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321:01 World Cinema II
Fall 2011Class: TF 1: 9:15-10:35
Professor Meheli SenScreening: T 78:7:15-10:05
Email: Office Hours TF: 11-12,
Lucy Stone Hall, B305Douglass Student Center, 2nd Floor
Course Description
This course will explore dominant cinematic traditions of the world since the 1950s. In addition to studying the social and cultural contexts within which cinematic texts generate meaning, we will also engage with transnational dialogue between film cultures and movements. We will consider the validity of a number of concepts such as counter cinema, first, second and third cinema, and third-world cinema, focusing in particular on the interplay between local traditions and transnational industrial and artistic practices.
Learning Goals
By the end of semester students will be able to:
*explain major developments in world filmmaking styles and techniques from the 1950s to the present.
*analyze the degree to which forms of human difference shape subjectivities as evidenced through the medium of film.
*analyze different ways in which film texts from around the world reflect and shape specific histories, values, languages, cultures and technologies, as well as prompt viewers critically to examine those phenomena and, in some cases, effect change.
Format:
This course is structured on a Tuesday to Friday schedule. I will present new material every Tuesday and we will discuss readings assigned, as well as view in-class clips. Then, we will watch a film together as a class every Tuesday evening. On Friday, classes will be held in a seminar/workshop format in which we discuss the readings in relation to the screened film. It will not work unless all of us are prepared to engage with the texts with care and attention. The task of making the discussions challenging and lively is not the sole responsibility of the presenter; every student is expected to contribute to class discussions.
Course Requirements
Students will take an in-class midterm exam on Friday October 28th. This exam will include short answers (fill in blanks, matching, etc.) with at least 2 essay questions.
Students will take a take-home final exam at the end of the term. This exam will focus on essays on cultural and film analyses.
Each student must write a two-paragraph response to 10 films screened over the course of the term in the appropriate Sakai folder. These paragraphs must go beyond summary to demonstrate thoughtful engagement with the films. This response must be posted by 12:00 noon on Thursday. Questions will be posted ahead of time and late responses will not count.
Each student will prepare and lead the class discussion once during the semester. This requires reading the assigned material ahead of time to prepare a short response and questions for group discussion. Feel free to talk to me about your ideas ahead of time; also email me an outline of your presentation by 6 PM on Thursday. Students will make these presentations on Fridays.
Informed participationin our classroom discussions is highly encouraged. Do not take this course if you are unable to attend weekly screenings. If you miss a screening, it is your responsibility to procure the film and post your response by noon on Thursday.Informed participation requires having watched and thought about screened films, having read all assigned material and being present in class to talk about them.
Attendance/Decorum
If you miss more than four classes (excused or unexcused), YOU FAIL THE COURSE. If you miss more than two classes (excused or unexcused), your participation grade will be reduced by half a grade for every additional absence (for example, if you receive a B as a participation grade but have three absences, you will receive a C+ as a participation grade). A pattern of lateness will also adversely affect your grade (in general 2 lates = 1 absence), and I really discourage it because it is so disruptive to the class. Likewise, leaving class once it has begun is also discouraged and a pattern of such behavior will adversely affect your participation grade. If you are late or absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed. For screenings, viewing a film on a large screen allows you to notice details which your television set obscures. It also creates class community by viewing films together. (In fact, if you cannot attend the screenings, you should drop the course.)
No eating or drinking in the classroom please. Observe proper decorum during screenings: refrain from talking, turn off cell phones, and limit food and beverage to those appropriate to film viewing (i.e., a Coke is okay, a Whopper is not okay). Please do not use laptop computers or other electronic gadgets during class or screenings; these can be very distracting for everyone around you. The screenings are a time for serious viewing, not only for your entertainment; you should be taking copious notes on pertinent features of each film to prepare for discussion and exams (I recommend a penlight or small flashlight to help you see your writing). No pets or guests are allowed at screenings. Anyone talking, booing, taking cell phone calls or otherwise disrupting a screening will be asked to leave.
Academic Misconduct: You should be aware that academic misconduct entails severe penalties and incurs the resentment of honest students. The most common form of academic misconduct is plagiarism. It is your responsibility as a student to familiarize yourself with the rules of academic citation. Briefly, plagiarism is using the words, thoughts, ideas, writings, or artistic works of someone else and passing them off as one’s own, without complete citation in footnotes, endnotes, or internal citations. In the Internet era, it is quite easy to copy text off the Internet and forget to cite it in your paper. It is equally easy to catch you! Please, acknowledge all sources, and WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE THE SOURCE. Each student bears the responsibility of familiarizing herself/himself with the University’s policies and procedures involving academic misconduct, grievances, sexual and ethnic harassment, and discrimination based on physical handicap. No behaviors in violation of these policies will be tolerated in this class.
Read the following:
It is vital that every student understand that this syllabus forms an implied contract. I seek to share their knowledge and analytical skills. In return, the student is understood to be in regular attendance, both physically and mentally. The schedule of readings/screenings may change. The exams are due when they are due; the reading assignments are to be read and films viewed. There will be no incompletes given in the course, and late work will be permitted only in the most serious circumstances (family emergency or illness), which must be documented to my satisfaction.
Grading
Midterm Exam: 20%
Final Exam: 30%
Presentation: 20%
Sakai Responses:20%
Participation: 10%
Textbooks
Bordwell and Thompson Film History: An Introduction (FH)
Linda Badley et. al. Traditions in World Cinema (TIWC)
*All other articles and essays will be uploaded to Sakai
Class Schedule
Friday, September 2Introduction
Week 1Italian Neo-realism
Tuesday, September 6FH p. 330-340,
TIWC Ch-2
Screening: The Bicycle Thief (DeSica, 1948)
Friday, September 9*Nowell-Smith “The Resilience of Neo-Realism”
Week 2The French New Wave
Tuesday, September 13FH p. 407-414
TIWC Ch-3
Screening: The 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1959)
Friday, September 16*Philips “Youth and Entrapment…”
Week 3New German Cinema
Tuesday, September 20TBA
Screening: Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (Fassbinder, 1974)
Friday, September 23*Chaudhuri “An Anatomy of Resistance”
Week 4The Japanese New Wave
Tuesday, September 27FH p.432-434
Screening: Woman in the Dunes (Teshigahara, 1963)
Friday, September 30*Wada-Marciano “Ethnicizing the Body and Film..”
Week 5Japanese Cinema II: The Horrific Avant Garde
Tuesday, October 4FH p. 632-637
TIWC Ch-15
Screening:Ju-on (Shimizu, 2002)
Friday, October 7*Nelson “Ghosts of the Past…”
*McRoy “Ghosts of the Present, Specters…”
Week 6Indian Cinema I: Old Masters and New Waves
Tuesday, October 11FH p.373-377, 621-626
TIWC Ch-13
Screening:Pather Panchali (Ray, 1955)
Friday, October 14*Majumdar “From Neorealism to Melodrama”
Week 7Indian Cinema II: Global Bollywood
Tuesday, October 18*Dudrah “The Essential Bollywood”
Screening: Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Johar, 2001)
Friday, October 21No Class!!
Week 8Brazilian Cinema Novo
Tuesday, October 25FH p. 432-438
TIWC Ch-8
Screening: Black God, White Devil (Rocha, 1963)
Friday, October 28In-class Midterm!!
Week 9Latin America & “Third Cinemas”
Tuesday, November 1FH p.497-507
Screening: Memories of Underdevelopment (Alea, 1968)
Friday, November 4*Kernan “Cuban Cinema: Tomas Gutierrez Alea”
Week 10Fifth Generation Chinese Cinema and Beyond
Tuesday, November 8FH p. 637-643
TIWC Ch-14
Screening: Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou, 1991)
Friday, November 11*Cui “The Cinematic Orient…”
*Ning Ma “Signs of Angst and Hope”
Week 11Hong Kong Cinemas
Tuesday, November 15FH p.647-652
Screening: In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
Friday, November 18*Yue “ITMFL: Intersections of Hong Kong..”
*Teo “ITMFL: Like a Ritual…”
Week 12New Iranian Cinema
Tuesday, November 22FH p. 608-611
TIWC Ch-12
Screening: Through the Olive Trees (Kiarostami, 1994)
Friday, November 25*Chaudhuri “The Open Image…”
*Bransford “Days in the Country”
Week 13South Korean Film
Tuesday, November 29 FH 655-658
Screening: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Chan-wook, 2002)
Friday, December 2*Yecies “Double Take on Vengeance”
Week 14Cinemas of Africa
Tuesday, December 6FH p.507-509, 601-605
Screening: Ceddo (Sembene, 1977)
Friday, December 9*Rosen “Discursive Spaces and Historical Time”
Week 15What we have learned and unanswered questions
Tuesday, December 13FINAL EXAM DUE