CONTEMPORARY FILM HISTORY
THEATER ARTS 7B - 3 Units
Instructor: Susan Hunt
Spring Semester 2012
Office Hour: Weds., 4:00-4:30PM in R-118
Messages: sehunt@pasadena.edu
COURSE FORMAT
: Class meets Mondays & Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:05PM beginning
February 22 and ending June 13. Films-on-video will be screened each class period, followed or preceded by lecture, discussion and/or activities. There will be one 15-minute break. This syllabus serves as a contract between you and me for the class. Your continued presence indicates your compliance with the course structure, policies and procedures in this document.
This syllabus contains most information you will need about reading assignments, exam and activity dates, project due dates, etc. Bring this syllabus with you to every class meeting & consult it regularly.
COURSE DESCRIPTION :
Survey of national and international film movements and developments from the 1950s to the present with special attention given to the influence of
Hollywood studios and directors in the world of cinema, art and ideas. A word about film history: film history is NOT amusing stories about people who were “born talented.”
Movies and directors considered “great” are a product of a complex interaction between (1) technology, (2) economics, (3) social factors and events, and (4) artistic traditions across various arts. We will study all of the above. WARNING: This is not the class for those want or expect trivia.
STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
:
(1) Students will be able to identify the major developments and events in contemporary film history as demonstrated on quizzes and/or examinations.
(2) Students will be able to identify major figures and their contributions to contemporary motion picture history as demonstrated on quizzes, examinations and/or writing assignments.
(3) Students will be able to identify major films in contemporary motion picture history as demonstrated on quizzes and/or exams. ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to identify major film movements that arose in the contemporary period of film history.
(4) Students will be able to analyze motion picture style, mise en scene, theme and presentation as demonstrated through class discussion (participation) and writing assignments.
ADDITIONAL COMPETENCIES: (A) students will be able to identify film themes and relate them to their historical context as demonstrated through class discussion, exercises and exams,
(B) students will visually identify and name the artistic elements used to compose film images
(shots); students will visually identify and name the editing devices used to connect the shots; students will name the six parts of a story structure and identify their occurrence in specific films as demonstrated through class exercises and exams.
(5) ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE: Students will understand how the work of current film directors has been influenced by past U.S. and international directors by comparing current film styles with those of earlier directors & film movements; demo through class exercises and exams.

TEXTBOOKS : Contemporary Film History, 1 st Ed. by William R. Foster
ISBN: 978-0-7575-7637-9
Course Booklet by Susan Hunt (for the creative process)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS : This must be understood up front: your grade in this class is based on your completion of the required work, not on extra credit work or bargaining with me . If you don’t take notes in class, don’t pay attention, mess around with phone, and/or cut out of class early, etc., don’t even bother telling me that you need a good grade in the class.
This course is graded on a point system. Total possible points will equal around 700, although the points for exercises and reading quizzes listed below may deviate from the numbers listed.
Grading rubrics will be included on each assignment. Assignments and their point value:
100 ---- Term Paper
100 ---- Disc. Ques.
250 ----- Exams
170 ----- Group Activities (4)
FINAL GRADE SCALE:
630 - 700 = A
560 - 629 = B
490 - 559 = C
80 ----- Participation 420 - 489 = D
1) EXAMS : Exams are comprised of primarily short answer questions with some multiple choice and fill-ins. The midterm will include a short essay section on a topic concerning major developments and events in film history ( SLO 1 ). You will research your topic in advance and can come to class with a one-page topic outline to help you write your essay .
EXAMS CAN ONLY BE MISSED FOR AN EMERGENCY that is corroborated with written proof.
An emergency is (1) serious illness or death of close family member, (2) student’s illness corroborated by a physician, (3) jury duty, or (4) natural disaster such as earthquake or fire. If an exam is missed for any other reason, a make-up may be offered at the instructor’s discretion, but 10 points will be deducted from the top.
2) TERM PAPER : Students will do in-depth library (including online) research on a film movement (SLOs 2, 3 & 5) that occurred from the 1950s to the present.
3) GROUP ACTIVITIES : Groups are based on the collaborative learning method of teaching.
In groups of three, students work on an assignment together and submit one answer sheet. Group activities help students to identify film style, mise en scene, theme and presentation ( SLO 4 ), and also function as practice sessions for the exams. Students must attend class and participate in group to get full credit for the exercise. Groups can be made up, but 5 points will be deducted from your grade from the top.
4) DISCUSSION QUES.: Discussion Questions will be provided for each film we watch worth
25 points each. Students will choose 4 films on which to write for a total of 100 possible points.
Discussions Questions involve the themes of films that we watch in class as they are related to the historical events of the time (SLO 4), and/or the story structure & visual style of the film
(SLO 4).
5) PARTICIPATION: The 80 participation points are basically your points to lose. Five points will be deducted per occurrence of the following infractions: 1) texting or other activities on phones, pads, etc., 2) sleeping, 3) cutting out early, 4) side talking.

6) FILM SCREENINGS : If you miss a scheduled film screening you must watch the film outside of class and take a short quiz on it to prove you watched it. If you do not take the quiz, ten (10) points will be deducted from your final grade for each missed film.
CLASS PROCEDURES & COURSE POLICIES:
1) ATTENDANCE POLICY : Attendance will be taken at each class period. You are allowed one absence. FOR EACH ADDITIONAL ABSENCE - EMERGENCY OR NO
EMERGENCY - YOU MAY LOSE ONE LETTER GRADE FROM YOUR FINAL GRADE.
Attendance is taken after breaks as well. If you do not return after breaks, you will be marked absent for a portion of the class.
TARDINESS POLICY : If you arrive late and I have already begun lecturing, please enter and take a seat near the door, but you will be marked late in my roll book. Three "lates" are the equivalent of one absence.
2) ABSENCES: If you miss a class, you are responsible for obtaining lecture notes and other information from another classmate. Do not ask the instructor for notes or to re-deliver a lecture.
3) DROPPING THE COURSE: It is your responsibility to drop this course. If you wish to drop, do not just stop coming to class. This is very important; otherwise you will receive an “F” on your transcript. Deadlines are listed online under Academic Calendar.
CONTEMPORARY CINEMA – COURSE OUTLINE
DISCLAIMER: The instructor reserves the right to modify the course content (grading procedures, tests, etc.) as the situation dictates. The instructor will inform the students of any such changes via class announcements and/or e-mail.
NOTE: THE READING ASSIGNMENTS LISTED FOR A GIVEN DATE SHOULD BE
COMPLETED BEFORE CLASS BEGINS ON THAT DAY.
FEBRUARY 22 -- TOPICS: Introduction to Course - Syllabus
“Getting to Know You”
Stages & Roles in the Filmmaking Process
SCREENING: Elephant (2003), D: Gus Van Sant
FEB. 27 & 29 -- HISTORY: 1950s Historical Context, Directors & Actors
SCREENING: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), D: Nicholas Ray
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 1
MARCH 5 & 7 -- HISTORY: 1950s Directors & Actors, Decline of Film Industry,
Response to Decline
SCREENING: The Searchers (1956), D: John Ford, 119 min.
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 2; HUNT, pp. 2-8

MARCH 12 & 14 -- TOPIC: STYLE: Director as Artist; Shot, Scene, Sequence
PAIR/SHARE: SHOTS & SCENES (20 PTS.)
SCREENING: Psycho (1960), D: Alfred Hitchcock, 109 min.
READING: HUNT, pp. 61-75
MARCH 19 & 21 -- TOPIC: Director’s Role: Artistic Elements, Dramatic
Focus; Style; Classical Hollywood Style
GROUP ACTIVITY #1 - DIRECTOR’S ROLE (50 PTS.)
European Films
SCREENING: Excerpts from The Cutting Edge
Bonnie and Clyde (1967), D:Arthur Penn, 111 min.
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 4
APRIL 2 & 4 -- Review for Mid-Term Exam
HISTORY: European Art Cinema & French New Wave
SCREENING: Clips from European Art Cinema & French New Wave
Breathless (1959), D: Jean-Luc Godard, 89 min.
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 3
APRIL
APRIL
09 -- MID-TERM EXAM ON HISTORY & DIRECTOR’S ROLE - 125
11 --
STYLE: Screenwriter’s Role
READING: HUNT, pp. 11-43; FOSTER, pp. 201-208
HOMEWORK: Screenwriter Exercise – 50 Points
APRIL 16 – 20 -- PCC SPRING BREAK!
APRIL 23 & 25 -- HISTORY: New Wave (continued)
1970s Historical Context; New American Cinema
SCREENING: Annie Hall (1977), D: Woody Allen
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 5
HISTORY: Australian New Wave
SCREENING: The Last Wave (1977), D: Peter Weir
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 7 & pp. 216-219; HUNT, pp. 113-129

MAY 14 & 16 - TERM PAPER ASSIGNED - 100 PTS
HISTORY: 1980s Historical Context; Directors
African-American Filmmakers in Hollywood
SCREENING: Do the Right Thing (1989), D: Spike Lee, 120 min.
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 6
MAY 21 & 23 -- TOPIC: International Cinema in the 1990s & Beyond
SCREENING: The Road Home (2000); D: Yimou Zhang
MAY 28 - NO CLASS – MEMORIAL DAY
MAY 30 -- American Cinema in the 1990s to Present:
SCREENING: TBA
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 8
JUNE 4 & 6 – Review for Final Exam
HISTORY: New Wave Impact on the Present
SCREENING: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), D: Paul Greengrass
READING: FOSTER, Chapter 9 – pp. 219-226
FINAL EXAM
DATE TBA - TERM PAPERS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS
FINAL EXAM: HISTORY, EDITING, SCREENWRITING &
STYLE - 125 PTS