FF:FAVz044 Key Trends in American Film

FAVz044 Key Trends in American Film

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2014

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

Richard Nowell (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Petr Szczepanik, Ph.D. (deputy)
Mgr. Luděk Havel, Ph.D. (assistant)

Guaranteed by

prof. PhDr. Jiří Voráč, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts

Timetable

each even Thursday 14:10–17:25 C34

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

Key Trends in American Film aims to facilitate students’ deeper understanding of the relationships that exist between, on the one hand, the content and themes of American mainstream cinema, and, on the other hand, certain prominent social, cultural, political discourses circulating the public (and private) sphere. In doing so, the course will seek to familiarize students with important and transferable critical tools, frameworks, approaches, and skills that will serve to deepen their capacity to engage with, and to read, audiovisual texts critically both on, and hopefully outside of, the course. Key Trends in American Cinema aims to enable students to appreciate that the interplay between texts and contexts is more than a simple “sign of the times” but is characterized by complex processes of mediation, selection, and interpretation at the levels of production, promotion, and reception. By the end of the course, students will be expected to posses: the critical abilities to produce insightful analysis of film texts; the skills necessary to conduct sound contextual analysis; the demonstrable capacity to synthesize original ideas in a lucid and coherent manner, both verbally and in writing; a solid understanding of the complex social, cultural, historical, and political relationships that have shaped important aspects of American cinematic output (and by implication different forms of audiovisual media produced both inside and outside of the US); and solid understanding of debates circulating the case-studies that comprise the course.

Syllabus

For the full syllabus see the file "Key Trends in American Film Syllabus Fall 2014 Final" in the documents attached to this course. This course offers students insights into the ways in which socio-political discourses have shaped the production, content, and themes of American motion pictures. The course encourages students to take up more nuanced and pragmatic positions to the relationships between these two phenomena than those posited by the preeminent socio-symptomatic and ideological analyses, both of which have been guilty of reducing the commercial and creative forces behind films to mere ciphers of the irresistible force of the zeitgeist. Rather than considering films to be simply signs of the times or unwitting witnesses to the mores and values of American society, this course invites students to think about how the American film industry uses and appropriates socio-political discourses in a rational and strategic fashion in order to make its products attractive and relevant to targeted audiences. Students will explore these issues in relation to six of Hollywood’s most high-profile topical production trends of the last forty years: the Blaxploitation cycle of the early-to-mid 1970s, women-in-danger films of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the New Cold War Cinema of the mid-late 1980s, Gen-X cinema of the early-to-mid 1990s, the Family Film of the 1990s (and beyond), and the Post-9/11 cinema of the mid-to-late 2000s.

Teaching methods

Texts and Resources

Students are expected actively to contribute to seminar discussions, which will center on the mandatory film screenings, the mandatory readings, and critical analyses thereof. Accordingly, students are required to study all of the relevant set readings before each class. All of the readings will, well before the first day of the semester, be available in PDF form to download from the course website. Students are advised to bring to class hard copies of the relevant readings as use of electronic devices will not be permitted during seminars.

One-on-One Tutorials

All students are invited to arrange one-on-one tutorials to discuss assignments and/or any issues arising from the course. Meetings can be arranged by email and can take place at a location and time of mutual convenience.

Assignments

Mid-term Paper

Value: 40% of Final Grade
Each student is to submit a 2,000 word essay in based on a topic introduced in sessions 1–3. A choice of three prompts will be announced on Friday 17 October 2014.
Deadline: 12:00 CET Sunday 26 October 2014

Final Paper

Value: 60% of Final Grade
Each student is to submit a 2,000 word essay in based on a topic introduced in sessions 4–6. A choice of three prompts will be announced on Friday 28 November 2014.
Deadline: 12:00 CET Friday 12 December 2014

All Essays are to be submitted in PDF or word format to richard_nowell@hotmail.com

Late Submission of Work

Penalties
On the day following the due date – 5 marks out of 100 deducted
On the 2nd day following the due to date – 10 marks out of 100 deducted
On the 3rd day following the due date – 15 marks out of 100 deducted
On the 4th day following the due date – 20 marks out of 100 deducted
After the 4th day following the due date – all marks deducted
Exemptions
Penalties are waved on medical and compassionate grounds (e.g. familial bereavement) only; please do not enquire about the waving of penalties on other grounds incase refusal offends.

Feedback

Each student will be emailed individually with detailed personal feedback on his or her mid-term paper and final paper. This feedback is designed to be constructive so will spotlight strengths and any possible shortcomings.

Assessment methods

Assignments

Mid-term Paper

Value: 40% of Final Grade
Each student is to submit a 2,000 word essay in based on a topic introduced in sessions 1–3. A choice of three prompts will be announced on Friday 17 October 2014.
Deadline: 12:00 CET Sunday 26 October 2014

Final Paper

Value: 60% of Final Grade
Each student is to submit a 2,000 word essay in based on a topic introduced in sessions 4–6. A choice of three prompts will be announced on Friday 28 November 2014.
Deadline: 12:00 CET Friday 12 December 2014

All Essays are to be submitted in PDF or word format to richard_nowell@hotmail.com

Late Submission of Work

Penalties
On the day following the due date – 5 marks out of 100 deducted
On the 2nd day following the due to date – 10 marks out of 100 deducted
On the 3rd day following the due date – 15 marks out of 100 deducted
On the 4th day following the due date – 20 marks out of 100 deducted
After the 4th day following the due date – all marks deducted
Exemptions
Penalties are waved on medical and compassionate grounds (e.g. familial bereavement) only; please do not enquire about the waving of penalties on other grounds incase refusal offends.

Feedback

Each student will be emailed individually with detailed personal feedback on his or her mid-term paper and final paper. This feedback is designed to be constructive so will spotlight strengths and any possible shortcomings.

FF:FAVz044 Key Trends in American Film - Course Information

FAVz044 Key Trends in American Film

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