SUNY at Buffalo
Department of English
Spring 2021
ENG 440
Film Theory:
An Introduction Through the Senses
Tu 3:55PM - 6:35PM
Zoom/UB Learns
3 credits
Instructor: Prof. Tanya Shilina-Conte
Office hours: Wednesdays on UBLearns (Discussion Board Forum)
Catalogue Description:
This course examines film theories of realism, formalism, semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism,
structuralism, post-structuralism, cognitive criticism, as well as recent discourses on film
phenomenology and “cinema of the body.” The course addresses classical and contemporary
film paradigms through the interaction between Moving Image and Senses, Body and Mind,
emphasizing such metaphors of filmic experience as Window and Frame, Door and Screen,
Mirror and Face. Assigned readings include selections from the writings of Bazin, Eisenstein,
Baudry, Metz, Balasz, Gunning, Arnheim, Mulvey, Bordwell, Deleuze, Marks, and Sobchack,
among others.
Course Description:
This course will guide you through the maze of “pre-” and “post-,” “-isms” and “-ships” in film
studies. We will examine theories of realism, formalism, semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism,
structuralism, post-structuralism, and cognitive criticism with a particular
emphasis on the sensory dimension of the moving image. Assigned readings
for the course will include selections from the writings of Bazin, Eisenstein,
Baudry, Metz, Balasz, Gunning, Arnheim, Mulvey, Bordwell, Deleuze,
Marks, and Sobchack, among others. Following Thomas Elsaesser and
Malte Hagener’s approach to film theory through the senses, and focusing
on the role of the spectator in cinema, we will study classical and
contemporary film paradigms through the interaction between Moving
Image and Senses, Body and Mind, emphasizing such metaphors of filmic
experience as Window and Frame, Door and Screen, Mirror and Face.
Watching a variety of films we will not only interpret the way we “see”
and “hear” them but also explore them through our senses of touch, smell,
and even taste. As Elsaesser points out, “film and spectator are like
parasite and host, each occupying the other and being in turn occupied.”
This unique approach to the confrontation and conflation of mind and
body with the screen will open for us new models for knowing and
representing the world through film and media.
Course Objectives:
Learning Outcomes
Activities
Assessment
Gain knowledge of key figures and
canonical works in film and media theory
Lectures; Online
Discussions/Online
Independent Work
Final Paper,
Weekly online
assignments
Be able to identify and describe major
theoretical paradigms in film and media
theory
Lectures; Online
Discussions/Online
Independent Work
Peer Analysis; Final
Paper, Weekly
online assignments
Understand critical methods and theoretical Readings; Online
concepts of film and media analysis
Discussions/Online
Independent Work
Peer Analysis; Final
Paper, Weekly
online assignments
Develop skills for deploying research and
evidence
Peer Analysis; Final
Paper; Journals,
Weekly online
assignments
Readings; Online
Discussions;
Individual Research
Think, read and speak critically and
creatively
Readings, Online
Discussions/Online
Independent Work
Peer Analysis; Final
Paper; Journals,
Weekly online
assignments
Develop ability to articulate ideas
persuasively in writing
Readings
Peer Analysis; Final
Paper; Journals,
Weekly online
assignments
Required Texts:
1. Elsaesser, Thomas, and Malte Hagener. Film Theory: An Introduction Through the
Senses. Routledge, 2015.
2. Film Theory and Criticism. Ed. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. Oxford University
Press, 2016.
3. Additional required readings will be posted on UB Learns throughout the semester.
Course Assignments:
1. Journals. During the semester you will be asked to create journal entries providing an
analysis of each chapter from our textbook, Film Theory: An Introduction Through the
Senses. In addition to reading chapters from your textbook, I will also ask you to watch
video essays corresponding to each chapter on the book’s digital companion website:
https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9781138824300/. You will be expected to
create a journal entry providing a short survey of the chapter material in connection to
two video essays of your choice. Please upload your journals by the designated deadline
(refer to each week’s assignment). Length: 1.5-2 pages. This assignment should be posted
to the Discussion Board.
2. Film Analysis. Each week you will be expected to engage with the assigned readings and
watch either the recommended film for each respective week or the film of your choice
that fits within our topic. You can also choose a film suggested in your textbook’s
chapter/readings. Your response to the film should reflect theoretical ideas discussed in
the assigned textbook chapters. You should also engage with at least two of the relevant
week’s additional articles. The length of this assignment is 1.5-2 pages. These
assignments will have to be posted to Blogs.
3. Peer feedback. Film responses will also include a peer feedback post (5-7 sentences on
average). This will help us create a semblance of class discussion but in a more flexible
virtual regime. Please provide comments on one post of your choice no later than the next
day following the deadline for film analysis.
4. Final Research Paper. Select a film or media work of interest to you that has NOT been
assigned for class (or shown only as an excerpt). Your paper/review should touch upon
the interaction between Screen, Senses, Body, Breath, and Mind through the prism of
assigned theoretical writings. In your discussion, you should refer to at least five articles
from the course materials plus at least three collateral sources beyond the syllabus (Power
Point presentations and Wikipedia entries DO NOT count, but you are welcome to make
use of them in your research). The deadline for final papers is May 15. Please post your
papers on UBLearns in the Discussion Board folder. Requirements: 6-8 pages, 1.5 spaced
with one-inch margins; 12 pt; all pages numbered. The paper should be proofread for
grammatical and typographical errors, follow the MLA (or Chicago) Style for citations
and contain a list of Works Cited. Late papers will not be accepted. Note: for this
assignment, you will have a choice of creating a video essay (length: about 10 mins). If
you choose to do so, you should follow the same guidelines.
Note: Please check UB Learns regularly for assigned points and expect feedback from me in the
middle of the semester.
GRADING POLICY. Learning assessments will be graded based on rubric criteria and weighted
according to the following break-down:
Weighting
27
32
16
25
100 points
Assessment / Assignment
Journals (8; 3 each)
Responses to Films (8; 4 each)
Peer Feedback (8; 2 each): will be added to
Film Analysis at the end of the semester
Final Paper (Body and the Senses)
Total
Final Grades:
Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
F
Quality Points
4.0
3.67
3.33
3.00
2.67
2.33
2.00
1.67
1.33
1.00
0
Percentage
93.0% -100.00%
90.0% - 92.9%
87.0% - 89.9%
83.0% - 86.9%
80.0% - 82.9%
77.0% - 79.9%
73.0% - 76.9%
70.0% - 72.9%
67.0% - 69.9%
60.0% - 66.9%
59.9 or below
The student can expect an:
A if the student volunteers to participate frequently, is always prepared for class, shows interest
and motivation, works well with others in groups, and comes to class regularly.
B if the student is prepared and alert, however; does not volunteer as often to participate, or
sometimes shows that s/he has not prepared for the day, and comes to class regularly.
C if the student is prepared for class but needs a "push" to participate and help to answer
questions in class, and comes to class regularly.
D if the student fails to prepare adequately for class, does not contribute to the class, does not
cooperate with group work, does not show interest, and does not attend class regularly.
Here you can find more information on the university Undergraduate Grading Procedures and
Incomplete Policy:
http://undergrad-catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/grading/explanation.shtml
http://undergrad-catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/grading/explanation.shtml#incomplete
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of
academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university's
imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and
innovative ideas. Here you can find more information about the university Undergraduate
Academic Integrity policy:
http://undergrad-catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/course/integrity.shtml
ACCESSIBILITY RESOURCES:
If you have any disability which requires reasonable accommodations to enable you to
participate in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources, 25 Capen Hall,
645-2608, and also the instructor of this course. The office will provide you with information
and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations: http://www.studentaffairs.buffalo.edu/ods/
Please read attentively the following guidelines about Zoom etiquette. I compiled a list of
Do’s and Don’ts relevant to our class:
Do’s:


Please mute your microphone upon entering the Zoom classroom and when you are not
speaking. Be mindful of background noise around you.
Please keep your camera on. I do not want to teach to black screens (you can temporarily
do so if there is a need but don’t keep your screen black all the time). Use an appropriate
Zoom background if you wish. I welcome stills from your favorite movies!




Sign in with your full first name and last name as listed on the class roster. Make sure
your full name displays appropriately. Do not use a nickname or other pseudonym when
you log in (you can put your preferred name in parentheses). Users who do not provide
their full names will not be admitted to class. I need your full names for attendance
purposes and for giving you credit for classroom performance.
Be prepared to take notes (on your computer or in a designated notebook) and to access
course material. Avoid multitasking and focus your attention on the class. You might
want to minimize/close all other windows so you aren’t distracted by email, notifications
or other applications. Turn off your phone or put it away; just like in class, please use it
only if there is an emergency.
On lecture days, I will pause at certain points throughout the lecture and ask questions.
Please unmute yourself if you would like the answer the question and then mute yourself
again. I will also stop at certain points to check if you have any questions. Please wait for
this moment to make a comment or ask a question. At the end of the lecture there will be
more opportunities to ask questions. Please don’t interrupt the instructor or fellow
students; that quickly leads to chaos in a Zoom meeting.
Just like in our in-person class, respectful behavior is expected. Consider Zoom a
professional environment, and act like you’re in a job interview, even when you’re typing
in the chat.
Don’ts







Do Not be late to class. We will typically begin our class with some music (I will be
playing soundtracks from various films; if you can guess the film title please write it in
the chat!). After taking attendance and about five minutes into class, I will be locking the
classroom for security purposes. At the end of each class, I will be checking if anybody
left the classroom before the class officially ended.
Do Not rely on the chat to ask me questions. If I am sharing my content, it is difficult to
read the chat window. The chat window will be mainly used for sharing materials,
resources, etc. I might sometimes ask you to answer my questions in the chat window if
that would make sense in terms of our class flow. Do Not Use the chat for side
conversations with classmates. The chat window is not a place for socializing or posting
comments that distract from the course activities. I will have to turn off the chat function
if I notice any inappropriate or distracting behavior.
Do Not Share the Zoom access information for your class with others, or enter under a
different name.
Do Not have conversations with household members off camera.
Do Not Annotate on the shared screen without my permission. If there is distracting
content or inappropriate gestures displayed on your screen, I will disable your video and
remove you from class.
Do Not Leave the meeting unless you are having an emergency or have special
permission from me.
Do Not Engage in texting, social media, work from other classes, or other distractions
while in class.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Course Schedule:
Week 1, February 2. Introduction(s), Syllabus. Pre-Cinema and the Illusion of Motion.
Film Theory, Film Criticism, and Film Analysis.
Screening: Film Before Film, Werner Nekes, 1986 (1hr 20 mins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKTvEsvH59g
Readings: UB Learns: Bruce Gray, Intermezzo: “Where Were You When…? Or I Phone,
Therefore I Am;” Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film: “Film Terms and
Topics for Film Analysis and Writing.”
Week 2, February 9. Primitive Cinema/Pioneer Cinema/Cinema of Attractions. Early
filmmakers: Brothers Lumiere, George Melies, Cecil Hepworth, G.A. Smith, James
Williamson.
Readings: Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses: “Introduction: Film Theory,
Cinema, the Body and the Senses.” Film Theory and Criticism: Thomas Gunning, “An Aesthetic
of Astonishment: Early Film and the (In)Credulous Spectator,” (645-660). UB Learns: Maxim
Gorki, “On the Visit to the Kingdom of Shadows,” Wanda Strauven, “Early Cinema's
Touch(able) Screens – From Uncle Josh to Ali Barbouyou.”
Preview: The Last Machine, 1995, narrated by Terry Gilliam (excerpts).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSceNWisxMo
In-class screening: Early Shorts, a selection from the following: The Haverstraw Tunnel,
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company (1897); Conway Castle - Panoramic View of
Conway on the L. & N.W. Railway (1898); Four Heads Are Better than One, George Méliès
(1898), Running Through Gallitzen Tunnel, Penna. R. R., Edison (1899); A Kiss in the Tunnel,
George Smith/Cecil Hepworth (1899); Pan-American Exposition by Night, Edwin S. Porter
(1900); As Seen Through a Telescope, George Smith (1900); Gay Shoe Clerk, George Smith
(1903); Grandma’s Reading Glass, George Smith (1900); How it Feels to Be Run Over, Cecil
Hepworth (1900); Explosion of a Motor Car, Cecil Hepworth (1900); A Man with a Rubber
Head, George Melies (1901); Big Swallow, James Williamson (1901); The Motorist, Robert Paul
(1906); Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show, Edwin Porter (1902); The Spiritualist
Photographer, George Méliès (1903); Sarnia Tunnel, Grand Trunk Railway, Frederick Armitage
(1903); What Happened in the Tunnel, Edwin Porter (1903); Love in a Railroad Train, Siegmund
Lubin (1903), Photographing a Female Crook, Wallace McCutcheon (1904); The Misdirected
Kiss, A. E. Weed (1904), A Kiss in the Dark, A. E. Weed (1904).
Week 3, February 16. Film Viewing and Independent Work: UB Learns
Chapter Journals; Film Analysis; Peer Feedback
Write a summary of “Cinema as Window and Frame” and connect it to two video essays of your
choice (on the textbook’s digital companion website). Write a short analysis of La Jetée or any
film of your choice focusing on the concept of the frame and window in film. Please rely on the
Window/Frame as a “screen metaphor” in the context of such theories as realism / formalism (be
sure to provide frame grabs from the film). In your response, please rely on the assigned chapter
and two additional articles. Includes peer feedback on one film post.
Due: February 20
Watch: La Jetée (The Pier), Chris Marker, 1962 (30 mins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU99W-ZrIHQ
Week 4, February 23. Frame and Window. Formalist and Realist Theories. Door, Screen,
and Threshold. Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, and Neo-Formalism.
Readings: Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses: “Cinema as Window and Frame”;
“Cinema as Door – Screen and Threshold.” Film Theory and Criticism: Siegfried Kracauer,
From Theory of Film (113-126; 187-198); André Bazin, from What is Cinema? (41-54; 126144); Rudolf Arnheim, from Film as Art (144-48; 207-17); Sergey Eisenstein, from Film Form
(12-41); Gilbert Harman, “Semiotics and the Cinema: Metz and Wollen” (61-70); Jean-Louis
Baudry, “The Apparatus: Metapsychological Approaches to the Impression of Reality in
Cinema” (148-66). UB Learns: Bernard Siegert, “Doors: On the Materiality of the Symbolic.”
Week 5, March 2. Film Viewing and Independent Work.
Chapter Journals; Film Analysis; Peer Feedback
Write a summary of “Cinema as Door – Screen and Threshold” and connect it to two video
essays of your choice. Write a short analysis of The Purple Rose of Cairo or any film of your
choice focusing on the concept of the door and threshold in film. Please rely on the
Door/Threshold as a “screen metaphor” in the context of such theories as structuralism/poststructuralism (be sure to provide frame grabs from the film). In your response, please rely on the
assigned chapter and two additional articles. Includes peer feedback on one film post.
Due: March 6
Watch: The Purple Rose of Cairo, Woody Allen, 1985 (1hr 30 mins)
Week 6, March 9.
Mirror, Face, and Close-up. Psychoanalytic Theories. Eye, Look, and Gaze. Feminist
Theories.
Readings: Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses: “Cinema as Mirror and Face;”
“Cinema as Eye – Look and Gaze.” Film Theory and Criticism: Christian Metz, from The
Imaginary Signifier (602-20); Bela Balasz, from Theory of the Film (198-207); Laura Mulvey,
“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (620-32); UB Learns: Gilles Deleuze, “Affection
Image,” Paisley Livingston, “The Masks of Violence;” Hamish Ford, Post-War Modernist
Cinema and Philosophy: Confronting Negativity and Time, excerpts.
Preview: Persona, Ingmar Bergman, 1966 (1 hr 25 mins)
Write a summary of “Cinema as Mirror and Face” and connect it to two video essays of your
choice. Write a short analysis of Persona or any film of your choice focusing on the concept of
the mirror in film. Please rely on the Mirror as a “screen metaphor” in the context of the
framework of Psychoanalysis (be sure to provide frame grabs from the film). In your response,
please rely on the assigned chapter and two additional articles. Includes peer feedback on one
film post.
Due: March 13
Week 7, March 16. Film Viewing and Independent Work.
Chapter Journals; Film Analysis; Peer Feedback
Please write a summary of “Cinema as Eye – Look and Gaze” and connect it to two video essays
of your choice. Write a short analysis of Peeping Tom or any film of your choice focusing on the
concept of the eye and gaze in film. Please rely on the eye/gaze in the context of feminist
theories (be sure to provide frame grabs from the film). In your response, please rely on the
assigned chapter and two additional articles. Includes peer feedback on one film post.
Due: March 20
Watch: Peeping Tom, Michael Powell, 1960 (1 hr 40 mins)
Week 8. March 23 Invited Artist’s Talk: Tanya Stadelmann, The Healing Power of Nature
in an Era of Pandemic: Eco-documentaries and Ecotherapy, College of William and Mary
Screening: Nurture with Nature: a Story of Ecotherapy, Tanya Stadelmann and Dorothy Ibes
(2020)
Readings: Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses: “Cinema as Skin and Touch;” UB
Learns: Readings on eco-documentaries as a film genre, TBD.
Week 9, March 30 Film Viewing and Independent Work.
Chapter Journals; Film Analysis; Peer Feedback
Please write a summary of “Cinema as Skin and Touch” and connect it two video essays of your
choice. Write a short analysis of Repulsion or any film of your choice focusing on the concept of
the skin and touch in film. Please rely on skin/touch in the context of new theories of
embodiment (be sure to provide frame grabs from the film). In your response, please rely on the
assigned chapter and two additional articles of your choice. Includes peer feedback on one film
post.
Due: April 3
Watch: Repulsion, Roman Polanski, 1965 (1hr 45 mins)
Week 10, April 6. Film Theory of the Senses: Skin and Touch. Haptic Perception.
Cinematic Body: Film’s Skin. Ear and Sound. Embodied Spectatorship and the Affective
Turn. Synesthesia and Film Theory. Absence in Cinema: Image and Sound. Breath
Studies.
Readings: Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses: “Cinema as Ear – Acoustics and
Space;” Film Theory and Criticism: Linda Williams, “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess”
(537-52); Cynthia Freeland, “Feminist Frameworks for Horror Films” (563-580); Barbara Creed,
“Kristeva, Femininity, Abjection;” S. Eisenstein, V. Pudovkin and G. Alexandrov, “Statement on
Sound” (256-59). UB Learns: Laura Marks, The Skin of the Film, excerpts; Jennifer Barker, The
Tactile Eye, excerpts; Justin Remes, Absence in Cinema, excerpts.
Preview: Touch the Sound: A Sound Journey with Evelyn Glennie (2004), Thomas
Riedelsheimer (1hr 50 mins)
Week 11, April 13. Film Viewing and Independent Work.
Chapter Journals; Film Analysis; Peer Feedback
Please write a summary of “Cinema as Ear – Acoustics and Space” and connect it to two video
essays of your choice. Write a short analysis of Touch the Sound or any film of your choice
focusing on the concept of ear and acoustics in film. Please rely on ear/hearing in the context of
new theories of embodiment (be sure to provide frame grabs from the film). In your response,
please rely on the assigned chapter and two additional articles of your choice. Includes peer
feedback on one film post.
Due: April 17
Watch: Solaris (1972), Andrey Tarkovsky
Week 12, April 20. Brain and Body: Cognitivist Theories. Digital Cinema, Post-Cinema,
and the Embodied Approach.
Readings: Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses: “Cinema as Brain – Mind and
Body;” “Digital Cinema and Film Theory – the Body Digital.” Film Theory and Criticism:
David Bordwell, “The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice” (580-94); Kristen Daly, “Cinema
3.0: The Interactive Image” (777-795), Kristen Whissel, “The Digital Multitude” (757-777). UB
Learns: Thomas Elsaesser, “The Mind-Game Film;” “An Escape Into Reality”: Computers,
Special Effects, and the Haunting Optics of Westworld (1973), Colin Williamson; How to Live
Together with Her (2013): Posthuman Forms of Roland Barthes’ Idiorrhythmy, Max Bergmann
Preview: Her (2013, Spike Jonze)
Week 13, April 27. Sense of Smell: Olfactory Cinema. Sense of Taste: Food Films and
“Edible Cinema.”
Readings: UB Learns: Laura Marks, “The Logic of Smell;” Anne Bower, “Watching Food: The
Production of Food, Film and Values;” Michael Ashkenazi, “Food, Play, Business and the Image
of Japan in Itami Juzo’s Tampopo.
Preview: Tampopo (1985), Juzo Itami (1hr 55 mins)
Please write a summary of “Cinema as Brain – Mind and Body” and connect it to two video
essays of your choice. Write a short analysis of Solaris or any film of your choice focusing on
the concept of the brain and mind in film. Please rely on brain/mind in the context of new
theories of embodiment (be sure to provide frame grabs from the film). In your response, please
rely on the assigned chapter and two additional articles of your choice. Includes peer feedback on
one film post.
Due: May 1
Week 14, May 4. Film Viewing and Independent Work.
Chapter Journals; Film Analysis; Peer Feedback
Please write a summary of “Digital Cinema and Film Theory – the Body Digital” and connect it
to the video essay listed under the current chapter on the digital website. In addition to this essay,
I will also ask you to analyze one video essay of your choice from the journal of videographic
criticism called [in]Transition: http://mediacommons.org/intransition/archives Please provide
a link to your chosen video essay.
Write a short analysis of Her or any film of your choice focusing on the concept of digital modes
and body in film. Please rely on new digital theories of embodiment (be sure to provide frame
grabs from the film). In your response, please rely on the assigned chapter and two additional
articles of your choice. Includes peer feedback on one film post.
Watch: 2-3 video essays from the journal of videographic criticism called [in]Transition:
http://mediacommons.org/intransition/archives
Due: May 8
Final Papers Due: May 15