MCOM 2370: Introduction to American Film History Fall 2013 Tuesdays, 4-6:45 p.m., UC323. Professor Drew Morton E-mail: DMorton@tamut.edu Office Hours: Wednesdays, 2-6 p.m. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course focuses on the historical development of cinema in America from the 1890s to the contemporary period. Students will study the technology, the industrial structures, the personnel, and the films that have marked the evolution of film from silent shorts, through the rise and fall of the Hollywood studio system, to the period of conglomeration and convergence that currently defines the industry. Before the conclusion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Exhibit an understanding of the technological developments that have driven the evolution of film (mastery will be assessed by the objective midterm and final exams). 2. Exhibit an understanding of the industrial structures that have defined the Hollywood Studio System (mastery will be assessed by the objective midterm and final exams and the historical analysis paper). 3. Exhibit an understanding of the terminology and theories that define the study of film as an art form (mastery will be assessed by classroom participation). REQUIRED TEXTS/MATERIALS: Lewis, Jon. American Film: A History (W.W. Norton and Company, 2007). Other readings may be distributed via photocopy, PDF, or e-mail. Students will also need to have Netflix, Hulu, and/or Amazon to stream certain video titles on their own. SCHEDULE: Life must be lived forward, but can only be understood backwards. -Søren Kierkegaard. WEEK ONE: Introduction Reading: Handout on film terminology and Cohan, Case Study: Singin in the Rain: A Study of Interpretation (PDF). Screening: Singin in the Rain (1952, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 103 minutes). WEEK TWO: American Independent Cinema and Convergence Hollywood
Reading: Lewis, Chapter Nine. Screening: Brokeback Mountain (2005, Ang Lee, 134 minutes). WEEK THREE: American Independent Cinema Reading: Geoff King, American Independent Cinema (PDF). Screening: Do the Right Thing (1989, Spike Lee, 120 minutes). WEEK FOUR: The Blockbuster Reading: Geoff King, Spectacular Narratives (PDF). Screening: Star Wars (1977, George Lucas, 125 minutes). WEEK FIVE: The Blockbuster, Continued Reading: Lewis, Chapter Eight. Screening: Jaws (1975, Steven Spielberg, 124 minutes). WEEK SIX: The Hollywood Renaissance Reading: Lewis, Chapters Seven. Screening: The Godfather (1972, Francis Ford Coppola, 175 minutes). WEEK SEVEN: The End of the Studio Era and the Rise of Television Reading: Lewis, Chapters Five and Six. Screening: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick, 142 minutes). WEEK EIGHT: Midterm Exam Screening: Good Night, and Good Luck (2005, George Clooney, 93 minutes). WEEK NINE: The Hollywood Golden Age: Film Noir and Film Genre Reading: Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton, Towards a Definition of Film Noir and Janey Place and Lowell Peterson, Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir (PDF). Screening: Double Indemnity (1944, Billy Wilder, 107 minutes). WEEK TEN: The Hollywood Golden Age Reading: Thomas Schatz, The Genius of the System (PDF).
Screening: Casablanca (1942, Michael Curtiz, 102 minutes). WEEK ELEVEN: The Hollywood Golden Age, Continued Reading: Lewis, Chapter Four. Screening: Citizen Kane (1941, Orson Welles, 119 minutes). WEEK TWELVE: Pre-Code Hollywood and Censorship Reading: Lewis, Chapter Three. Screenings: Freaks (1932, Tod Browning, 64 minutes) and Trouble in Paradise (1932, Ernst Lubitsch, 83 minutes). WEEK THIRTEEN: The Golden Age of the Silent Film Reading: Rudolf Arnheim, Film as Art (PDF). Screenings: Sunrise (1927, F.W. Murnau, 95 minutes). FILM ANALYSIS PAPER DUE WEEK FOURTEEN: The Nickelodeon Era, D.W. Griffith and Continuity Editing, the Beginnings of Hollywood, and Silent Comedy. Reading: Lewis, Chapter Two. Screenings: Various D.W. Griffith Biograph Shorts (1909-1913, Varying Lengths), A Dog s Life (Charlie Chaplin, 1918, 33 minutes), and Sherlock Jr. (1924, Buster Keaton, 44 minutes). WEEK FIFTEEN: Thomas Edison, Georges Méliès, the Lumière Brothers, Edwin S. Porter, and the Final Exam. Reading: Lewis, Chapter One. Screenings: Various Thomas Edison shorts (Various), Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory, 1895, The Lumière Brothers, 1 minute), L Arrivée d un Train en Gare de La Ciotat (The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station, 1895, The Lumière Brothers, 1 minute), Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon, 1902, Georges Méliès, 15 minutes), The Great Train Robbery (1903, Edwin S. Porter, 12 minutes). GRADE BREAKDOWN: Attendance/Participation/Homework/Quizzes: 10%
Objective Midterm (Weeks 1-7): 30% Historical Analysis Paper (5 pages): 30% Objective Final Exam (Weeks 8-14, Non-Cumulative): 30% COURSE POLICIES: Be sure to complete your reading and assignments on the date they are scheduled on the syllabus. Late assignments are not accepted. Excessive absences will affect your final grade in the course (see the grade breakdown above). If you miss more than three classes, you will be terminated from the course. Attendance will be taken at a random time during the meeting and may be linked to a quiz or response paper that you will not be allowed to make up. You are encouraged to come to class on time or risk being marked absent. Note: If you attend each session and do not participate, the maximum grade you can earn for your attendance/participation portion is a D grade. In accordance with the University s academic integrity policy (see below), students who violate the policy will earn an automatic F for the course. Cell phones are to be set on vibrate and not to be used during class. Be sure to bring all your course materials to class each day we meet. Finally, please allow a 24-48 hour turn-around time for any e-mails. Due to this policy, be sure not to leave any major concerns/questions about assignments for the last minute! I reserve the right to alter this syllabus. TAMUT POLICIES: Disability Accommodations: Students with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations through the A&M-Texarkana Disability Services Office by calling 903-223-3062. Academic Integrity: Academic honesty is expected of students enrolled in this course. Cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration, falsification of research data, plagiarism, and undocumented use of materials from any source constitute academic dishonesty and may be grounds for a grade of F in the course and/or disciplinary actions. For additional information, see the university catalog. A&M-Texarkana Email Address: Upon application to Texas A&M University- Texarkana an individual will be assigned an A&M-Texarkana email account. This email account will be used to deliver official university correspondence. Each individual is responsible for information sent and received via the university email account and is expected to check the official A&M-Texarkana email account on a
frequent and consistent basis. Faculty and students are required to utilize the university email account when communicating about coursework. Drop Policy: To drop this course after the census date (see semester calendar), a student must complete the Drop/Withdrawal Request Form, located on the University website http://tamut.edu/registrar/droppingwithdrawing-fromclasses.html) or obtained in the Registrar s Office. The student must submit the signed and completed form to the instructor of each course indicated on the form to be dropped for his/her signature. The signature is not an approval to drop, but rather confirmation that the student has discussed the drop/withdrawal with the faculty member. The form must be submitted to the Registrar s office for processing in person, email Registrar@tamut.edu, mail (7101 University Ave., Texarkana, TX 75503) or fax (903-223-3140). Drop/withdraw forms missing any of the required information will not be accepted by the Registrar s Office for processing. It is the student s responsibility to ensure that the form is completed properly before submission. If a student stops participating in class (attending and submitting assignments) but does not complete and submit the drop/withdrawal form, a final grade based on work completed as outlined in the syllabus will be assigned.