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321:01 World Cinema II
Fall 2011
Professor Meheli Sen
Email: meheli.sen@rutgers.edu
Lucy Stone Hall, B305
Class: TF 1: 9:15-10:35
Screening: T 78: 7:15-10:05
Office Hours TF: 11-12,
Douglass Student Center, 2nd Floor
Course Description
This course will explore dominant cinematic traditions of the world since the 1950s. In addition to
studying the social and cultural contexts within which cinematic texts generate meaning, we will also
engage with transnational dialogue between film cultures and movements. We will consider the
validity of a number of concepts such as counter cinema, first, second and third cinema, and thirdworld cinema, focusing in particular on the interplay between local traditions and transnational
industrial and artistic practices.
Learning Goals
By the end of semester students will be able to:
*explain major developments in world filmmaking styles and techniques from the 1950s to the present.
*analyze the degree to which forms of human difference shape subjectivities as evidenced through the
medium of film.
*analyze different ways in which film texts from around the world reflect and shape specific histories,
values, languages, cultures and technologies, as well as prompt viewers critically to examine those
phenomena and, in some cases, effect change.
Format:
This course is structured on a Tuesday to Friday schedule. I will present new material every Tuesday
and we will discuss readings assigned, as well as view in-class clips. Then, we will watch a film
together as a class every Tuesday evening. On Friday, classes will be held in a seminar/workshop
format in which we discuss the readings in relation to the screened film. It will not work unless all of
us are prepared to engage with the texts with care and attention. The task of making the discussions
challenging and lively is not the sole responsibility of the presenter; every student is expected to
contribute to class discussions.
Course Requirements
Students will take an in-class midterm exam on Friday October 28th. This exam will include short
answers (fill in blanks, matching, etc.) with at least 2 essay questions.
Students will take a take-home final exam at the end of the term. This exam will focus on essays on
cultural and film analyses.
Each student must write a two-paragraph response to 10 films screened over the course of the term
in the appropriate Sakai folder. These paragraphs must go beyond summary to demonstrate thoughtful
engagement with the films. This response must be posted by 12:00 noon on Thursday. Questions will
be posted ahead of time and late responses will not count.
Each student will prepare and lead the class discussion once during the semester. This requires
reading the assigned material ahead of time to prepare a short response and questions for group
discussion. Feel free to talk to me about your ideas ahead of time; also email me an outline of your
presentation by 6 PM on Thursday. Students will make these presentations on Fridays.
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Informed participation in our classroom discussions is highly encouraged. Do not take this course if
you are unable to attend weekly screenings. If you miss a screening, it is your responsibility to procure
the film and post your response by noon on Thursday. Informed participation requires having watched
and thought about screened films, having read all assigned material and being present in class to talk
about them.
Attendance/Decorum
If you miss more than four classes (excused or unexcused), YOU FAIL THE COURSE. If you miss
more than two classes (excused or unexcused), your participation grade will be reduced by half a grade
for every additional absence (for example, if you receive a B as a participation grade but have three
absences, you will receive a C+ as a participation grade). A pattern of lateness will also adversely
affect your grade (in general 2 lates = 1 absence), and I really discourage it because it is so disruptive
to the class. Likewise, leaving class once it has begun is also discouraged and a pattern of such
behavior will adversely affect your participation grade. If you are late or absent, it is your
responsibility to find out what you missed. For screenings, viewing a film on a large screen allows you
to notice details which your television set obscures. It also creates class community by viewing films
together. (In fact, if you cannot attend the screenings, you should drop the course.)
No eating or drinking in the classroom please. Observe proper decorum during screenings: refrain from
talking, turn off cell phones, and limit food and beverage to those appropriate to film viewing (i.e., a
Coke is okay, a Whopper is not okay). Please do not use laptop computers or other electronic
gadgets during class or screenings; these can be very distracting for everyone around you. The
screenings are a time for serious viewing, not only for your entertainment; you should be taking
copious notes on pertinent features of each film to prepare for discussion and exams (I recommend a
penlight or small flashlight to help you see your writing). No pets or guests are allowed at screenings.
Anyone talking, booing, taking cell phone calls or otherwise disrupting a screening will be asked to
leave.
Academic Misconduct: You should be aware that academic misconduct entails severe penalties and
incurs the resentment of honest students. The most common form of academic misconduct is
plagiarism. It is your responsibility as a student to familiarize yourself with the rules of academic
citation. Briefly, plagiarism is using the words, thoughts, ideas, writings, or artistic works of someone
else and passing them off as one’s own, without complete citation in footnotes, endnotes, or internal
citations. In the Internet era, it is quite easy to copy text off the Internet and forget to cite it in your
paper. It is equally easy to catch you! Please, acknowledge all sources, and WHEN IN DOUBT,
CITE THE SOURCE. Each student bears the responsibility of familiarizing herself/himself with the
University’s policies and procedures involving academic misconduct, grievances, sexual and ethnic
harassment, and discrimination based on physical handicap. No behaviors in violation of these policies
will be tolerated in this class.
Read the following:
It is vital that every student understand that this syllabus forms an implied contract. I seek to share
their knowledge and analytical skills. In return, the student is understood to be in regular attendance,
both physically and mentally. The schedule of readings/screenings may change. The exams are due
when they are due; the reading assignments are to be read and films viewed. There will be no
incompletes given in the course, and late work will be permitted only in the most serious
circumstances (family emergency or illness), which must be documented to my satisfaction.
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Grading
Midterm Exam:
Final Exam:
Presentation:
Sakai Responses:
Participation:
20%
30%
20%
20%
10%
Textbooks
Bordwell and Thompson Film History: An Introduction (FH)
Linda Badley et. al. Traditions in World Cinema (TIWC)
*All other articles and essays will be uploaded to Sakai
Friday, September 2
Week 1
Tuesday, September 6
Screening:
Friday, September 9
Week 2
Tuesday, September 13
Class Schedule
Introduction
Italian Neo-realism
FH p. 330-340,
TIWC Ch-2
The Bicycle Thief (DeSica, 1948)
*Nowell-Smith “The Resilience of Neo-Realism”
Screening:
Friday, September 16
The French New Wave
FH p. 407-414
TIWC Ch-3
The 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1959)
*Philips “Youth and Entrapment…”
Week 3
Tuesday, September 20
Screening:
Friday, September 23
New German Cinema
TBA
Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (Fassbinder, 1974)
*Chaudhuri “An Anatomy of Resistance”
Week 4
Tuesday, September 27
Screening:
Friday, September 30
The Japanese New Wave
FH p.432-434
Woman in the Dunes (Teshigahara, 1963)
*Wada-Marciano “Ethnicizing the Body and Film..”
Week 5
Tuesday, October 4
Japanese Cinema II: The Horrific Avant Garde
FH p. 632-637
TIWC Ch-15
Ju-on (Shimizu, 2002)
*Nelson “Ghosts of the Past…”
*McRoy “Ghosts of the Present, Specters…”
Screening:
Friday, October 7
Week 6
Tuesday, October 11
Screening:
Indian Cinema I: Old Masters and New Waves
FH p.373-377, 621-626
TIWC Ch-13
Pather Panchali (Ray, 1955)
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Friday, October 14
*Majumdar “From Neorealism to Melodrama”
Week 7
Tuesday, October 18
Screening:
Friday, October 21
Indian Cinema II: Global Bollywood
*Dudrah “The Essential Bollywood”
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Johar, 2001)
No Class!!
Week 8
Tuesday, October 25
Screening:
Friday, October 28
Brazilian Cinema Novo
FH p. 432-438
TIWC Ch-8
Black God, White Devil (Rocha, 1963)
In-class Midterm!!
Week 9
Tuesday, November 1
Screening:
Friday, November 4
Latin America & “Third Cinemas”
FH p.497-507
Memories of Underdevelopment (Alea, 1968)
*Kernan “Cuban Cinema: Tomas Gutierrez Alea”
Week 10
Tuesday, November 8
Fifth Generation Chinese Cinema and Beyond
FH p. 637-643
TIWC Ch-14
Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou, 1991)
*Cui “The Cinematic Orient…”
*Ning Ma “Signs of Angst and Hope”
Screening:
Friday, November 11
Week 11
Tuesday, November 15
Screening:
Friday, November 18
Hong Kong Cinemas
FH p.647-652
In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
*Yue “ITMFL: Intersections of Hong Kong..”
*Teo “ITMFL: Like a Ritual…”
Week 12
Tuesday, November 22
New Iranian Cinema
FH p. 608-611
TIWC Ch-12
Through the Olive Trees (Kiarostami, 1994)
*Chaudhuri “The Open Image…”
*Bransford “Days in the Country”
Screening:
Friday, November 25
Week 13
Tuesday, November 29
Screening:
Friday, December 2
South Korean Film
FH 655-658
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Chan-wook, 2002)
*Yecies “Double Take on Vengeance”
Week 14
Tuesday, December 6
Screening:
Friday, December 9
Cinemas of Africa
FH p.507-509, 601-605
Ceddo (Sembene, 1977)
*Rosen “Discursive Spaces and Historical Time”
Week 15
What we have learned and unanswered questions
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Tuesday, December 13
FINAL EXAM DUE