Faculty of Arts, Creative
Industries and Education
Film Studies
Referred Coursework (Component B)
2011-12
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CONTENTS
INSTRUCTIONS……………………………………………………………………………………….3
LEVEL 1 .................................................................................................................................... 4
UACPRE-30-1
ANATOMY OF FILM ................................................................................. 4
UACPAE-30-1
FILM CULTURES ...................................................................................... 6
UACAHB-30-1
SCREEN WORLDS ................................................................................... 9
UACPRJ-30-1
TOPICS IN FILM HISTORY .................................................................... 13
LEVEL 2 .................................................................................................................................. 15
UACPAH-30-2
CURRENTS IN FILM THEORY ............................................................... 15
UACAF5-30-2
FILM FORMS........................................................................................... 18
UACPAL-30-2
HOLLYWOOD ......................................................................................... 21
UACPRL-30-2
WORLD CINEMA ................................................................................... 23
LEVEL 3 .................................................................................................................................. 24
UACPCM-30-3
BRITISH NATIONAL CINEMAS.............................................................24
UACAHD-30-3
CINEMA, RACE AND ETHNICITY..........................................................26
UACPRF-30-3
FILM GENRES ........................................................................................ 27
UPZPMR-30-3
FILM AND PHILOSOPHY ....................................................................... 28
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INSTRUCTIONS
The work you need to do is set out in this booklet in Level and Module code order. If
you have any difficulty understanding what you have to do you must contact a
Student Adviser immediately by making an appointment through the Information
Point.
Should you need further information, or assistance with your referral you may be
able to contact the module leader by e-mail. Please however, remember that
academic staff will not necessarily be available over the summer vacation; you
should not expect to receive additional help.
The examinations, performances and presentations are scheduled from Monday 13th
August to Friday 24th August 2012. You will find out your examination timetable
through myUWE.
The submission date for all non-exam work is Monday 13th August 2012 by
2.00pm.
Online Submissions
Please note that some Level 1 assignments will need to be submitted online via
Blackboard. Please check each module description to see if it requires an online or a
hard-copy submission.
Hard-copy Submissions
Please use the myUWE assignment front sheet and submit the work by the closing
date of Monday, 13th August 2012 by hand delivery to the coursework boxes at St
Matthias Campus,
Or, by post addressed to:
Assessments Team
Canon Kitson Building - 1CK7
UWE - St Matthias Campus
Oldbury Court Road
Fishponds
Bristol
BS16 2JP
If you post the work to us it will have to be sent before 2pm on the day of the
deadline and you must obtain proof of postage. Please enclose a copy of the proof
of postage in the envelope as it will reduce any delay in processing your work.
Please also remember, it is essential that you keep a copy of the work for your own
records.
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LEVEL 1
UACPRE-30-1
ANATOMY OF FILM
Requirement
You are required to complete BOTH elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
**Please note BOTH elements must be submitted online.**
1.
Film Sequence Breakdown and 1,000 word analysis 25%
The Sequence Breakdown and Analysis aims to assess your ability to analyse in close detail
how a film sequence uses cinematic conventions and film ‘language’ to produce meaning. In
particular, it requires you to pay close, accurate attention to aspects of narrative,
cinematography, sound, mise-en-scène and editing, in order to analyse how these elements
work in relation to each other.
You must choose a sequence from one of the following films screened on the module all of
which are available in the Library (and from Amazon, Love Film, etc.):
The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999)
Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
a) Film Sequence Breakdown
The Breakdown consists of a thorough examination of the scene’s construction, and must
include detailed analysis of shots, framing, composition, camera movement, transitions, voice,
synch sound, sound effects and music. You will need to do a close repeated viewing of the
sequence in order to become familiar with how it is constructed. The Sequence Breakdown
should use the following template for each shot in the sequence. This template can be found
on UWE Online Blackboard. (This is an example of a single shot):
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b) 1000-word Sequence Analysis
Your 1000-word analysis will focus on how the cinematic techniques of the scene
(cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing, etc.) are all used to create meaning. To
be truly successful your analysis must move beyond identification of the different elements to
interpretation about how those elements are used to forward the narrative, define the
characters and illuminate the themes of the film. You are required to quote from sources and
provide a bibliography/filmography (which does not form part of the word count) in order to
situate your analysis within an appropriate academic and wider artistic framework.
The Sequence Breakdown and Analysis should conform to the following requirements:
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2.
Clear and concise in expression
Word processed with page numbers (the Analysis should be double line-spaced)
Grammatically correct and free of spelling mistakes
Clearly labelled with your student number
Quote from academic sources, using the correct academic referencing conventions as
outlined in Film Cultures.
Include a Bibliography and Filmography
Critical Self-Evaluation (1,500 words) 25%
The Critical Self Evaluation has a higher word count and a greater weighting (25%) for the
resit/referral. This is to make up for the absence of the 10% attendance mark that was
applied to the first sitting of the module. For this referral evaluation, you are therefore
expected to evaluate how your attendance affected your ability to complete the project first
time round.
The Self-Evaluation involves an individually written critique of the project and should include
the following:
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The rationale for the original idea and how the project developed in the course of
creation.
How is your practice situated within a wider critical and artistic context?
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What is the relationship between form and content?
What were the difficulties and rewards in shooting and editing?
How well have your intentions been realised?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the finished artefact?
Group dynamics and working relatiionships during the production process
What you learnt from peer critique of your project? (where applicable)
Evaluation of how attendance affected your ability to complete the project
The Self-Evaluation must also conform to the following requirements:
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Clearly labelled with your student number
Clear and concise in expression
Word processed, double line spaces, page numbers
Grammatically correct and free of spelling mistakes
Bibliography (including a filmography where appropriate)
UACPAE-30-1
FILM CULTURES
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
**Please note ALL elements must be submitted online.**
There are three elements to this Component:
1. Critical analysis (1000 words)
2. Essay with annotated bibliography (2000 words)
3. Self-reflection on attendance and module engagement (500 words)
Assessments are expected to show module knowledge, so make sure you prepare by
referring back to the teaching materials on the Film Cultures resit site on Blackboard. If you
have any questions, e-mail Kathrina.Glitre@uwe.ac.uk. Please note, other module tutors will
not be available for advice, and Kathrina will be taking a holiday at some point, so make sure
you allow plenty of time: don’t expect instant responses at this time of year.
1.
Critical Analysis (1,000 words) 20%
The critical analysis aims to assess your critical reading skills as well as your knowledge and
understanding of the first Block of the module, ‘Film and Culture – Text and Context’.
If you attempted but failed this assessment previously, make sure you re-read and respond to
the feedback you received.
Question
Choose one of the following readings (all of which are available electronically via the Film
Cultures Resit site on Blackboard, and in the St Matthias Library).
 Dyer, R. (1993) Brief Encounter. London: British Film Institute. Extract: ‘So English’, pp.
41-67 [n.b., this is a small book with pictures, so not as long as it sounds]
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 Higson, A. (2000) ‘The limiting imagination of national cinema’. In: Hjort, M. and
MacKenzie, S., eds, Cinema and Nation. London: Routledge, pp. 63-74.
 Purse, L. (2011) Contemporary Action Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press –
Extract: ‘The “European connection”’, pp. 170-81 [i.e., you do not have to write about pp.
81-88 which discuss Danny the Dog/Unleashed].
 Hunt, L. (2008) ‘Asiaphilia, Asianisation and the Gatekeeper auteur: Quentin Tarantino
and Luc Besson’. In: Hunt, L. and Leung, W-F., eds, East Asian Cinemas: Exploring
Transnational Connections on Film. London: I.B. Tauris, pp. 220-36.
Critically analyse your chosen reading, applying the argument to one of the films screened in
Weeks 2-4 of the module: Son of Rambow (2007), Brief Encounter (1945) or District 13
(2004). All three films are available online via the Library’s Box of Broadcasts resource (see
Blackboard for details).
Your critical analysis should aim to include:
a) Introduction: summarise the reading, identifying its approach to the subject, the main
points and issues raised (approximately 250 words)
b) Main body of the analysis: test out the argument by applying two or three key points to
one of the films screened during in Block 1 of the module, organising these points into
paragraphs (approximately 600 words).
c) Conclusion: consider the strengths and limitations of the author’s argument
(approximately 150 words).
Remember, you must also use correct academic referencing conventions to reference the
chosen reading and film. See the Guide to Referencing on Blackboard.
Assessment criteria
The critical analysis will be assessed in relation to the following criteria:
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2.
Critical understanding of the chosen reading
Ability to pay close and accurate attention to a film text
Ability to structure and substantiate a response to the question
Clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including correct
referencing, bibliography and filmography.
Essay with Annotated Bibliography (2,000 words total) 35%
The essay and annotated bibliography aim to assess your knowledge and understanding of
Block B: Cinematic Worlds and the Film Experience, as well as your study skills, including the
ability to find, evaluate and apply critical sources.
If you attempted but failed this assessment previously, make sure you re-read and respond to
the feedback you received.
Essay Question (approximately 1500 words)
Answer one of the following three questions:
1. Choose one of the following key concepts encountered in Block B:
a. Modernity
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b. Classical narrative and continuity editing
c. Perceptual realism
d. The imperial imaginary
Explain your understanding of this concept by analysing one of the films shown in this
block (n.b., it doesn’t have to be the film screened the week we studied the concept).
2.
Compare and contrast how two of the films shown in this block construct their cinematic
worlds. How do the films ‘position’ the viewer and to what effect? (n.b., your answer
should consider sound, as well as image.)
3.
Analyse how the voice and/or the gaze are used to represent gender and/or race in a
maximum of two films shown in Block B. (n.b., specify what you are doing in your title –
e.g., ‘The gaze and gender in The Piano (1993)’).
Annotated Bibliography (approximately 500 words)
All Film Studies assessments should be accompanied by a Bibliography (or References list)
giving full details of your sources of information, including films and internet sites (but not
lecture notes and handouts).
For this particular assessment, though, we want you to produce an annotated bibliography:
that is, for each item on the bibliography, you will provide a brief paragraph summarising the
text and evaluating how useful it was in helping you answer the essay question. You should
also evaluate what kind of information the text provided: was it appropriately academic/critical
in its approach? The aim of the exercise is to encourage students to develop their
independent learning and research skills.
The annotated bibliography should include 4 or 5 texts in total, preferably drawing on a range
of resources:
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Book chapters
Journal articles
Appropriate internet sources
Please note: All texts referred to in the essay should be included in the bibliography, but only
4 or 5 need to be annotated. Each text should be referenced fully and accurately, following
accepted referencing conventions (see ‘Guide to Referencing' handout on Blackboard).
Assessment criteria
The essay and annotated bibliography will be assessed in relation to the following criteria:
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Ability to structure and substantiate an argument in response to the question.
Ability to find, evaluate and apply relevant critical sources
Ability to analyse film texts in relation to relevant cultural/historical and critical contexts
Awareness of the wider cultural contexts in which films are produced and consumed
Clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including
correct referencing and annotated bibliography.
3.
Self-Reflection on attendance and module engagement (500 words) 10%
Since attendance at seminars cannot be assessed at the resit stage, the 10% attendance
mark is assessed through a self-reflective exercise instead.
This writing can take any form you like. The aim is to encourage you to recognise your own
learning style and how this relates to your attendance and module engagement. In particular,
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if attendance was a problem this year, then try to devise strategies for improving your
attendance and engagement next year. What will work for you?
Here are some potential things you could think about as part of this exercise:
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How do you learn best? (e.g., hands on practice, reading, discussing ideas, listening,
etc.)
How do your learning preferences relate to different kinds of module activities? (e.g.,
lectures, seminars, group work, workshops, tutorials, set readings, etc.)
What factors affected your attendance? (e.g., illness, difficulty getting up in the
morning, shyness, financial difficulties, anxiety, fear of being told off, etc.)
Are there areas you think you need to work on improving? (e.g., attendance, timemanagement, doing the set readings, talking to people you don’t know, self-discipline,
etc.)
If so, do you have any strategies for working on this?
Assessment criteria
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Ability to reflect on and articulate your strengths and skills
Ability to recognise problem areas and strategies for improvement
Clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including
correct referencing and annotated bibliography.
UACAHB-30-1
SCREEN WORLDS
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
**Please note ALL elements must be submitted online.**
There are three elements to the referral assessment:
1. Element One: Portfolio of 3 elements (weighting 40%)
2. Element Two: Case Study - Textual Analysis (weighting 25%)
3. Element Three: Key Concepts summary (weighting 10%)
Element One: Portfolio - Detailed requirements and advice, 2,500 words total
(weighting 40%)
You are asked to submit a portfolio containing 3 elements (2,500 words in total):1. A report of a film or TV programme of your choice (500 words)
2. A discourse analysis of the dominant identity constructed in a written newspaper
or magazine article of your choice (800 words)
3. A semiotic analysis of images provided on Blackboard (1200 words)
Take note of the different writing forms demanded by each element.
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The Report (500 words)
1. You must write a report of a film or TV programme of your choice (500 words)
2. You must fully reference your choice of film or TV programme (ie. For film use
recommended presentation conventions, OR if broadcast TV programme – name of
Programme, which Channel, time broadcast, year of broadcast OR if downloading,
web site and date downloaded.
3. Extrapolate the advice given for writing the Field Trip report.
4. Remember that a report needs to economically inform the reader of salient points.
The Discourse Analysis (800 words)
1. You must write a discourse analysis of the dominant identity constructed in a written
newspaper or magazine article of your choice.
2. You must employ the key concepts listed here:Discourse
Dominant/resistant discourse
Hegemony
Regime of knowledge
Knowledge and power
3. You must submit your chosen written, article.
4. You should focus on a single identity such as class, race, masculinity, femininity,
occupation etc. However, you may also reference any links to other identities that you
recognise.
5. You must support your answer through close reference to the details of the article.
The Semiotic Analysis (1,200 words)
Choose either option one OR option two of the images provided on Blackboard. You
are asked to produce a semiotic analysis.
1. Compare the different meanings produced by the two images you have selected.
2. You must employ at least three of the following key concepts in your analysis:Sign, signifier, signified
Denotation and connotation
Juxtaposition
Intertextuality
Ideology
Hegemony
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Element Two: Case Study – The textual analysis of moving image, 1,500 words
(weighting 25%)
You are asked to offer a textual analysis of two clips taken from Twilight Eclipse. These can
be found on Blackboard. In your analysis you must use the key concepts of cultural and
generic verisimilitude. You are also asked to explain:1)
2)
3)
4)
How ‘extra-human’ identities are represented in Twilight Eclipse.
How ‘normal’ identities are represented in Twilight Eclipse.
How racial difference is represented in the rivalry between Jake and Edward.
How passive femininity is represented by Bella.
You must support your case study with reference to at least 3 pieces of academic writing.
These may be from reading lists on other modules or independent research.
Your essay must demonstrate familiarity with some of the key concepts and analytical tools
introduced in workshops throughout the year, such as discourse, signification, denotation
and connotation, ideology, cultural capital, youth culture etc.
Your essay must also demonstrate familiarity with the meanings produced through the
techniques of moving image such as shots, cuts, mise en scene, soundtrack (not just
dialogue), framing, lighting etc.
Top Tips:
1) Stick to the clips. You do not need to discuss other scenes.
2) Support your points by close reference to the clips.
3) Do not confuse identity with character.
Element Three: Key concepts reflective summary, 500 words (weighting 10%)
Since attendance at seminars cannot be assessed at the resit stage, you are asked to reflect
on the usefulness of key concepts introduced in the module.
Write a 500 word reflection on two key concepts introduced on Screen Worlds module that
have helped you improve your critical and analytical skills. Explain how they helped change
your understanding screen worlds. Give concrete examples of how you were able to use
them.
NB. Lists of key concepts introduced can be found on page 5 of both semester one and two
handbooks
UACPRJ-30-1
TOPICS IN FILM HISTORY
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
**Please note ALL elements must be submitted online.**
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1.
Essay (2,000 words) 40%
Answer ONE of the following questions:
Question 1
Discuss how any TWO films shown on the module use representation of individuals and their
personal experiences and memories to comment on and represent wider historical and social
themes. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach? Your answer
should include close analysis of the films and draw on relevant set and further readings.
Question 2
Compare and contrast the use of different styles and cinematic techniques in films screened
in the module with the use of the conventions of realism in the representation of social and
historical reality. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these different approaches
and styles? Your answer should include close analysis of the films and draw on relevant set
and further readings.
Question 3
What are the major differences and similarities between the representation of war and/or
violent conflict in documentary and fiction films? Relate your answer to at least TWO films
shown on the module. Your answer should include close analysis of the films and draw on
relevant set and further readings.
2.
Portfolio on Specific Film Movement (1,500 words) 25%
Choose ONE of the film movements listed below:
German Expressionism
Soviet Montage
British Documentary in the 1930s: Grierson and the GPO unit
Italian Neo-realism
The French New Wave
Direct Cinema/Cinema Vérité
Third Cinema
Surrealism
Dogme 95
Drawing on set and further texts and readings, describe the movement and its historical/social
context. How can the movement be understood as a specific response to the particular
historical moment in which it arose? Drawing on TWO films belonging to the movement, one
must be the film screened in the module, consider how the themes and style of the films
reflect the concerns of the movements as a whole.
3.
Self-Reflective Statement (500 words) 10%
Since attendance at seminars cannot be assessed at the resit stage, the 10% attendance
mark is assessed through a self-reflective exercise instead.
The aim of the statement is to encourage you to think about your own performance and
engagement with the module this year. In particular, think about the relation between set
readings, lectures, screenings and seminars and compare your experience of weeks when
you did all of those things with other weeks when you only completed some of them. Think
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also about the relationship between the weekly tasks set in the module and your own learning
style and the effect this had on your attendance.
These are some of the things you may consider in your self-reflective statement:
•
How do the different components of a weekly topic work together?
•
How do your learning preferences relate to different kinds of module
activities? (e.g., lectures, seminars, tutorials, set readings, etc.)
•
What factors affected your attendance? (e.g., illness, difficulty getting up in
the morning, shyness, financial difficulties, anxiety, fear of being told off)
•
Are there areas you think you need to work on improving? (e.g., attendance,
time-management, doing the set readings, talking to people you don’t know,
self-discipline, etc.)
•
If so, do you have any strategies for working on this?
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LEVEL 2
UACPAH-30-2
CURRENTS IN FILM THEORY
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
1.
Comprehension Exercise (1,500 words) 25%
Answer the questions related to two of the following passages. Your answer should total
1500 words (approximately 350 words per question). You should include relevant examples
from films to support your points where appropriate.
1. From Jean Mitry, The Aesthetics and Psychology of the Cinema, 79
In the theater, the stage presents a three-dimensional space. The difference between its two
levels (behind and in front of the proscenium arch) separates two distinct worlds: on the one
hand, a real world and, behind the proscenium, a represented world; a true reality and an
imaginary reality. Yet the stage and the auditorium are part of the same physical space. The
proscenium arch is only a conventional boundary line and the actors, living out fictitious lives,
in a world made up of painted flats, nevertheless act in the same space (if not the same
frame) as that in which the audience sits.
In the cinema, we are seeing a moving image projected onto a flat surface which
becomes ‘separated’ from that surface and is presented in a spatial replica, i.e., in a place
detached from our own by a frame which defines and composes it. However, the represented
content is not a ‘represented’ reality. It is a reality (conventional or not) captured in its
concrete existence, an image with which we feel some sort of direct communication as if
perceiving it as we might the objects of which it is the image.
Thus represented reality is both the same as and different from actual reality: the
same, as ‘represented content,’ since the image datum is the image of reality; different, as
‘representation,’ because of the image-making properties which structure the image datum
and refer it to a noncontiguous space with different dimensional associations.
Questions:
1 a) How is space in the theatre divided? How does this differ from the spaces in the cinema?
1 b) In what ways is the represented reality of the film image the same as ‘actual’ reality, and
in what ways is the represented reality of the film image different from ‘actual’ reality?
2. From Roland Barthes, ‘Myth Today’, 127-8. The full version of this essay can be
found in Mythologies and at http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~marton/myth.html or
www.turksheadreview.com/library/barthes-mythtoday.pdf
How is a myth received? We must here once more come back to the duplicity of its signifier,
which is at once meaning and form. I can produce three different types of reading by focusing
on the one, or the other, or both at the same time.
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1. If I focus on an empty signifier, I let the concept fill the form of the myth without
ambiguity, and I find myself before a simple system, where the signification becomes literal
again: the Negro who salutes is an example of French imperiality, he is a symbol for it. This
type of focusing is, for instance, that of the producer of myths, of the journalist who starts with
a concept and seeks a form for it.
2. If I focus on a full signifier, in which I clearly distinguish the meaning and the form,
and consequently the distortion which the one imposes on the other, I undo the signification of
the myth, and I receive the latter as an imposture: the saluting Negro becomes the alibi of
French imperiality. This type of focusing is that of the mythologist: he deciphers the myth, he
understands a distortion.
3. Finally, if I focus on the mythical signifier as on an inextricable whole made of
meaning and form, I receive an ambiguous signification: I respond to the constituting
mechanism of myth, to its own dynamics, I become a reader of myths. The saluting Negro is
no longer an example or a symbol, still less an alibi: he is the very presence of French
imperiality.
The first two types of focusing are static, analytical; they destroy the myth, either by
making its intention obvious, or by unmasking it: the former is cynical, the latter demystifying.
The third type of focusing is dynamic, it consumes the myth according to the very ends built
into its structure: the reader lives the myth as a story at once true and unreal.
Questions:
2 a) What does Barthes mean by the duplicity of the signifier’s meaning and form?
2 b) What does it mean to live myth as a story at once true and unreal?
3. From Theodor W Adorno, ‘The Culture Industry Reconsidered’. The full version of
the essay can be found in Theodor W Adorno, The Culture Industry: Selected Essays
on Mass Culture
The culture industry fuses the old and familiar into a new quality. In all its branches, products
which are tailored for consumption by masses, and which to a great extent determine the
nature of that consumption, are manufactured more or less according to plan. The individual
branches are similar in structure or at least fit into each other, ordering themselves into a
system almost without a gap. This is made possible by contemporary technical capabilities as
well as by economic and administrative concentration. The culture industry intentionally
integrates its consumers from above. To the detriment of both it forces together the spheres
of high and low art, separated for thousands of years. The seriousness of high art is
destroyed in speculation about its efficacy; the seriousness of the lower perishes with the
civilizational constraints imposed on the rebellious resistance inherent within it as long as
social control was not yet total. Thus, although the culture industry undeniably speculates on
the conscious and unconscious state of the millions towards which it is directed, the masses
are not primary, but secondary, they are an object of calculation; an appendage of the
machinery. The customer is not king, as the culture industry would have us believe, not its
subject but its object. The very word mass-media, specially honed for the culture industry,
already shifts the accent onto harmless terrain. Neither is it a question of primary concern for
the masses, nor of the techniques of communication as such, but of the spirit which sufflates
them, their master’s voice. The culture industry misuses its concern for the masses in order to
duplicate, reinforce and strengthen their mentality, which it presumes is given and
unchangeable. How this mentality might be changed is excluded throughout. The masses are
not the measure but the ideology of the culture industry, even though the culture industry itself
could scarcely exist without adapting to the masses.
Questions:
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3 a) Why does Adorno describe the customer as the object rather than the subject of the
culture industry?
3 b) What does it mean for the masses to be ‘not the measure but the ideology of the culture
industry’?
4. From Joseph Bristow, ‘Psychoanalytic Drives’ in Sexuality 74.
In ‘The Dissolution of the Oedipus Complex’, Freud insists it is the ‘acceptance of the
possibility of castration, his recognition that women were castrated’ that enables the boy’s
Oedipus complex to come to a close. The castration complex has many implications for the
boy; (1) he understands that his mother is not ‘phallic’ like himself; (2) he cannot love his
mother, since that is his father’s right: and (3) he must develop alternative libidinal
attachments to a female object to secure his identity. Maintaining an identity, however,
involves more than establishing the heath of the ego, the term Freud uses to define the
psychic agency that negotiates between the unconscious forces of the id and the pressures
from the external world. Symbolic castration, which maintains itself culturally in the incest
taboo, leads to the formation of the superego, the psychic agency that reaches deep into the
id to act censoriously against the ego. The superego is where the subject internalizes cultural
prohibitions, such as the interdiction against sexual relations between sons and mothers. If
the boy eventually identifies with the authority of the parental superego, then he will enter the
period of latency in the years before puberty as a subject predisposed to heterosexual desire.
Questions:
4 a) What is the Oedipus complex? How does it relate to castration anxiety?
4 b) What is the relationship between the unconscious, the id and the superego?
Marking Criteria
The mark for this assessment counts as 25% of your total mark for the module. Each
question carries equally weight. Your answers should demonstrate that you comprehend the
key concepts as described in the extracts and can apply this understanding to analysis of a
relevant moment of film. Your answers should include a full bibliography and filmography.
2.
Essay (3,000 words) 50%
Answer one of the following questions. Your essay should draw upon a range of critical and
theoretical materials, and employ close textual analysis of at least one film shown on the
module (you may discuss others in passing, including relevant films not shown on the
module).
Answer one of the following questions:
1. Produce a critical analysis of one of the pieces of set reading for the module. You must
discuss at least two films from the module equally, and not depend disproportionately on
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the film shown in the same week as the reading was set.
2. Critically analyse one of the films one the module, using theoretical material from a
different block of the module.
3. Theorise the representation of one of the following in three films shown on this module:
race, class, gender, sexuality.
4. Discuss the relationships among reality, realism and representation with reference to three
films shown on this module.
Marking Criteria
The mark for this assessment counts as 50% of your total mark for the module. Your answer
should demonstrate that you comprehend the key concepts developed by your chosen
critical-theoretical approach/es and that you can apply this understanding to analysis of a
relevant moments of film/s, to entire films or genres, or to wider concerns regarding cinema.
Your essays can justify and support your chosen critical-theoretical approach/s, argue against
it and/or describe both its usefulness and limitations. In all cases you should aim to construct
an argument that is backed up with properly referenced and explained theoretical quotes and
detailed textual analysis. Your answers should include a full bibliography and filmography.
UACAF5-30-2
FILM FORMS
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
1.
Sequence Breakdown and Analysis (1,500 words) 25%
The Sequence Breakdown and Analysis will demonstrate your ability to pay close attention to
the fine detail of a sequence so as to develop an understanding of the relationship between
the various elements, and the use and meaning of cinematic conventions and film "language".
a) Film Sequence Breakdown
The Sequence Breakdown will consist of a close examination of a 3-minute scene of your
choice from one of the films screened on the module:
Peel (Jane Campion, 1982)
Down to the Cellar (Jan Svankmajer, 1982)
Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone, 1994)
Toy Story 2 (John Lassater and Ash Brannon 1999)
Code Unknown (Michael Haneke, 2000)
You will need to do a close repeated viewing of your chosen sequence in order to become
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familiar with how it is constructed. The Sequence Breakdown should use the following
template for each shot in the sequence. This template can be found on Blackboard/Referral
Assessments (this is an example of a single shot):
b) 1500-word Sequence Analysis
Your 1500-word analysis will focus on how the cinematic techniques of the scene
(cinematography, mise-en-scene, colour, performance, sound and editing, etc.) are all used to
create meaning. To be truly successful your analysis must move beyond identification of the
different elements to interpretation about how those elements are used to forward the
narrative, define the characters and illuminate the themes of the film. Your analysis should
state why you chose the sequence and what you have learned from the process of analysing
it. You are required to quote from sources and provide a bibliography (which does not form
part of the word count) in order to situate your analysis within an appropriate academic
framework.
The Sequence Breakdown and Analysis should conform to the following requirements:

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

Clearly labelled with your student number and the title of the film to be analysed.
Word-processed, using double line spacing (for the Analysis), with page numbers.
Grammatically correct and free of spelling mistakes.
Include a bibliography/filmography and quote from sources, using the correct academic
referencing conventions.
Assessment Criteria
In addition to the classification descriptors given in the Film Studies Programme Handbook,
the sequence breakdown and analysis will be assessed in relation to the following criteria:




Ability to conceptualize and interrogate film form, including close textual analysis of the
relationships between form, style and meaning, moving beyond description to detailed
interpretation of the significance of the cinematic techniques identified.
Critical understanding of the creative practices, formal strategies and conventions used
in the sequence, and of the critical and cultural contexts of these techniques, supported
by reference to appropriate reading and viewing.
Ability to situate the chosen sequence in relation to the rest of the film.
Comprehensive use of key terminology
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
Clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including
accurate referencing, Bibliography and Filmography in the Analysis and correct use of
template for the Breakdown.
2.
Evaluation (2,000 words) 25%
Your evaluation is an individual critique of the video project, 2000 words in length. The
evaluation should take the form of a reflexive essay (avoid diarizing, headings or bullet points)
in answer to the following question:
What is the relationship between the form of your project (both in terms of its style and the
technical and aesthetic filmmaking choice made) and its content (the subject matter /
narrative)?
Your answer could consider the following topics (do NOT use these as headings though):






The rationale for and creative development of the original idea and in what ways it
developed in the course of research.
Reflection on your crew role.
How well have your intentions been realised?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of your project?
In what ways does your project constitute Film Studies in practice?
What did you learn from the audience’s response?
You must also:




Include a cover sheet with the title of the video production and your student number.
Situate your practice within an appropriate theoretical and artistic context (i.e. reference
other works and quote from critics and theorists using the appropriate referencing
conventions).
Include a Bibliography / Filmography.
Append any other items you think may be useful.
Tips:
Avoid diarising or straightforward description: analyse, evaluate, reflect, synthesise, compare
and contrast. It is easy enough to describe what happened to you during the production;
however, you need to go beyond this to discuss the critical thinking behind your decisions,
and demonstrate an awareness of how the aesthetic and technical choices that were made
contribute to the meaning of the finished video. You are welcome to refer to evidence
supplied in the Production File.
Avoid using the evaluation to moan about any problems within the production or crew: these
are par for the course; how did you overcome them and what could you have done
differently? How well did your realise your intentions in your crew role? What are the learning
outcomes of your practical experience?
As with all written work your evaluation should be thoughtful and reflective.
Be sure to plan enough time to print out and proofread a hard copy of your work for:
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Structure and clear communication of ideas
Correct and accurate word usage
Correct grammar, punctuation and spelling
Assessment Criteria
In addition to the classification descriptors given in the Film Studies Programme Handbook,
the self-evaluation will be assessed in relation to the following criteria:
 Critical understanding of the formal strategies and conventions used by the different kinds
of films studied on the module, and the ability to situate your own practice within wider
critical and cultural contexts, supported by evidence of appropriate critical reading and
viewing.
 Ability to reflect upon creative practices, forms and conventions, demonstrating a critical
understanding of the medium and the technical, practical and aesthetic contexts of
production decisions.
 Ability to identify, engage with, and thoughtfully respond to, appropriate audiences for
your work.
 Clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including
accurate referencing, Bibliography and Filmography.
UACPAL-30-2
HOLLYWOOD
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
Assessments are expected to show module knowledge, so make sure you prepare by
referring back to the teaching materials and advice on the Hollywood resit site on Blackboard.
If you have any questions, e-mail Kathrina.Glitre@uwe.ac.uk. Please note, Kathrina will be
taking a holiday at some point, so make sure you allow plenty of time: don’t expect instant
responses at this time of year.
1.
Research Case Study (3,000 words) 50%
The case study aims to assess your ability to learn independently, as well as your knowledge
and understanding of the approaches and material covered in the second semester’s case
studies. If you attempted but failed the Research Case Study, make sure you re-read and pay
close attention to the feedback (available from Kathrina.Glitre@uwe.ac.uk).
Assignment brief
Develop your own research‐based case study, based on one of the following, broad areas:

Star studies

Hollywood cinema and US culture in the eighties

Transnational Hollywood cinema

Hollywood remakes
Your case study should focus on something much narrower and more specific within
that broad area.
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For the resit, I recommend you build on something we covered directly on the module – e.g.,
Marilyn Monroe as dumb blonde, or Hollywood remakes of Japanese horror. If you want to
develop something more independently, please make sure you agree this topic and title with
Kathrina by email.
Bear in mind, this is a ‘research case study’, not an ‘essay’. This has implications for how you
might organise and structure the assignment. For example, you might use sub‐headings or
have distinct sections or parts. This is one possible model:
•
Introduction: establish what the research is about. What is your topic and what do you
aim to achieve?
•
Critical framework: summarise the key approaches that are taken to your topic and
explain your methodology.
•
Case study: apply the framework and methods to your own choice of case study, to
work through the ideas.
•
Conclusion: sum up what your research has revealed. Evaluate the framework and
methods.
All students are strongly encouraged to discuss their ideas for the case study with me.
Assessment Criteria
The research case study will be assessed in relation to the following elements:

ability to develop and produce a small scale research project on a relevant topic in
Hollywood cinema and culture.

critical understanding of some central debates about the status and role of classic and
contemporary Hollywood films.

ability to produce close critical analyses of Hollywood film texts, while demonstrating an
awareness of the wider cultural, industrial and historical factors affecting meaning

ability to select, organise and evaluate research materials effectively.

clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including
correct referencing, bibliography and filmography.
2.
Essay (1,500 words) 25%
This essay aims to assess your knowledge and understanding of Weeks 1-5 of the module. If
you attempted but failed the assessment previously, make sure you re-read and respond to
the feedback you received (this is available from Kathrina.Glitre@uwe.ac.uk).
Answer one of the following questions:

‘In Hollywood, commerce and aesthetics are symbiotic’ (Maltby 2003: 11). What does
Maltby mean by this and do you agree? Your answer should focus on classical
Hollywood.

Maltby argues that ‘Hollywood production was cyclical, always seeking to replicate its
recent commercial successes’ (2003: 78). Discuss, paying close attention to a specific
cycle to support your argument.

What does Suspicion (1941) reveal about how the classical Hollywood film industry
operated?
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
What was the function of the Production Code and how did it effect the kinds of films
Hollywood produced?
Assessment Criteria
The essay will be assessed in relation to the following elements:

critical understanding of some central debates about the status and role of classic and
contemporary Hollywood films

ability to structure and substantiate an argument in response to the question

clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including correct
referencing, bibliography and filmography.
UACPRL-30-2
WORLD CINEMA
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
1. Short Essay (1,500 words) 25%
Read the following passage and answer the question below.
‘World cinema as a theoretical concept is destined not to definition
and closure but to ceaseless problematisation, always a work-inprogress, its ground beneath one’s feet forever shifting even as one
attempts to pin it down'
(Dennison and Lee, Remapping World Cinema, 9)
Discuss with close reference to at least two films, one of which must have been
shown on this module.
2. Critical Case Study (3,000 words) 50%
Answer one of the following questions.
1. Discuss the narrative, thematic and stylistic conventions of Iranian cinema, and
examine how the cinema relates to specific cultural, historical and institutional/industrial
contexts. Your answer should include close analysis of two or three films, at least two of
which were screened during the second semester (Section B). You may, if you wish,
discuss a film not screened during the module, but you must agree this in advance with
the Module Leader.
2. Discuss the narrative, thematic and stylistic conventions of Argentine cinema, and
examine how the cinema relates to specific cultural, historical and industrial/institutional
contexts. Your answer should include close analysis of two or three films, at least two of
which were screened during the second semester (Section B). You may, if you wish,
discuss a film not screened during the module, but you must agree this in advance with
the Module Leader.
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3. You may devise your own Critical Case Study about either Iranian or Argentine
cinema. Your answer should include close analysis of two or three films, at least two of
which were screened during the second semester (Section B), and must examine how
the cinema relates to specific cultural, historical and industrial/institutional contexts. You
must agree the topic in advance with the Module Leader so as to ensure that it meets the
relevant assessment criteria.
4. Produce a detailed critical analysis of the films or either an Iranian or an Argentine
director (or actor) of your choice. Your answer should include close analysis of two or
three films, including at least one screened during the second semester (Section B), and
must examine how the cinema relates to specific cultural, historical and
industrial/institutional contexts. You must agree the topic in advance with the Module
Leader so as to ensure that it meets the relevant assessment criteria.
LEVEL 3
UACPCM-30-3
BRITISH NATIONAL CINEMAS
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
1.
Independent research project (4,000 words) 50%
Research project suggestions:
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Broad topics that may be of interest include:
1. the work of a specific director/auteur
2. the work of a specific star or actor
3. the work of a specific producer
Or, you might want to consider:
1. a specific genre – heritage, horror, comedy, musical
2. British film economic structures
3. contemporary films
4. A cycle of films eg. Bond, Carry On, Neagle’s Mayfair films
Or, you might want to investigate the variables of ‘imagined’ community:
1. national identity at a given moment
2. formulations of empire, or colonial culture,
3. English/British/Celtic identities
4. challenges to English hegemony
Or, you could use film as a way to write about the politics of identity:
1. race, class, gender, sexuality, youth culture, childhood, old age.
Or, you might write about the formal properties of film:
1. mise en scene
2. costume
3. colour
4. soundtrack
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
Or, you may wish to develop some ideas around prosthetic memory and uses of
the past.
Getting started - consider some important issues:





What kind of project do you want to do? Textual analysis of a film? Analysis of
secondary sources such as archival documents, web fan sites? Are you
interested in historical or cultural approaches?
Can you get hold of materials?
You need to demonstrate your understanding of THIS module, so use the issues
raised in the module to make a start. Use the handbook and module reader,
lecture notes as a jumping off point for your research.
Identify something that grabs your interest and then start asking questions – what
do I want to know about this topic? What has already been written? Is there
something that hasn’t been said already? Is there agreement or a debate on this
topic?
This is a small project so you need to keep your focus very narrow and your
ambitions under control.
The following criteria will be used when marking your independent research project:
1) Does the research topic have a clearly defined focus?
2) Does the research topic offer a line of argument?
3) Does the research project demonstrate independent research in its topic and/or its
supporting materials?
4) Does the project demonstrate critical thinking in its use of research materials?
5) Does the project topic demonstrate confident knowledge of a specific aspect of the
British film industry?
6) Is the research project properly referenced in the body of the essay and in the
bibliography and filmography?
2.
Essay (2,000 words) 25%
Choose ONE of the following titles.
1) With close reference to The King’s Speech explain the problems in defining British
National Cinema(s).
2) With close reference to Michael Klinger, how does the study of an individual producer
or director help us understand the problems and successes of the British film
industry? Your answer should demonstrate an understanding of the economic
structures of the British Film Industry.
3) What does the marketing of Baby Love (UK, Reid, 1968) suggest about the regulation
and compromises of British film production?
4) With close reference to Casino Royale (UK, Campbell, 1995) explore the tensions
between ‘Britishness’ and ‘Internationalism’ in terms of both productions contexts and
on-screen representations.
5) How does Sally Potter’s Orlando (UK, 1992) blend the aesthetics of British Art Film
and the radical politics of ‘counter-cinema’?
6) Explore the ways in which A Hard Day’s Night conforms to or challenges the
conventions of the pop musical’?
The following criteria will be used when marking your essay.

Does the essay demonstrate historically specific understandings of British films
and/or the British film industry?
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




Does the essay show an understanding of the relationship between the economics of
film production and the kind of films we see?
Does the essay display evidence of research beyond set readings and, where
appropriate, set screenings?
Is research material ‘digested’ and handled with confidence?
Is there a critical engagement with research material?
Is the essay properly referenced in the body of the essay and in the bibliography and
filmography?
UACAHD-30-3
CINEMA, RACE AND ETHNICITY
You are required to complete BOTH elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
1.
Short Essay (2,000 words) 30%
Students will write a 2,000 word essay focusing on the representation of mixed race identity
within 20th century cinema. The essay should identify and discuss key theoretical ideas
relating to this topic and carry out a close textual analysis of a single film text to illustrate a
critical understanding of this material.
Assessment criteria:
The 2000 word essay will be assessed on the effectiveness of the following:




2.
Development of Concept: Comprehension and skill in explication of the key debates
concerning ideological, aesthetic and ethical issues involved in essay topic.
Textual Analysis: Ability to apply theoretical concepts to the close analysis of a film.
Research: Evidence and quality of research.
Style and Presentation: Clarity in communicating idea, economy of expression, and
accuracy in spelling, grammar, punctuation and referencing formats.
Long Essay (3,500 words) 45%
Students will write a 3,500 word essay demonstrating the impact of either multiculturalism or
post-colonialism on contemporary cinema by focusing on one of the following film genres:



Comedy
Horror
War
Students should examine how existing regimes of race and representation present in
mainstream cinema have been influenced or challenged by either multiculturalism or postcolonialism. The essay should demonstrate how the impact of one of these areas of debate
has been manifested across a range of contemporary films within the particular genre chosen.
Assessment criteria:
The 3500 word essay will be assessed on the effectiveness of the following:

Development of Concept: Comprehension and skill in explication of the key debates
concerning ideological, aesthetic and ethical issues involved in essay topic.
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


Analysis: Ability to apply theoretical concepts to the close analysis of film.
Research: Evidence and quality of research.
Style and Presentation: Clarity in communicating idea, economy of expression, and
accuracy in spelling, grammar, punctuation and referencing formats.
UACPRF-30-3
FILM GENRES
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
1.
Essay (2,000 words) 25%
This assessment aims to assess your understanding of the concept of genre and the
theoretical and critical approaches encountered in Semester 1 of the module. Please note,
your answer should draw on the range of work done during those weeks, not rely on an
isolated week. Support your answer with precise and detailed examples to flesh out the ideas.
Question
Choose one of the following questions:
1. Why is the idea of a ‘pure’ genre problematic? Your answer should consider theoretical,
industrial and popular contexts.
2. Consider the different ways in which genres are used by scholars, film industries, critics
and audiences. What are the implications for studying genre?
3. Evaluate some of the relative merits and limitations of Anglo-American film studies’
approaches to genre/s. Your answer should engage with a range of genre theorists to
demonstrate your understanding, but you may choose to focus on a specific issue (e.g.:
structuralism; genre history; Hollywood’s dominance; trans/national genres).
Assessment Criteria
The essay will be assessed in relation to the following elements:
·
·
·
·
2.
Understanding of the concept of genre
Critical engagement with a range of genre theories
Ability to structure a response to the question and to support points with precise
examples
Clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including
correct referencing, bibliography and filmography
Project (4,000 words) 50%
The project aims to assess your critical understanding of the issues studied in Semester 2 of
the module as well as your ability to develop an independent research project.
Question
Choose one of the following options:
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Option 1: Develop a project that critically analyses a specific aspect of representation in
either romantic comedy or the vampire genre. It is advisable to focus on a specific cycle,
sub-genre, historical period and/or national cinema (e.g.: weddings in contemporary
Hollywood romantic comedy; queer romantic comedy; transatlantic romance in 1990s’
British romantic comedy; lesbian vampires in 1970s’ exploitation horror; teen vampires and
the turn to romance).
Option 2: Develop your own project on a genre of your choice. This can include focusing on
critical issues around transnational genre or transmedia genre. If you choose this option,
you must email mark.bould@uwe.ac.uk to agree your topic and title, to ensure the project
meets the assessment criteria. Please note, Mark will be taking a holiday at some point in
June/July, so make sure you allow plenty of time. Don’t expect instant replies at this time of
year.
Assessment criteria
The project will be assessed in relation to the following elements:
-
Knowledge and understanding of the chosen genre, its history and criticism
Critical engagement with genre theory
Understanding of transnational aspects of film genres (where appropriate)
The ability to design, develop and produce a research project on an appropriate topic
Clarity of expression and accuracy in spelling, grammar and punctuation, including
correct referencing, bibliography and filmography.
UPZPMR-30-3
FILM AND PHILOSOPHY
Requirement
You are required to complete ALL elements of this component, even if you have
passed any of them previously.
1.
Research Essay (3,500 words)
From the list below, choose one or more (related) term(s) and write an academic essay
evaluating its/their significance in terms of the module’s objective of exploring the relationship
between film and philosophy with a particular emphasis on the question of whether film can
be thought of as doing philosophy or being philosophical. You need to:
i.Use at least two of the required module readings in preparing and writing your essay, as well
as other relevant film studies and philosophy scholarship.
ii.Discuss at least two of the films screened on the module as well as any other films you
decide are relevant to your evaluation of the term’s significance.
iii.Explain whether and how the term(s) you are writing on is/are relevant to understanding the
relationship between film and philosophy, whether and how it supports thinking about films
philosophically, and what that might mean.
List of terms: Movement, temporality, technicity, modernity, postmodernity, ideology, identity,
desire, aesthetics, perception, experience, animation, mind, body, memory
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2.
Symposium question (1,500 words)
On the basis of the reading originally assigned to the student (check blackboard) and the film
shown that week, the student must develop three questions and provide a 1500 word write
up. The write up should entail:
i. A justification/explanation for the questions: e.g. why they are important in the context of the
week’s reading/film, how they stand in relation to other material covered in the module.
ii. A reflection upon the questions and an attempt to further develop and respond to them.
This should incorporate seminar discussion.
iii. A summary of the justification and reflection, and a conclusion in which provisional
answers are given to the questions.
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