Span 361: History of Spanish Cinema

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1 Professor Guy H. Wood Office: Kidd 216 Telephone: Office hours: Prerequisites: Sophomore status Description Span 361: History of Spanish Cinema Span 361 is a three credit course that is taught in English and meets twice a week for one hour and fifty minutes. Usually the first class session of the week will be dedicated to imparting information on Spanish history, culture, and cinema, so as to prepare the student to better understand the films to be watched in the second class period. The second class period will be used to screen and discuss the films. Span 361 has several main objectives. The first one is to introduce the student to the history of Spanish cinema and to some of the political, economic and technical aspects of directing, shooting and producing a feature film in Spain. A corollary to this familiarization is to enable the student to understand the different ways films can be analyzed and researched. Students analytical and critical skills will be throughly solicited. A further goal is to relate Spanish history to the film genres surrealism, social realism, New Spanish Cinema, etc. produced over the last eighty years. Another goal is to familiarize students with the different regions within Spain and their autonomous cinemas. A final goal is to appreciate Spanish history from the 1930s to the present as depicted in the films screened. Span 361 is a Baccalaureate Core course that fits both the Western Culture and Literature and Arts categories. The study of Western Culture forms the foundation of contemporary U.S. society in institutional, social, and cultural aspects. Understanding Western culture, its origins, and it evolutions enables students to develop greater awareness of America s past, present, and future. The study of Literature and Arts gives students the ability to recognize artistic methods by which pattern and meaning are found in human experience and critique those methods. Through literature and the arts, students engage in their own and other cultures, examine their values, and discover sources of lifelong pleasure. Span 361 is designed to allow students to explore knowledge on history, the arts (specifically Spanish cinematography and Spain s many cultural manifestations), and to think critically about the many issues that influenced not only Spain but other countries around the globe. This course will help the student understand Western culture, its evolution during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Through this contact with Seventh Art in contemporary Spain, students will gain the means to critique artistic methods and engage in the examination of that country s culture and be able to compare and contrast Spain s history and cinematic history to those of their own country.

2 Readings Students will be required to purchase a class packet with selections on Spanish history, specific films and directors and the history of Spanish cinema. Learning Outcomes. Identify the historical mileposts of Spanish cinema. Describe the salient geographical and socio-linguistic features of twentieth-century Spain. Connect and compare the impact of the Spanish Civil War, Francoism (dictatorship), Democracy, autonomy, on Spanish cinema. Evaluate cinema as a vehicle for social and political expression. Watch films critically and analyze them using methods of film theory. Write critically (reviews, essays, short papers) on cinema. Evaluation and Performance: Attendance and participation: 20% Students are expected to read and prepare all assignments carefully before coming to class, attend all classes and, most especially, participate actively in discussions. More than three absences will result of lowering the final grade by one letter. In case of an unplanned absence, please notify the instructor via . Film Reviews: 30% Students will write a two-page, double-spaced review giving their opinions on each film, and specifying why or why not they liked the film. Aspects such as cinematography, the roles of the actors, directing style, lighting, etc. should be indicated. Quizzes: 20% Quizzes on the information imparted by the instructor will be given every week. Term Paper: 30% A research paper on a chosen topic related to the films covered in class, edited according to the format in the MLA Handbook, 8-10 pages (bibliography and endnotes included) will be required for each student. Students with Disabilities Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty ans Services for Students with Disabilities (DDS). Students with accommodations approved through SSD are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have no yet obtained approval through SSD shoud contact SSD immediately at

3 Student Behavior Students are expected to abide by all University rules and regulations pertaining to appropriate conduct. To fully understand student conduct expectations, please visit this link: Bibliography Besas, Peter. Behind the Spanish Lense. Arden Press, Denver: Deveny, Thomas. Cain on Screen. The Scarecrow Press, Metuchen N.J, 1993 Edwards, Gwynne. Indecent Exposures. Buñuel, Saura, Erice & Almódovar. London: Marion Boyars, Evans, Peter. The Films of Luis Buñuel. Oxford: Clarendon Press, Higginbothan, Virginea. Spanish Film Under Franco. Austin: TexasUP, Hopewell, John. Out of the Past. British Film Institute, Jordan, Barry and Morgan Tamosunas. Contemporary Spanish Cinema. Manchester: Manchester UP, Kinder, Marsha. Blood Cinema. Berkeley: California UP, Labanyi, Jo (ed). Constructing Identity in Contemporary Spain. Oxford: Oxford UP, Lázaro Reboll, Antonio and Andrew Willis. Spanish Popular Cinema Manchester: Manchester UP, Mira, Alberto (ed.) The A to Z of Spanish Cinema. Toronto: The Scarecrow Press, Smith, Paul Julian. Visual Spanish Culture: Cinema, Television, Internet. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2006.

4 Calendar Week I Surrealism Spanish Style -Introduction -See: Un Chien Andalou (1929) Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí -See: Las Hurdes/Land Without Bread (1933) Luis Buñuel Week II Francoism and Cinema -Quiz I -Review I -See: Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista, 1955) Juan Antonio Bardem Week III Francoism and Cinema -Quiz II -Review II -See: The Hunt (La caza, 1965) Carlos Saura Week IV While Francoism Lies Dying -Quiz III -Review III -See: The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena, 1973) Víctor Erice Week V Spain s Economic Miracle -Quiz IV -Review IV -See: Secrets of the Heart (Secretos del corazón, 1997) Montxo Arméndariz Week VI The Opening and the Uncovering: Pedro Almódovar -Quiz V -Review V -See: The Flower of my Secret (The Flor de mi secreto, 2002) P. Almódovar Week VII Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Spain -Quiz VI -Review VI -See: Solas (1999) Benito Zambrano Week VIII Emigration and Adaptation in Today s Spain -Quiz VII -Review VII -See: A Financé for Yasmina (Un novio para Yasmina, 2008) Irene Cardona Week IX A Thriller -Quiz VIII -Review VIII

5 -Turn in term paper -See: Cell 211 (Cell 211, 2010) Week X Cinematic Conquistadores: Spain and the New World Today -Quiz IX -Review -See: Also the Rain (También la lluvia, 2011) Iciar Bollaín