Syllabus Film Analysis 2012-2013
Semester 1
Note – this is tentative, in some cases we might have to substitute another film, in some cases we may need to rearrange assignments.
UNIT 1 - Film – a medium worthy of study
Rear Window, Casablanca, The Godfather, Part I
Grades: Mise En Scene Project (major), Intro Survey (minor), Journals (major), Class Discussion (minor), Participation/Etiquette grade (minor)
Possible Journal Questions:
*Discuss the notion of American Identity as presented in two or three of the films studied in this unit. What do these films have to say about what it means to be an American?
*Identify a specific example of framing from one of the three films studied and discuss the effect of this framing for the development of theme, character, conflict, etc.
*Each of these movies embeds a love story into another genre narrative (murder mystery, war film, mobster film). How integral to the ‘larger’ story is the romance in one or more of the films? Could you argue that the love story overshadows the other narrative?
*Michael and Vito Corleone are two of the most famous and admired characters in cinema. Based on your viewing of The Godfather, Part I (and Part II if you managed to see it), what do you think of these characters? Why do you think they are so popular among movie lovers?
UNIT 2 - THEMATIC THREAD: What Films have to say about Film
Sunset Blvd, Ed Wood, Lost in Oblivion
Grades: Journals (major), Socratic Seminar (major), Mise En Scene Quick Write (minor), Participation/Etiquette grade (minor)
Possible Journal Questions:
*What did you learn about how films are made by watching these three films? Did any aspects of film production presented here surprise you?
*After viewing these three films (especially Lost in Oblivion), which aspect of film production do you think you would most enjoy doing? Why?
*How critical are these films of Hollywood itself? How critical of those involved in producing/acting in/directing/etc. films?
SOCRATIC SEMINAR #1 (major)
Topics: Our film histories, our favorite films from class so far, journal responses, etc.
UNIT 3 - STYLISTIC THREAD: The Elements of Film – Sound
M, The Graduate, Punch Drunk Love
Grades: Class Discussion (minor), Journals (major), Quick Write on sound impact (minor), Participation/Etiquette grade (minor)
Possible Journal Questions:
*Are there songs that you so associate with a film or a scene from a film that as soon as you hear that song it evokes the emotional tone of the film? Describe this song and tone.
*Did you find any subtlety relative to sound in the three films presented here? Did you find any use of sound that seemed to miss the mark you believe the director intended? Discuss.
*Diegetic sound is sound that is meant to be part of the world of the film, so if a character turns on the radio and a song comes across, we believe that music to come from within this created world. Non-diegetic sound is any that we know to be added later or external to the inner world of the film. Did you notice examples of these two types of sound in one or more of the films we watched? What is the difference in effect between these two types, or is there any?
*In your opinion, which of the three films we watched had the most beautiful sound effects? What made these sounds beautiful?
Supplemental Texts: Velvet Goldmine,
UNIT 4 - THEMATIC THREAD/GENRE STUDIES: Action/War–?
Paths of Glory, Last of the Mohicans, City of God
Grades: Journals (major), Critical Essay (major), Small Group Discussion/Pre-writing (minor), Participation/Etiquette grade (minor)
Possible Journal Questions:
*How important were special effects to the impact of one or more of the films from this unit? Did you find these special effects convincing (be specific)?
*To what degree did you find that these films employed stock characters or stereotypes? Did you find the characters to be more or less complex than you might find in other genres?
* The Bechdel Test looks to see how gender biased literary or filmic texts might be. To ‘pass’ this test, a film must simply have a scene in which two women talk to each other about something other than a man. Did any of these films pass this test? Can you think of a film that might be considered an Action or War film that passes? Why do you think this is so rare?
UNIT 5 – Documentary Films: The Truth is Stranger than Fiction.
Grizzly Man, Marwencol, Beauty Knows No Pain, From One Second to the Next
Grades: Journals (major), Documentary Response, Socratic?, Participation Grade
Possible Journal Questions:
*To what degree do you feel that the makers of these documentaries manipulated their footage to create a story? Which of these filmmakers were most willing to allow the story form without their help? Which felt as though the filmmaker was most manipulative?
*If you encountered these narratives in the form of a feature film/fictional film, would you find it far-fetched? Would you resist the premise because it seemed unrealistic?