History of Film
2014 - 2015
Period: 1A, 3B, 4B
Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions
3100 Shenandoah
Houston, Texas 77021
(713) 741-2410
Instructor: Tonya E. Juarez
E-mail: tjuarez@houstonisd.org
Department: Social Studies
Room: 319
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the history of film through major developments in
cinema from its origins to the present. The content and discussions of this course will be selective and it
will include an overview of cinema history while exploring the basic tools for film reviews.
The course provides students the opportunity to develop a historical appreciation of film and acquire a
critical, technical, and aesthetic vocabulary relating to particular cinematic practices and structures. In
addition, we will examine how meaning in films is conditioned by the uses of camera, editing, lighting,
sound, acting, technological developments on film production, evaluate the importance of genre, and the
legacy of individual “auteurs” (film authors or creators) throughout the history of cinema1.
The course will cover 8 units of discussion through the semester:
1. Early Cinema and Historiography
2. The Essence of Silent Films
3. German Expressionism and Soviet Montage
4. Introduction to Sound in the movies
5. Classical Hollywood (age of the stars and studios)
6. Transitional Hollywood of the 1960’s and 1970’s
7. International Cinema: China (Hong Kong), England, India, Japan, and Mexico
8. Contemporary Hollywood and the Blockbusters (1980’s to today)
“Great movies do three things: entertain, educate, and take you to a higher plane of existence.”
– Mel Gibson
“A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet.” – Orson Welles
“The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.”
– Alfred Hitchcock
“A film is, or should be, more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and
feelings. The theme, what’s behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.” – Stanley Kubrick
1
Most of the content for the course description came from the Liberal Arts Division at the Fashion Institute of Technology and a former textbook: Mast,
Gerald and Kawin, Bruce F. A Short History of the Movies. 7th Ed. Boston: Pearson, 2000.
“I think cinema, movies, and magic have always been closely associated. The very earliest people who
made film were magicians.” – Francis Ford Coppola
“Film in the 20th century, it’s the American art form, like jazz.” – Martin Scorsese
“A special effect is a tool, a means of telling a story. A special effect without a story is a pretty boring
thing.” – George Lucas
“When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, ‘no, I went to films’.” – Quentin Tarantino
“Every great film should seem new every time you see it.” – Roger Ebert
Main Textbook:
Mast, Gerald and Kawin, Bruce F. A Short History of the Movies. 11th Ed. Boston: Pearson,
2010.
Suggested Outside Reading:
Sanello, Frank. Reel v. Real: How Hollywood Turns Fact into Fiction. New York: Taylor Trade
Publishing, 2003.
Grading (six-week cycle):
Class Participation/Discussions
Film Reviews
Test/s
Homework
30%
30%
30%
10%
100%
NOTE: Make-up AND re-take assignments are scheduled every Monday, after school, in my room –
Room 319. The student is responsible in making any necessary prior arrangements.
Ethics Statement:
Cheating is wrong. Cheating hurts our community by undermining academic integrity, creating mistrust,
and fostering unfair competition. The school will punish cheaters with failure on an assignment, failure in
a course, permanent transcript notation, suspension, and/or expulsion. Offenses will be reported to school
administration, colleges, universities, medical, law, or other professional or graduate schools when a
cheater applies.
Violations can include cheating on exams, plagiarism, reuse of assignments without permission, improper
use of the Internet and electronic devices, unauthorized collaboration, alteration of graded assignments,
forgery and falsification, lying, facilitating academic dishonesty, and unfair competition. Ignorance of
these rules is not an excuse.
For more information, refer to your DeBakey Student Handbook (time-tracker) or the Houston ISD Code
of Student Conduct.
Supplies:
● Spiral Notebook
● Pens (blue or black only)
NOTE: The student is responsible for obtaining his or her school materials during (or before) the first
week of school.
Classroom Rules (4):
♦ Be PUNCTUAL.
Do not be tardy to class; you will have NO warning and sent immediately to the office.
♦ Be PREPARED.
Bring your class materials (pen, paper, and binder) EVERY class period.
♦ Be POLITE during (and outside) the classroom.
Respect others in the same manner you wish others to respect you.
All cell phones, blackberries, MP3 players, smart phones, etc. should be OFF during class time.
Always remain seated in your assigned desk / seat.
Always remain SILENT during school announcements.
NO food, drinks (excluding water), or chewing gum during class time.
Film Class: Students are expected to refrain from any behavior during film screenings,
including talking and commenting to your classmates.
♦ Be PRODUCTIVE.
Ask relevant questions.
PARTICIPATE in class discussions and during group activities.
READ!
NOTES:
1. ALL school rules are enforced in my classroom.
2. Classroom procedures will be discussed in the classroom on the first day of school.