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FILM 20A: The Film Experience
Spring 2009, UC Santa Cruz
Instructor: Jesse Fankushen, Communications 105, ph (831) 459-1354
Office hours: Tues 11am-1pm, or by appointment, jfankush@ucsc.edu
Course website: http://fdm.ucsc.edu/~jfankush/20a/
Lectures: Tuesday, Thursday: 2pm-3.45pm (Oakes 105)
Screenings: Tuesdays, 4.00pm-7.00pm (Oakes 105)
Teaching Assistants:
Wed 10:00 am & 11:15 am sections:
Wed 12:30 pm & 1:45 pm sections:
Thurs 10:00 am & 11:15 am sections:
Chris Newman | cnewman@ucsc.edu
Joshua McVeigh-Shultz | jmcveigh@ucsc.edu
Michael Treanor | micitari@ucsc.edu
Course description: This course is an introduction to the critical, formal analysis of film. It will assist you in
developing a critical vocabulary and methodology for analyzing films. You will learn to identify and analyze
mise-en-scène, editing, cinematography, and sound, and you will develop an understanding of how each is
utilized as part of filmic discourse. You’ll also be introduced to important historical and theoretic approaches
to film study. The course will mostly concentrate on Hollywood narrative films, although we will also discuss
alternatives to Hollywood.
Requirements and assignments:
Lectures & Screenings:
Attendance at both lectures and screenings is mandatory. Lectures will explore the topics for the week and
will amplify and extend the issues raised in the reading material, and will include clips and discussion. If you
miss a screening, it is your responsibility to locate and view the film you miss before your section and the
Thursday lecture.
Discussion sections:
Discussion sections will continue the week’s topics, with the opportunity for more intensive analysis of films
and reading for the week and for discussion of films not screened on the course. Attendance at sections is
required. Missing more than two sections is grounds for failure.
Readings:
Please complete all reading for the week prior to the Tuesday lecture. Reading will be referred to in the
lectures, and you should be prepared to discuss it. Give thought to your reading assignments. Take notes
on the readings. I encourage you to ask questions on materials presented throughout the course. Please
complete study of the week’s DVD-ROM material before your section.
All assignments must be completed in order to pass this course.
Paper 1: (20%) Sequence analysis. Approx. 1500wds. Due in class, April 28.
Midterm exam: (20%) Multiple-choice and short answer questions covering films, lectures,
Reading, and DVD-ROM study to date (20%). Given in class, May 7.
Paper 2: (20%) Analytical film essay. Approx. 1800wds. Due in class, June 2.
Final exam: (30%) To cover all course materials. Thursday, June 11, 8am-11am. Please plan
accordingly: you are responsible for being present at this date and time and make-ups are not
offered. Students with disabilities must request special exam accommodations no later than two
weeks into the course. More exam info from the registrar: http://reg.ucsc.edu/soc/2092/finals.html
Participation and attendance: (10%). You are required to attend all lectures, screenings, and
discussion sections, and to participate fully in discussions. If an absence is unavoidable, please
advise your TA in advance whenever possible.
Papers are due in hard copy at the date and time noted. No late work accepted without prior
approval of instructor or TA. Late work without prior approval is accepted only upon
instructor discretion and will lose half a grade per day if accepted.
Your papers and exams will be graded by your teaching assistant, under the supervision of the
course instructor.
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Required texts:
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1. Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White, The Film Experience, Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004, 1 ed.
(also available on 2-hr reserve at the McHenry Library)
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2. Kolker, Robert. Film, Form and Culture (DVD-ROM only, 3 edn). The DVD-ROM is also on reserve at
the Media Center in McHenry.
Additional reading may be posted to the course website. I will let you know if and when I post such
readings.
Reserve items at McHenry Media Center:
Many (but not all) of the films on the course are held on reserve at the Media Center so that you may view
them again when preparing for papers and exams. Be aware that some of these materials may not always
be available.
Course Fees: A course fee of $2 is charged for this course.
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT POLICY:
Any act of academic misconduct during the course, including plagiarism, will result in failure of the
course.
Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic
dishonesty. Your case will be reported to the College Provost as per the Academic Integrity guidelines
found on the web at:
http://www.ucsc.edu/academics/academic_integrity/undergraduate_students/
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CLASS AND SCREENING SCHEDULE:
1. (Mar 31 & Apr 2): Introduction to The Film Experience.
Screening:
Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
Reading:
Introduction, Film Patterns & Forms
Corrigan and White: 5-39.
Kolker (DVD-ROM): Introduction: Film and Representation
2. (Apr 7 & Apr 9): Mise-en-scène
Screening:
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
Lectures:
Representations, Classic Cinema
Reading:
Corrigan and White: 42-74, 327-41.
Kolker: Mise-en-scène; Lighting.
3. (Apr 14 & Apr 16): The Shot: Mise-en-scene and Cinematography
Screening:
Sunset Blvd (Billy Wilder, 1950)
Lectures:
Cinematography, the long take.
Reading:
Corrigan and White: 75-109, 342-352
Kolker: The Long Take; Camera,
4. (Apr 21 & Apr 23): Editing 1.
Screening:
The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1970)
Lectures:
Continuity editing, filmic space & time
Reading:
Corrigan and White, 110-144.
Kolker: Continuity Editing, Comparison of Three Films
***SEQUENCE ANALYSIS DUE, April 28 at lecture, 2pm.***
5. (Apr 28 & Apr 30): Editing 2
Screening:
The Limey (Steven Soderbergh, 1999)
Lectures:
Discontinuity editing; editing alternatives
Reading:
Corrigan and White: 145-165,
Kolker: Montage
6. (May 5 & May 7): Sound
Screening:
Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (Sam Peckinpah, 1973)
Lectures:
Sound; point of view
Reading:
Corrigan and White: 166-211
Kolker: Sound and Music, Point of View
***THURS May 7: IN-CLASS MIDTERM, 2pm-3:45pm***
7. (May 12 & May 14): Narrative and Genre
Screening:
Odds Against Tomorrow (Robert Wise, 1959)
Lecture:
Narratives; storytelling, characters, Genres: Form & Function
Reading:
Corrigan and White: 214-256; 288-323; 352-364.
Kolker: Genre.
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8. (May 19 & May 21): Documentary Film
Screening:
Who Killed Vincent Chin? (Renee Tajima-Pena/Christine Choy, 1987)
Lectures:
Documentary forms & considerations
Reading:
Corrigan and White: 257-287, 474-483
Kolker: Montage
9. (May 26 & May 28): Widening Perspectives
Screening:
La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995)
Lectures:
Beyond Hollywood, Global cinemas
Reading:
Corrigan and White: 365-383, 437-450, 484-491
10. (Jun 2 & June 4): Theories: Gender, sexuality, ideology.
Screening:
Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
Lectures:
Oppositional readings, Film theories, Cultural contexts
Reading:
Corrigan and White: 383-408, 450-473, 491-502.
***ANALYTICAL FILM ESSAY DUE, JUNE 2 at lecture 2pm.***
FINAL EXAM: Thursday, June 11, 8:00–11:00 A.M.
NB: Please note that this syllabus is subject to change during the quarter. Any changes will be
announced in class and electronically (website and/or email).
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