FRESHMAN STUDIES: INTRODUCTION TO FILM, Fall 2014
Film Studies 190
Lectures: T/Th 10-11:15 am, Rich Building 103
Screenings: Tues. 6-8 pm, White Hall 205
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Allison
tanine.allison@emory.edu
404-712-4393 (office)
Office: 109B Rich Building
Office Hours:
Mondays 9:30-11:30 am and by
appointment
GOALS OF THE COURSE
This course serves as an introduction to the process of analyzing film and media
from various points of view—examining style and form, the technology of cinema media,
industrial histories, and cultural meaning-making. We will look at a wide range of film- and
media-making practices, from the 19th to the 21st centuries, from American to European to
Asian contexts, from various genres and modes of production. We will also look at
documentary, animated, and experimental films in order to better comprehend the
multiple uses and audiences of cinema. Through a series of short writing assignments and
a final paper, you will learn to analyze film form (narrative structure, cinematic style, sound
and image) and relate it to the overall experience of the film—its meanings, messages, and
narratives.
This class will help introduce you to ways of “reading” and analyzing film, and by
extension, other visual media, so that you can be a more informed and critical viewer. The
class goals are as follows:
1. To enhance your visual and auditory awareness and literacy.
2. To offer you a methodology for “reading” and understanding cinematic images.
3. To give you a sense of how film language has evolved throughout history and how
different national cinemas have used images to achieve varying goals (artistic,
political, economic).
4. To equip you with the vocabulary to confidently order your responses to images
through verbal and written communication.
As a freshman seminar, this course is also designed to teach you how to be the best,
most-engaged, critical-thinking college student that you can be. It will offer a foundation
for future film classes, as well as some basic guidance on how to discuss, debate, and write
critically and analytically about anything.
This course is the same as FILM 270: Introduction to Film and counts as a
prerequisite for all advanced Film and Media Studies courses.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK (available at Emory Bookstore)
David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson, Film Art (10th edition)
Additional readings will be provided for you as PDFs
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REQUIRED SCREENINGS
Screenings are mandatory and attendance will be taken. Excessive absences at
screenings will negatively affect your final grade. If you must miss a screening, it is up to
you to watch the film on your own. (DVDs of the films are usually available at the Music
and Media Library.) You are expected to be a model audience member—please arrive on
time, stay until the end, and please no talking, eating, or disruptive behavior. Cell phones,
laptops, and any other electronic devices are not allowed at screenings. You will be asked
to leave if you are using a phone or digital device, sleeping, or being disruptive.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Attendance and Participation (worth 15% of final grade)
Attendance at all classes and screenings is required, as is active participation in
class discussions. More than four absences from class/screening will negatively affect your
grade. Excessive absences may result in failure for the course.
Additional Film Events (worth 5% of final grade)
You are required to attend two film-related events on campus and write a short
piece for each event (about 200 words) describing the event and relating it to course
material. The written response is due one week after the event.
You can attend up to three additional film-related events (in addition to the
required two) for extra credit. To receive extra credit, follow the same procedure as
above. Each extra credit assignment will be worth 3 percentage points on one of your tests.
Any event sponsored by the Film and Media Studies department counts (these will
be announced in class and listed on the department website); other events should be
approved by the instructor ahead of time.
Two Tests (each worth 15% of final grade; 30% total)
These tests will be given in class and will consist of multiple-choice, short answer,
and essay questions.
Two Film Analysis Assignments with Short Papers (each worth 15% of final grade; 30%
total)
You will complete a plot segmentation and a shot-by-shot scene analysis, each with
an accompanying analytical paper of about 600 words. These assignments can be done
with any film, from the syllabus or your own viewing, and can be written about the same
film.
Final Paper (worth 20% of final grade)
You will write a 6-8 page final paper analyzing a particular film; it can be the same
film about which you wrote the scene analysis and plot segmentation. More details about
this assignment will be provided later in the class.
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POLICIES
Laptop/Electronics Policy
Laptops and electronic devices are not allowed at screenings. Laptops are allowed
in class solely for taking notes. If it becomes obvious that you are doing something else on
your laptop other than taking notes, I will ask you to put it away. Please shut your laptops
whenever we have a guest speaker, student presentation, or watch video clips.
Plagiarism
You are expected to follow the Emory College of Arts and Sciences Honor Code
(http://college.emory.edu/home/academic/policy/honor_code.html). All assignments
turned in for this class must be the student’s own work or must be properly attributed to
the original source with proper citations. Although outside research is not required for
papers for this class, any cited work (including any text cited or consulted on the Internet)
should be documented using MLA style or Chicago Manual of Style. Cheating on a test or
turning in work that includes plagiarized material or was written by someone else will
result in a report to the Honor Council, which can lead to failure for the course and other
consequences. Please consult the instructor if you have any questions about what
constitutes plagiarism or how to properly cite material.
Emory Writing Center
The Emory Writing Center offers 45-minute individual conferences to Emory
College and Laney Graduate School students. It is a great place to bring any project—from
traditional papers to websites—at any stage in your composing process. Writing Center
tutors take a discussion- and workshop-based approach that enables writers of all levels to
see their writing with fresh eyes. Tutors can talk with you about your purpose,
organization, audience, design choices, or use of sources. They can also work with you on
sentence-level concerns (including grammar and word choice), but they will not proofread
for you. Instead, they will discuss strategies and resources you can use to become a better
editor of your own work. The Writing Center is located in Callaway N-212. Visit
http://writingcenter.emory.edu for more information and to make appointments.
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TUESDAY CLASS
TUESDAY SCREENING
9/2: EARLY FILM HISTORY—
B/T Ch. 12 to pg. 472
(through "German
Expressionism")
Sherlock Jr. (Buster
Keaton, 1924, 45 min.)
and The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari (Robert Wiene,
Germany, 1920, 74 min.)
WEEK 3
9/9: NARRATIVE—B/T Ch. 3
("Narrative Form")
Citizen Kane (Orson
Welles, 1941, 119 min.)
9/11: Discussion and further
lecture
WEEK 4
9/16: MISE-EN-SCENE—B/T
Ch. 4
The Third Man (Orson
Welles, 1949, 93 min.)
9/18: Discussion and further
lecture
WEEK 5
9/23: CINEMATOGRAPHY
—B/T Ch. 5
9/25: Discussion and further
lecture
Plot Segmentation Paper Due
Friday, 9/26 by 5 pm
WEEK 6
9/30: EDITING—B/T Ch. 6
and Ch. 12 pg. 476-480
("Soviet Montage")
Dr. Strangelove, or: How
I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love the
Bomb (Stanley Kubrick,
1964, 95 min.)
Run Lola Run (Tom
Twyker, Germany, 1998,
80 min.)
WEEK 7
10/7: SOUND—B/T Ch. 7
("Sound in Cinema")
10/9: Discussion and further
lecture
WEEK 8
10/14: NO CLASS—Fall
Break
10/21: GENRE—B/T Ch. 9
("Film Genres")
(500) Days of Summer
(Marc Webb, 2009, 95
min.)
NO SCREENING--Fall
Break
Blazing Saddles (Mel
Brooks, 1974, 93 min.)
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
WEEK 9
THURSDAY
8/28: First day of class
9/4: THE ART AND INDUSTRY
OF FILM—B/T Ch. 1 ("Film as
Art") and Ch. 2 ("The
Significance of Film Form")
10/2: Discussion and further
lecture
10/16: Test #1
10/23: Discussion and further
lecture
WEEK
10
10/28: ART/EXPERIMENTAL
FILM—B/T Ch. 10 pg. 369386 ("Experimental Film")
and Ch. 12 pg. 483-494
("Italian Neorealism" to
"New Hollywood/
Independent Film")
Adaptation (Spike Jonze,
2002, 114 min.)
10/30: Discussion and further
lecture
WEEK
11
11/4: DOCUMENTARY—B/T
Ch. 10 pg. 350-369
("Documentary" and
"Rhetorical Form")
11/11: ANIMATION—B/T
Ch. 10 pg. 386-398
("Animated Film")
The Unknown Known
(Errol Morris, 2013, 103
min.)
11/6: Discussion and further
lecture
Scene Analysis Paper Due
Friday, 11/7 by 5 pm
11/13: Discussion and further
lecture
WEEK
12
Waking Life (Richard
Linklater, 2001, 99 min.)
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WEEK
13
WEEK
14
WEEK
15
WEEK
16
11/18: TELEVISION—
Introduction to The
Television Will Be
Revolutionized, by Amanda
Lotz (PDF)
11/25: STYLE AND TASTE—
B/T Ch. 8 ("Summary: Style
and Film Form") and
“Notes on Camp,” by Susan
Sontag (PDF)
12/2: Test #2
Episodes of The Addams
Family, Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, and
American Horror Story
12/9: Last day of class
NO SCREENING
11/20: Discussion and further
lecture
Gymkata (Robert Clouse, 11/27: NO CLASS—
1985, 90 min.)
Thanksgiving Break
Black Swan (Darren
Aronofsky, 2010, 108
min.)
12/4: FILM AND THE
DIGITAL—“Visual Effects:
Modern Entertainment
Marketplace (2000-present,”
by Tanine Allison (PDF)
Final Paper Due on our Final Exam Date
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