AJL28042 Film in Canada: Institutions, Genres, Film-makers, Criticism

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Thu 16:00–17:40 G25, except Mon 18. 11. to Sun 24. 11.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 10/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 16 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course aims at familiarizing participants with the Canadian feature film production from the late Nineteen-Sixties to the present. Using a body of critically acclaimed films, the course is designed to enhance students’ interpretive skills and to provide them with relevant knowledge concerning the production, distribution, consumption and reception of Canadian feature films in Canada. The successful participants will become aware of the variety and quality of Canadian feature film production and gain relevant insights into the development of the Canadian film industry, criticism and film scholarship. In addition to studying representative works by major Canadian filmmakers, students will be invited to consider a variety of wider contextual issues. In other words the course provides not only opportunity for close textual analysis, but also for assessment of a variety of social, political, and cultural circumstances that the films result from and reflect.
Learning outcomes
The successful participants will:
- become familiar with the Canadian feature film production from the late Nineteen-Sixties to the present;
- get acquainted with basic methods of film analysis;
- gain relevant knowledge concerning the production, distribution, consumption and reception of Canadian feature films in Canada;
- gain relevant insights into the development of the Canadian film industry, criticism and film scholarship;
- able to critically assess Canadian film production in its wider context, namely the social, political, and cultural circumstances the selected films result from and reflect.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction, Canadian Film Industry and Identity
  • 2. Jutra – Mon Oncle Antoine(1971); Kent - Bitter Ash (1963)
  • 3. Shebib – Going Down the Road (1970); Rozema - I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987)
  • 4. Cronenberg – Videodrome (1983); eXistenZ (1999);
  • 5. Egoyan – Family Viewing (1987); Ararat (2002);
  • 6. Arcand – Jesus of Montreal (1989); Decline of the American Empire (1986)
  • 7. McDonald – Highway 61 (1991); Girard - 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould (1993)
  • 8. Shum – Double Happiness (1994); Deepa Mehta - Sam and Me (1991)
  • 9. Krishna - Masala (1991); Lepage - Le confessional (1995)
  • 10. Kunuk – Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner (2001); Girard - The Red Violin (1998)
  • 11. Maddin – The Saddest Music of the World (2003); Canuel – Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006)
  • 12. Villenuve – Incendies (2010); Dolan - Les Amours Imaginaires (2010)
Literature
  • MATHIJS, Ernest. John Fawcett's Ginger Snaps. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013, viii, 143. ISBN 9781442647596. info
  • BEARD, William. Into the past : the cinema of Guy Maddin. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010, xii, 471. ISBN 9781442641396. info
  • MATHIJS, Ernest. The cinema of David Cronenberg : from baron of blood to cultural hero. 1st pub. London: Wallflower, 2008, vii, 312. ISBN 9781905674664. info
  • The young, the restless, and the dead : interviews with Canadian filmmakers. Edited by George Melnyk. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2008, xiv, 134. ISBN 9781554580361. info
  • Great Canadian film directors. Edited by George Melnyk. 1st ed. Edmonton, Alta.: University of Alberta Press, 2007, xviii, 468. ISBN 9780888644794. info
  • MELNYK, George. One hundred years of Canadian cinema. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004, x, 361. ISBN 0802084443. info
  • North of everything : English-Canadian cinema since 1980. Edited by William Beard - Jerry White. Edmonton, Alta.: University of Alberta Press, 2002, xxiii, 488. ISBN 088864390X. info
  • BEARD, William. The artist as monster : the cinema of David Cronenberg. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001, xii, 469. ISBN 0802035698. info
Teaching methods
The course is based on individual preparation, regular attendance of the seminars, and regular participation in the online discussions. Every week you are expected to watch two feature films and do the assigned reading. The students wishing to successfully complete the course are expected to view all the main items on the viewing list, read all the assigned reading, and prepare a presentation (either an online or in-class one) and actively participate in the discussions in class.
Assessment methods
The grade is based on in class performance (in-class quizzes, presentations, involvement in both in-class and online discussions - 50%) and on the assessment of the students' essays (minimum 2100 words – 50%). Students who miss more than two seminar sessions automaticallically fail the class.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Předmět si nemohou zapsat studenti Bc. studia AJ
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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