English 196 Film Studies - Directors Michael Dembrow,
Instructor
CRN 15287 Office: SC 209
Tues.
Four Transfer
(Literature) Credits
Website:
http://spot.pcc.edu/~mdembrow/eng196.htm
THE COURSE:
English 196 is the second term of PCC's
three-term Film Studies sequence. The
first term was "Film as Art"; the third term will be
"Contemporary Themes and Genres."
Film study can
have various focuses--on film history, on genre, on techniques of film
production, on acting/actors/stars, on film as reflection of
social/political/historical/economic processes; this course focuses on the
director and will look at film history and movie-making in general in terms
of the persona of the director as "filmmaker," or "auteur."
We'll be talking
about films as "communications" and "expressions" of a
filmmaker--as representative of a filmmaker's "style" and
"world-view," as works of art.
We'll do this by restricting our study to films by five directors: Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Mike Leigh, Mira
Nair, and Susanne Bier. Each is what we
would call a "strong director," a director with almost complete
control over her or his productions, a director with a distinctive way of
seeing things.
We'll be looking
at each film from a triple perspective--(a) as an artistic/cultural text in its
own right; (b) as a part of a film author's body of work; and (c) as a
part of the enterprise that we call "film history," similar yet
different from other films of its kind.
TEXTS: There’s no single
text that encompasses the work of these five directors, so instead
I’ll be
providing you with articles/essays on the directors and interviews with them,
as well as other handouts. Lots of them. Some
will come to you in print copy; others you'll need to download from the
internet. I’d suggest that you get a
binder of some sort to keep them in.
IN-CLASS: The
class will meet once each week for four hours.
The first two hours will be spent in lecture/discussion, and the second
two hours (more or less) for film screening.
First, I'll be lecturing on film history and on the process of film
production as it applies to our filmmaker of the moment, and doing close
analyses of selected segments of the previous week's film (as well as segments
from other films by the director). We'll
then spend time discussing the film, based on the readings and the discussion questions
which I'll have given you.
Film screenings
generally run around 120 minutes, but you'll notice that some of the films longer. I’ll generally try to end the
lecture/discussion a little earlier on those evenings, but in some cases we may
need to go a little past
Feel free to
bring a friend/relative/companion to any of the film screenings. Please do stay seated during the films, as it
is distracting to other viewers when people come and go during the film.
Being able to
take notes during a film is a useful skill, but it can be difficult. I will have some of the films on reserve in
the library, or you can rent them on your own, for re-viewing. You will need to attend the group screenings
(you can miss one without penalty).
Immediately following
each film, I'll want a 3-5 minute written reaction to the film, as time permits
(if it does not permit, I’ll ask you to email me a quick reaction ASAP).
WRITTEN WORK: I'm
interested in getting you to articulate your responses to the films,
both orally and in written form. In
articulating your impressions/ideas, you'll find yourself coming to new
insights, making sharper connections.
I'll be giving
you several ways of doing that:
(a) Study Questions. In order to help you analyze the
films, I'll be giving you a set of study questions on each film we'll be
seeing. We'll discuss them the following
week, after you've had a chance to think about the film and do the
readings. Jot down notes for each study
question right on the question sheet, then choose three questions and write out
more detailed responses (about 150 words each).
They do not need to be typed (but if you don’t type them, please be kind
to my poor eyes).
(b)
(c) Project. I'll expect each of you to do a term project,
due March 4. This project will be a paper
(5-6 pp.) focusing on a filmmaker whose films we are not studying this
term. You’ll want to view as many of
this director’s films as you can, focus on an element that characterizes the
director’s work, and show how it works in several of his/her films. You’ll need to do some research for this
project, but most of the work will be based on your own encounters with the
films themselves. I’ll be giving you a
detailed assignment sheet that lays out the expectations for the project in
more detail.
(e) Final. You'll be writing a take-home final essay,
which I'll be handing out on March 11, to be turned in on March 18. The final will be an essay that will allow
you to synthesize what we've studied throughout the term.
ATTENDANCE:
For obvious reasons, regular attendance is essential. If you have to miss a class, see me in
advance, and we'll see what we can do.
If you miss more than two classes, your grade will be lowered; if you
miss more than two, I'll ask that you drop the class.
CONFERENCES: Any
time you'd like to talk things over, please feel free to set up an appointment
with me or come during my office hours for the class ( T 4:30-5:30). If you have any questions or ideas to try out
on me at any time day or night, you can call me at 503-978-5213; if I'm not
there, you can leave a message on my voice mail and I'll phone you back. If you have email, you can very easily
connect with me that way; I check it frequently each day and evening.
GRADES: Final grades will
be determined as follows:
50% Responses to
Study Questions
10% Responses to
25% Term Project
10% Final
5% Class Participation
SOME FINAL BUSINESS ITEMS:
OK, let’s have
some fun and make the most of these next ten weeks!