926) and Buster Keaton’sSherlock Jr.(1924).

Week two: Silent Slapstick Comedy,continued. Read Sarris on Chaplin. Screen Charlie Chaplin’sThe Circus (1928).

Week three: Vaudevillian Comedy and the Coming of Sound. Read Artaud on“The Marx Brothers”and Bergman on “Some Anarcho-Nihilist Laff Riots.”Screen the Marx Bros.’Duck Soup (1933).

II. Integration of Narrative and Gag.

Week four: Pre-Code Romantic Comedy. Read Paul on “Design for Living.” Screen Lubitsch’s Design for Living (1933).

Week five: The Code and Screwball Comedy. Read Maltby on Capra. Screen Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934).

Week six: Screwball Comedy. Read Cavell onBringing up Baby. Screen Bringing up Baby (1938).

Week seven: Romantic Comedy and 1930s Cultural Politics. Read Paul on Ninothcka. Screen Ninothcka (1939).

Week eight: The Dark Side of Screwball. Read Powers on His GirlFriday. ScreenHis Girl Friday (1940).

Week nine: Questioning the Thesis Comedy. Read Moran and Rogin on Sullivan’s Travels. Screen Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels (1941).

Week ten: Bittersweet Comedy: a Critique of Corporate America. Read Gemundson on The Apartment.Screen Wilder’s The Apartment (1960).

Week eleven: Body Comedy: Neurotic Manifestations of Cultural Anxieties. Read Bukatman on Jerry Lewis. Screen Lewis’The Nutty Professor (1963).

Week twelve: 1970s Romantic Comedy. Read Girgus on “Desire and Narrativity in Annie Hall. Screen Allen’sAnnie Hall (1976).

Week thirteen: Animal Comedy. Read Paul on “The Impossibility of Romance.” Screen Landis’National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978).

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