Film 370
THE ART OF FILM CRITICISM
A.O. Scott
Friday 1:10-4:00
aoscott@wesleyan.edu
office hours by appointment, generally on Friday before or after class. Other
times/days TBA.
Overview
The purpose of this course is to explore different ways of writing about film. Unlike
other film courses, this one will focus not on the theory, analysis or history of
cinema, but rather on aesthetic judgment and subjective experience and on their
creative expression in prose. How can we know what we like? How do we defend
our opinions? How do we find language adequate to this rich and complex art form
and the powerful effects it has on us?
Criticism is a distinctive literary form, and our aim will be to develop and
refine our individual voices and sensibilities, even as we expand and deepen our
understanding of movies. The basic work of the class will be to watch, read and
write as much as we can, with as much care and discipline as we can muster, and to
argue about all of it. Because film is a young and rapidly changing art form, film
criticism can only be a highly experimental undertaking, its rules and best practices
still in a state of emergence. Our job is to push it forward.
In our quest to figure out how to write about movies, we will examine a
variety of styles, topics and arguments. Readings will be drawn from the history of
criticism and from more recent efforts in traditional and new media. Each of us will
keep a viewing journal, recording our thoughts about what we have been watching.
In-class discussions will focus partly on past and present critical debates that
raise perennially contentious issues. These include: the relevance of cultural,
economic and film-industry matters to the work of movie reviewing; the role of
personal taste and political ideology in forming critical judgments; the relationship
between film and other arts. Our interest in these questions is, above all, practical:
we want to write as clearly as possible, and to illuminate as brilliantly as we can the
specific the ways that pictures move us. We will therefore study closely the work of
distinguished practitioners of the art of criticism. The rest of our class time will be
devoted to the intensive examination of our own and one another’s writing, as
students will be expected to share drafts of work in progress. That work will consist
of a weekly viewing journal and three short essays, one of which will be revised and
expanded into a final paper.
Requirements/Grading
**Alert, engaged attendance in class is essential. There are only 13 meetings, and the
most valuable insights are likely to emerge from our conversations together.
Missing out or failing to participate will not only affect your grade, but will also deny
the rest of us your insights and provocations. So please show up, do the assigned
reading and viewing, and be prepared to talk about all of it. (30% of grade)
**A weekly viewing journal, to be shared via email with the class, consisting of your
brief reactions to what you have seen in and out of class. Although we will only be
watching two films together this term, a film critic should always be watching as
much as possible and thinking about how to respond to it. The journal can cover
films (or any other moving images) you have watched in other classes or just for fun,
on your own or with friends, on large or small screens. There should be at least
three entries a week, totaling not more than 500 words. (30% of grade)
**Three short essays, one of which will be revised and expanded into a final paper.
A note on deadlines: All papers must be submitted electronically not later than
noon on the day they are due. The course’s standard of timeliness is journalistic
rather than academic, which means that no extensions will be given under any
circumstances. (40% of grade)
Reading
All assigned reading will be placed on reserve at Olin library and/or distributed by
the instructor digitally or in class. Reading assignments may change in response to
class interest or breaking developments in the field. In addition, it may be useful to
explore some of the on-line resources listed below, which indicate some of the range
and diversity of film criticism as it is practiced in digital media. If there are other
sites you like, please don’t hesitate to bring them to our attention, and if you come
across a piece of writing that strikes you as especially interesting, provocative or
relevant to our concerns please share it with the class.
Roger Ebert http://www.rogerebert.com/
The Dissolve http://thedissolve.com/
Movie City News http://moviecitynews.com/
Keyframe http://www.fandor.com/keyframe/
Filmmaker Magazine http://filmmakermagazine.com/
Cinema-Scope http://cinema-scope.com/
Senses of Cinema http://sensesofcinema.com/
Cleo http://cleojournal.com/
The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture#slide_ss_0=1
The Village Voice http://www.villagevoice.com/movies/
Reverse Shot http://www.reverseshot.com/
Flavorwire http://flavorwire.com/category/film/
Grantland http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/
Mubi http://mubi.com/notebook
SCHEDULE
Part One: The Big Picture
23 January
Introduction: Talking about writing about movies.
30 January: Memory, Desire and Criticism
Film Screening: Powell Family Cinema
Reading: Philip Lopate, “Anticipation of La Notte”; Jonathan Lethem, “13,
1977, 21”; Pauline Kael, “Shoeshine”; Philip Larkin, “Reasons for Attendance.”
6 February: What Can Criticism Do?
Reading: Susan Sontag, “Against Interpretation”; H.L. Mencken, “The Critical
Process”; W.H. Auden, “The Dyer’s Hand” (excerpts).
13 February: Is Film Criticism Possible?
Reading: Rudolf Arnheim, “The Film Critic of Tomorrow”; J. Hoberman, “The
Film Critic of Tomorrow, Today”; Joan Didion, “In Hollywood.”
First Essay Due.
20 February
***Special Viewing Assignment: The 87th Academy Awards*** [Sunday 2/22;
8pm. ABC]
Reading: Selected coverage of the Oscar Race
27 February
***Special Viewing Journal Assignment: The 87th Academy Awards***
Reading: Selected coverage of the Oscars
6 March: Are Movies Finished?
Reading: Susan Sontag, “A Century of Cinema”; David Denby, “Do the Movies
Have A Future?” (excerpts); A.O. Scott, “The Big Picture Strikes Back”; David
Thompson, “I Wake Up Screening” (from The Big Picture).
Second Essay Due
13 & 20 March: Spring Break
Part Two: Role Models and Case Studies
27 March: James Agee
Reading: Selections from James Agee’s film writing
3 April: Roger Ebert
Reading: Selected essays and reviews by Roger Ebert
Film Screening: Powell Family Cinema
10 April: James Baldwin
Reading: James Baldwin, The Devil Finds Work
Third Essay Due
17 April: Pauline Kael
Reading: Selections from I Lost it At the Movies, For Keeps and others.
24 April: B. Ruby Rich
Reading: Selections from Chick Flicks, other works.
1 May: Wesley Morris
Reading: Selected reviews and essays.
11 May
Final Paper Due.