Spring 2013: World Cinema Course FVS 491/LC 490
Prof. Allert (allert@purdue.edu) no prerequisites, all welcome, no more than 40
MW: 10:30-11:20 am in SC G039 and screenings M: 6:30- 9:20 pm in SC 239
Course Description: This course is designed to develop your own reading, speaking, writing, and critical thinking skills and especially to improve your visual competency, your awareness for and knowledge of select aspects from multiculturalism and transnational cinema. The course will strengthen your ability in reading, decoding, and interacting with the medium of film considering a variety of cultures and historical backgrounds. It aims at visualcy, the competence to see accurately, to understand aspects of cinematography, and to help you to understand a spectrum of international films with respect to cultural and historical data. It will give you certain tools and key insights into film studies, thus promoting cultural literacy.
Course Requirements: Expected are an inquisitive, open mind, a sincere interest in the course materials, regular class attendance, and active participation. Please do the readings and viewings as listed for homework and come to class well prepared. Course objectives are: knowledge about the films on the syllabus, insights into their cultural and historical contexts, applying key concepts of cinematography and film theory, communicative & writing skills. Grades consist 1/3 of oral participation and presentations (100 points) and 2/3 of written work based on this specific class. Written work for this course consists of 12 response papers to films as screened on Monday evenings in class (12 X 5 points max=60 points), your written answers to homework questions (20 points), one or two Quizzes (20 points), a Take-Home Midterm (50 points), and a Final Take-Home-Exam or Research Paper (50 points). 300 points equals an A. Plagiarism yields F, so please document all you sources properly MLA style.
RequiredTextbook:
Traditions in World Cinema by Linda Badley, R. Barton Palmer, et al. (Rutgers UP, 2006
(ISBN-13: 978-0813538747).
Films (at least 14 out of these 16 films will be shown in class Spring 2013)
Wilhelm Murnau. Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens ( Nosferatu: A
Symphony of Terror ). 1922. Germany. 94 min. Horror. See our textbook:
Traditions , chap. 1.
Sergei Eisenstein. Bronenosez Potjemkin ( Battleship Potemkin ) 1925. Soviet
Union. 75 min. Political Drama.
Roberto Rossellini. Roma: città aperta ( Rome: Open City). 1945. Italy. 100 min.
War Drama. Traditions , chap. 2.
Ishiro Honda. Gojira ( Godzilla ). 1954. Japan. 96 min. Horror. Traditions , chap.
15.
Ingmar Bergman. Smultronstallet ( Wild Strawberries ). 1957. Sweden. 91 min.
Family drama.
Jean-Luc Godard. Au bout de souffle ( Breathless ). 1960. France. 90 min. Drama.
Traditions , chap. 3.
Roman Polanski. Nóz w wodzie ( Knife in the Water ). 1961. Poland. 94 min.
Drama.
V ě ra Chytilová [female].
Sedmikrásky ( Daisies ). 1966. Czechoslovakia. 74 min.
Dadaist comedy. Traditions , chap. 5.
Subhash Ghai. Khal Mayak ( The Villain ). 1993. India. 190 min.. Musical.
Traditions , chap. 13. Region 2.
Jane Campion [female]. The Piano. 1993. New Zealand/Australia. 121 min.
Historical drama
Tahmineh Milani [female]. Do zan ( Two Women ). 1999. Iran.96 min. Or: Zan-e ziadi ( Unwanted Woman ). 2005. Iran. 103 min. Feminist drama. Traditions , chap. 12.
Dogma no. 12. [Lone Scherfig (female)]. Italiensk for begyndere ( Italian for
Beginners ). 2000. Denmark. 112 min. Family drama. Traditions , chap. 6.
Fernando Meirelles. Cidade de Deus ( City of God ). 2002. Brazil. 130 min. Urban drama. Traditions , chap. 8.
Fanta Régina Nacro [female.
La nuit de la vérité ( The Night of Truth ). 2004.
Burkina Faso. 100 min. Political drama. Traditions , chap. 12.
Tian Zhuangzhuang. Xiao cheng zhi chun ( Springtime in a Small Town ). 2002.
China. 116 min. Family drama. Traditions , chap. 14.
Yasemin Samdereli [female]. Almanya
–
Willkommen in Deutschland ( Almanya
–
Welcome to Germany ) . 2011 . Turkey. 101 min. Region 3.