!"#$ PROFESSOR: Dr. Kelli Marshall OFFICE: JO 5.426; 972-883-2063 E-MAIL: kmarshal@utdallas.edu WEB: www.utdallas.edu/~kmarshal/courses/film/2332 OFFICE HOURS: Tues. and Thurs. 1:30-3:15 PM, or by appt. eoffice HOURS: Mon. 10:00-11:00 AM AOL IM, kmarshal; Yahoo, KelliRMarshall; MSN, kmarshal@utdallas.edu TEACHING ASSISTANT: Kristi Humphreys OFFICE: JO 5.410A; 972-883-2062 E-MAIL: rowan@utdallas.edu OFFICE HOURS: Tues. 1:30-3:15 PM, or by appt. COURSE DESCRIPTION An introduction to the critical study of film, this course familiarizes students with canonical films (i.e., critically acclaimed and historically influential works), various methods of filmmaking, and several ways to interpret and evaluate films. Specifically, we will consider the following: conventions and techniques of film art (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, sound); specific types of films (genre films, documentaries, experimental films); significant film movements (Italian Neorealism, French New Wave); and various critical methods and theories (race/representation, authorship, gender/sexuality). Classes will consist of lecture, some discussion, and brief film screenings. Because of time constraints, we will not screen entire films in class; so students will be required to watch full-length films, which may be rented from a local video store or viewed in McDermott Library, on their own. (Some students have found companies like Netflix helpful for this course; be sure, however, that you request the films in the order listed on the syllabus.) NOTE: Understanding Film is not designed to teach students how to make their own films or to provide students with an opportunity to watch contemporary movies and then chat casually about why they are boring or cool. Please keep the above goals in mind throughout the semester. COURSE EXPECTATIONS FILM 2332 has been designed with the following set of assumptions in mind. If you fit the profile below and are willing to make the commitment, you should find the course challenging but manageable. If not, you might think carefully about how you will work this course (along with its expectations and requirements) into your existing schedule. 1. Students attend class regularly and participate in class. (Students whose personal schedules prevent ontime arrivals and early departures are encouraged to find a more appropriately scheduled course.) 2. Students have access to a computer with Internet access, email access, and a printer. 3. Students do NOT wait until the last minute to screen films. 4. Students will be patient with, open-minded about, and respectful of the written and visual texts they encounter this semester (all films are shown for specific reasons). REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS The Film Experience: An Introduction, Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White (2004). All films are considered required texts as well. Roughly 15 index cards (5 x 7 with lines). Attend and participate in every class. Sit near the front of the room (acoustics are better, and YOU can be heard). Visit the professor (and/or the TA) during office hours. If you have a question, ask it--in class, before or after class, via email, or during the professor s (and/or TA s) office hours. Prepare for exams and assignments; don t cram.
2 COURSE POLICIES Arrive on time for lectures. If you arrive after class has begun, please sit on the back row. No talking during lectures or screenings. If students continually engage in conversation while the professor is talking, they will be asked to move. Unnecessary talking and discourteous behavior are not tolerated in the classroom. No laptops. No beepers, PDAs, text-messaging, and/or cell phones. If you are expecting an emergency call during class (e.g., birth, babysitter's call, death), notify Dr. Marshall before class begins. Use email etiquette. Your email messages say as much about you (and your intellect!) as your speech and your written assignments: address the person to whom you are speaking (e.g., Dr. Marshall, I have a question ); type with proper punctuation and capitalization (no all-lowercase emails!); always sign your name, even if it is just a quick reply; and finally, proofread your emails before you hit send. NOTE: All electronic correspondence between UTD students and faculty should be transmitted from UTD email accounts: To activate or maintain your free computer account and/or to set email forwarding options, go to http://netid.utdallas.edu. FILM 2332 students are not graded on attendance; however, if students do not attend lectures, screen films, and participate in class, it is unlikely that they will receive a high grade. Additionally, students should keep in mind that many in-class films--on which exam questions will be based--are not always readily available for screening. GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS All undergraduate grades will be given on a 10-point scale, with pluses and minuses: A = 100-90, B = 89-80, C= 79-70, D = 69-60, F = 59-below. Class Web Site: Once or twice per week students should access the Student Updates section on the course Web site; it offers writing and viewing tips, reminders, helpful links, potential syllabus changes, and (occasionally) participation opportunities. Exams: Exam material comes from the lectures, readings, and screenings. All exams are in-class exams. When you arrive on exam-day, please deposit all of your belongings--including food, drinks, caps, hats, jackets, backpacks, purses, and all silenced technological devices--onto the stage. Also, you will not be allowed to leave the Performance Hall until you have completed your exam, so please take care of all restroom matters before the exam begins. Exam 1 (Feb-21) is a closed-book, closed-notes exam that consist of clip questions, multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, and identification/application questions (see examples on class Web site). This exam, worth 25% of the course grade, covers Weeks 1-6. The only item you will need for this exam is a pen or a pencil. Exam 2: Scene Analysis (Feb-28) is an open-book, open-notes analysis of one scene from a film (more than likely Citizen Kane). Students will analyze a scene s formal elements--mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound--as well as its significance to the entire narrative. For this exam, worth 30% of the course grade, you will need a pen or pencil and (if you choose) the textbook and/or any lecture notes. Exam 3 (Apr-25) is a closed-book, closed-notes exam like Exam 1 (see above description). This exam, worth 25% of the course grade, covers Weeks 10-15. The only item you will need for this exam is a pen or a pencil. There are extra-credit opportunities on two exams. As the last portion of your syllabus illustrates, we will be watching numerous film clips in the classroom. Even though we are not watching these films in their entirety, many of them are still extremely important to film history as well as to the field of film studies. So for those of you who want to screen these entire films--sunset Boulevard (Exam 1) and The Bicycle Thieves (Exam 3)--there will be extra-credit opportunities for you on the exams. WARNING: Do not wait until the last minute to rent/reserve these; with 150 students in this course, you may be out of luck! Make-up exams will only be given to students with documented emergencies that I am made aware of before the exam is handed out (e.g., bereavement, serious illness, scheduled medical procedure, court hearing). Letters from
parents are not acceptable. One time for make-up exams will be scheduled, and a more difficult (usually all-essay) exam will be administered. If a student misses an exam and does not have the required information, he/she will earn a zero on the exam. Participation (20%): Even though FILM 2332 is a large class, there are ways to participate and share your thoughts. You will need your index cards (see Required Texts and Materials ) for some of these assignments, so please bring them to class regularly. NOTE: None of these exercises may be made-up. Participation points may be earned via any or all of the following: Reading/Screening Quizzes: answer five questions about the assigned readings and/or out-of-class screenings. Daily Reports: respond to the following about the day s reading or lecture: What points are most clear to you? and What do you still not understand? Three-Minute Theories: respond to a question or a statement based on the day s reading, screenings, or lecture. Q&As: submit an exam question (and answer!) based on the day s reading, screenings, or lecture. Online Finds: respond to an online exercise (check the course site often!) Group Work: varied exercises for groups of roughly 6 students. Participation assignments will be graded as follows: 5 points, superior; 4 points, good; 3 points, adequate; 2 points, deficient; 1 point, failing. 3 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, facilitating academic dishonesty, fabrication, failure to contribute to a collaborative project and sabotage. More specific examples and explanations may be found on UTD s Judicial Affairs Web site: http://www.utdallas.edu/judicialaffairs/utdjudicialaffairs- Basicexamples.html. If a student disobeys these University (and classroom) policies, he/she will receive disciplinary actions with the Dean of Students. DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS Disability Services provides for the special needs of students with disabilities. Students are urged to make their needs known to Disability Services and their professors as soon as the semester begins. The Office of Disability Services is located in the Student Union, (972) 883-2070. IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY DATES Jan-25 Jan-16 Mar-16 Mar-6-11 Apr-24 Apr-25 May-5 Last Day to drop without a "W" Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Last day to withdraw with a WP/WF Spring Break Last Day of classes Final Exams begin Grades available online *The class calendar is subject to change: if a change occurs, it will be announced in class and posted on the course Web site. It is the student s responsibility to be aware of such changes. **If you lose this syllabus, an extra copy may be printed from the course Web site.
CLASS CALENDAR All readings and screenings are due on the day they are assigned. All screenings are out-of-class screenings. Week 1 Jan-10 What Films Do, and the Economics of Film (Distribution, Promotion, Exhibition) READING: Chapter 1. Week 2 Jan-17 Narrative Cinema READING: Chapter 6. SCREENING: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941; 119 m). Week 3 Jan-24 Mise-en-Scene READING: Chapter 2. SCREENING: Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989; 120 m). Week 4 Jan-31 Cinematography READING: Chapter 3. SCREENING: Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937; 111 m) or Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939; 106 m). Week 5 Feb-7 Relating Images: Editing READING: Chapter 4. SCREENING: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954; 113 m) or The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963; 119 m). Week 6 Feb-14 Sound and Sound Design READING: Chapter 5. SCREENING: The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974; 113 m). Week 7 Feb-21 Exam 1 Week 8 Feb-28 Exam 2: Scene Analysis Week 9 Mar-7 Spring Break--no classes. Week 10 Mar-14 Cinematic Shapes: Genre (The Film Musical) READING: Chapter 8. SCREENING: Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952; 103 m). Week 11 Mar-21 Cinematic Shapes: Documentary Films READING: Chapter 7. SCREENING: Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002; 120 m). Week 12 Mar-28 Cinematic Shapes: Experimental (Avant-Garde) Films Film Focus: Authorship READING: Chapter 11 (424-31, 438-440 only). Week 13 Apr-4 Postwar Movements and The New Hollywood READING: Chapter 9 (342-64 only), Chapter 10 (365-83 only). SCREENING: Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967; 105 m). Week 14 Apr-11 Film Focus: Gender and Sexuality READING: Chapter 10 (383-87) and Chapter 11 (457-60). SCREENING: Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1990; 118 m) or American Gigolo (Paul Schrader, 1980; 117 m). Week 15 Apr-18 Film Focus: Race and Representation READING: Chapter 10 (388-91 only) and Chapter 11 (460-67). SCREENING: Boyz N the Hood (John Singleton, 1991; 107 m). Week 16 Apr-25 Exam 3
POSSIBLE IN-CLASS SCREENINGS This is a tentative list of films from which we may or may not screen clips. The films we do screen, however, students will be responsible for on the exams. Week 1 Jan-10 What Films Do, and the Economics of Film (Distribution, Promotion, Exhibition) Declining by Degrees (John Merrow, 2005) The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925) The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola,1972) Lumière films (1895-1897) The Player (Robert Altman, 1992) Week 2 Jan-17 Narrative Cinema The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903) Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950) Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993) The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953) The Lady in the Lake (Robert Montgomery, 1947) Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1983) Week 3 Jan-24 Mise-en-Scene Henry V (Laurence Olivier, 1944) A Trip to the Moon (Georges Méliès, 1902) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Weine, 1919) City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931) Summer Stock (Charles Walters, 1950) The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963) Week 4 Jan-31 Cinematography The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939) Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937) Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1959) The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) 42 nd Street (Lloyd Bacon, 1933) The Truman Show (Peter Weir, 1998) Week 5 Feb-7 Relating Images: Editing William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann, 1996) 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966) Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 1987) Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) Week 6 Feb-14 Sound and Sound Design Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974) Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, 1948) Singin in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952) The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939) Contact (Robert Zemeckis, 1997) Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940) Top Hat (Mark Sandrich, 1935) Week 7 Feb-21 Exam 1 Week 8 Feb-28 Exam 2: Scene Analysis Week 9 Mar-7 Spring Break--no classes.
Week 10 Mar-14 Cinematic Shapes: Genre (The Film Musical) The Gay Divorcee (Mark Sandrich, 1934) On the Town (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1949) Meet Me in St. Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944) It s Always Fair Weather (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1955) The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994) Austin Powers in Goldmember (Jay Roach, 2002) Chicago (Rob Marshall, 2002) Week 11 Mar-21 Cinematic Shapes: Documentary Films Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994) Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922) Titanic (James Cameron, 1997) Looking for Richard (Al Pacino, 1996) The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988) Best in Show (Christopher Guest, 2000) Week 12 Mar-28 Experimental Films Ballet Mécanique (Fernand Léger, 1924) Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buuel/Salvador Dali, 1928) Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943) Film Focus: Authorship Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1991) Henry V (Laurence Olivier, 1944) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Gilliam and Jones, 1975) Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 1988) Much Ado about Nothing (Kenneth Branagh, 1993) Week 13 Apr-4 Postwar Movements and The New Hollywood The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948) Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica, 1952) The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965) Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969) Week 14 Apr-11 Film Focus: Gender and Sexuality Gentleman Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawkes, 1953) Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1990) True Lies (James Cameron, 1994) American Gigolo (Paul Schrader, 1980) Week 15 Apr-18 Film Focus: Race and Representation Birth of a Nation (D. W. Griffith, 1915) Swing Time (George Stevens, 1936) Bamboozled (Spike Lee, 2000) The Chappelle Show, Season 2 (Dave Chappelle, 2003-04). Week 16 Apr-25 Exam 3