QUEENS COLLEGE
Department of European Languages and Literatures
French 250W: French Cinema.
Professor: David Andrew Jones
Contact: Office Phone: 718-997-5996; Email: david.jones@qc.cuny.edu
Office: 706 Kiely Hall (Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 2-3 pm. and by appointment)
Class Meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:15-12:15, King 208
COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this course we will examine films released in France
from 1940 to the present. The course will be divided into two parts. In the first, “The
Cinema in France,” we will concentrate on cinema history and the evolution of cinema
techniques. After the midterm, we will focus on “France in the Cinema,” specifically on
the ways in which filmmakers have dealt with the two most important questions of the
last 60 years in France: 1) the legacy of World War II, and 2) colonialism/decolonization.
Les Enfants du Paradis (1940) will serve as a bridge between an earlier period of French
cinema (silent films and early talkies) that will not be treated in the course, and the films
to follow. The extensive use of pantomime scenes, and the central role of all forms of
theater (especially melodrama) will help us map out the origins of French cinema. La
Belle et la Bête will enable us to open the style/substance debate, and discuss the
importance of the visual aspect of cinema. The next four films on the program will
allow us to investigate the fertile period of French cinematic production known as the
New Wave. These films have had a strong and lasting influence on world cinema.
After the midterm, we will discuss the role of France in the Second World War. By
viewing both documentaries and fiction films representing the war, we will tease out the
distinctions between the two genres of film, and discuss notions of truth, fiction,
representation and memory. Our final films will open discussions of colonization and
independence (Battle of Algiers), adolescence and identity during wartime (Roseaux
sauvages), and the legacy of decolonization on minority populations living in France (La
Haine).
This course will satisfy the Appreciating and Participating in the Arts (AP) and European
Traditions (ET) requirements of the PLAS. This course will focus on the study of the
contributions of French filmmakers to the art form of cinema. Students will learn the
history of cinema in France, and will study the innovations introduced by French
filmmakers. Students will learn how the study of French Film relates to the larger
discipline of French studies. In addition, they will learn to make more informed
aesthetic judgments, and will train their critical faculties in a way that will help them
better understand all forms of visual media--including plastic arts, television, advertising,
and the internet. This will help them in their approach to such media in their daily lives,
as well as give them critical thinking skills they can bring to bear on other disciplines at
Queens College. French Cinema is part of French culture, and we will analyse how the
traditions of Western European thought manifest themselves in twentieth-century French
culture in general, and in French cinema in particular. The course will thus satisfy the
ET requirement for the PLAS. This course meets the aims of the Appreciating and
Participating in the Arts section of the PLAS by training students in the “skills of
observing and listening to…and appreciating and understanding the creative arts,”
thereby helping students to “develop awareness of the role of these arts in human life.”
WRITTEN WORK: This is a writing-intensive course, which means that you must
produce 15 pages of writing during the semester. You will write three papers for the
course—a first paper on Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête, which will be rewritten, a second
on WW II in film, and a third commenting on how this course has helped you sharpen
your critical faculties, and how it might have altered your approach to all forms of visual
media. To help you prepare for this final paper, you will keep a journal throughout the
semester in which, for each film, you write your reactions, and describe how a given film
has changed your perception of cinema.
PARTICIPATION: One of the goals of this course is to help you discuss the art of
film more intelligently. Therefore, your participation in class discussions is important.
You will receive a class participation grade every day; if you do not come to class, you
will receive a zero. If you arrive late, your grade will be lowered proportionately to your
tardiness. Your two lowest participation grades will be dropped, so you may miss two
sessions without any penalty, but frequent absences will certainly have a negative effect
on your participation grade. Any time you know you will miss class, you should notify
me in advance.
Grade Breakdown:
First Paper with rewrite: 20%
Second Paper: 20%
Reading Journal and Third Paper: 20%
Midterm: 15%
Final Exam: 15%
Participation: 10%
A word on plagiarism: Unfortunately, with the rise of the internet, cheating on written
assignments has reached epidemic proportions on US college campuses. You may not
copy anything, ever, word for word, in whole or in part, and represent this as your
own work. Generally, you will not be required to do outside research for this course.
If you quote from any source in your work, you must clearly indicate the source
according to the guidelines of the MLA style manual. We will review citation
procedures in class. When faced with a deadline, you may be tempted to use the work of
others rather than create your own. Do not do this! The consequences are severe,
and include the possibility of expulsion from the College.
Please remember that the
goals of this course are defeated if you do not do your own work.
SYLLABUS
Part 1: The Cinema in France
August 28, 30: Les Enfants du paradis. Introduction to the course.
September 4, 6: La Belle et la bête. Before class: Read La Belle et la bête (photocopy).
September 11, 20: Les 400 coups. First paper due Sept. 20 (see description below).
September 25, 27: A Bout de souffle.
October 2, 4: Cléo de 5 à 7. First paper returned Oct. 4.
October 9, 11: L’Année dernière à Marienbad. Rewrite of First Paper due Oct. 11.
October 16: Midterm Examination.
Part 2: France in the Cinema
A. WWII
October 18, 23, 25: Le Chagrin et la pitié.
October 30-November 1: Shoah
November 6, 8: Au Revoir les enfants
November 13, 15: Hiroshima, mon amour. Begin work on second paper.
B. Colonialism/Postcolonialism
November 20, 27: Bataille d’Algers
November 29, December 4: Les Roseaux Sauvages Paper 2 due Nov. 29.
December 6,11 La Haine. Third paper due Dec. 11.
Final Examination: Date and location TBA.
First Paper: 3-5 pages. I will distribute to you the version of La Belle et la bête by
Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont, which inspired the Cocteau film. Read it, then
write an essay on 1) your personal “reading” of this folk/fairy tale; 2) the ways in which
Cocteau’s film is faithful to it; 3) the ways in which Cocteau’s film is not faithful to it; 4)
the ways in which, in your opinion, Cocteau’s visual style is (or is not) appropriate to the
story. This essay will be returned for a rewrite.
Second Paper: 6-8 pages. Compare and contrast representations of WWII in
Film—choose 2 films and write about their representation of the conflict. Possible
topics 1) the similarities and/or differences in depiction between documentary and
“fiction” film; 2) differences in representation in films of the same genre (Shoah vs. Le
Chagrin et la pitié or Hiroshima mon amour vs. Au Revoir les enfants).
Third Paper: 3-5 pages. Describe how this course has helped you to sharpen your
critical faculties, and how it has altered your approach to other visual media. In your
paper, you will cite your interpretations of some of the films we have watched this
semester to support your statements. The goal of this paper is to help you identify the
skills you have learned in this course that you may apply to your studies in other areas of
the college, and in interpreting the world around you.