English 369--History of Film, Part II:
From World War II to the Present

Spring 2003
Centenary College of Louisiana
Instructor: Jefferson Hendricks
Office: 307D Jackson Hall
Office hours: 9:45 - 11:00; 1:15-2:00 T/TH  and by appt.
Office: 869-5086

Wk 1--Jan. 7-9 |  Wk 2--Jan. 14-16  | Wk 3--Jan. 21-23  | Wk 4--Jan. 28-30  |  Wk 5--Feb.  4-6  | Wk 6--Feb. 11-13 | Wk 7--Feb.  18-20  |
  Wk 8--Feb.  25-27 |  Wk  9--Mar.  11-13  |  Wk 10--Mar. 18-20 |  Wk 11--Mar. 25-27  |  Wk 12--Apr. 1-3  |  Wk 13--Apr. 8-10 |
Wk 14--Apr. 15   | Wk 15--Apr. 22-24

Texts: Course Objectives:  Film History II is designed to help you:


Grading:

 
hour exam          10% final exam                 30%
short reviews      20% class participation    10%
1st long essay    10%  2nd long essay          20% 

Study Guide Outlines for Exams:


Essays and One-page critical reviews:

Here are some models of essays that might help you write about certain topics.  You are expected to write at least five short (300 words) critical reviews of films viewed out of class during this semester.  These should be analytical reviews that articulate a thesis and give a focused reading .  These critical reviews will be handed in during the last week of the semester.  If you'd like me to check a sample review earlier in the semester, please let me know and I'll make sure you are on track.  You are also expected to write two longer analytical essays of  about 1500 words each (the equivalent of about 5 typed pages).  You will be expected in these longer essays to use both print and on-line sources to support your arguments.  You should cite at least five different sources in each essay, mixing both print and on-line sources.

Essay #1 is due Monday, March 10 by 2:00 pm in Jackson Hall 307.
Essay #2 is due Monday, April 22 by 2:00 pm in Jackson Hall 307.
 
 

Sample Essays from Sight and Sound  (these essays are professional ones, but at least give you a model for which to strive):

-- an essay focusing on a particular actor -- Manohla Dargis, "Ghost in the Machine," Sight and Sound, July 2000  [on Tom Cruise]

-- an essay focusing on a specific film -- José Arroyo, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Von Trier?", Sight and Sound, September, 2000   [on Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark]

-- an essay focusing on a genre and several films -- Danny Leigh, "Get Smarter,"  Sight and Sound, June, 2000  [the contemporary British gangster film]

-- an essay focusing on a director and several films -- Philip Kemp, "Ants in His Pants," Sight and Sound, May, 2000  [on Preston Sturges]

-- an essay focusing on a theme in several films --  Slovoj Zizek, "Camp Comedy," Sight and Sound, April, 2000  [on the "holocaust comedy"]
 
 

Attendance and class participation:

This class emphasizes discussion. Therefore, you need to be in class and prepared to talk intelligently and passionately. More than a couple of absences will hurt your class participation grade.


General On-Line Resources for Film History from WWII to the Present:

(Nota bene:  Not all web sites are created equally.  Learn to evaluate them as you would more traditional print resources.  The following guide from Cornell University  is a good initial step in that direction: "How to Critically Analyze Information Sources."   For a webliography on evaluating web sites, see this site in the UK.)
Internet Movie Database
The best site for cast and crew information;  often has good reviews and biographical information.
The Movie Review Query Engine
A strange name for a great resource site that gives you multiple review of contemporary films.
The Greatest Films (Tim Dirks)
Amazingly comprehensive site containing interpretive, descriptive review commentary and historical background, reference material, and hundreds of colorful vintage film poster reproductions for most of the major American classic films.
All Movie Guide
An excellent site for information on classic and contemporary films.
Cinema History (Robert Yahnke, U. of Minnesota)
Compact but useful overview of several of the areas we'll be studying. A particular strength is a good list of the major films from each grouping.
The Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture (U. of Exeter, UK)
A brief but fascinating look at some of the material objects associated with the role of film in 20th century culture--especially good is the "magic lantern" collection.
The Palace--A Site for Classic Films
A very fine site for info on classical Hollywood cinema; up through the late 1950s--excellent critiques and images.
The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s
Though primarily literary and cultural, still an excellent site for primary and secondary material; from Al Filreis's course at U. of Pennsylvania
English 379:  Course Schedule

Week One--Jan. 7-9:
"Post-War Depression and American Existentialism:  Film Noir"

Tu Jan 7:

Th Jan 9:


Week Two:  Jan. 14-16
"Post-War Depression and American Existentialism:  Film Noir, Part II"

Tu Jan 14:


Th Jan 16:

Week Three:  Jan. 21-23
"Italian Neo-Realism:  Vittorio De Sica 's Faith of Humanism"

Tu Jan 21:


Th Jan 23:     Umberto D.     (Italy, 1952.  Dir. Vittorio De Sica.  Cast:  Carlo Battisti,  Maria-Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari)

Week Four:  Jan. 28-30
"Red Stars Over Hollywood:  Anti-Communism and the Blacklist in Hollywood"

Tu Jan 28:


Th Jan 30:

Week Five:  Feb. 4-6
"Masculinity Under Fire:  Politics and Male Hysteria in Hollywood of the 1950s"

Tu Feb 4:


Th Feb 6:

Week Six:  Feb. 11-13
" Hollywood Melodrama of the 50s:  Douglas Sirk "
Tu  Feb 11:


Th  Feb 13:


Week Seven:    February 18-20
"From the French New Wave to the Hollywood Renaissance:  Cinema in the Sixities"

Tu Feb 18:

Th Feb 20:
Week Eight:   Feb. 25-27
"Hollywood Renaissance:  The Early 70s"

Tu  Feb 25:


Th Feb 27:


March 4-6 -- Spring Break
NO CLASS
Week Nine:    March 11-13
"American Cinema of the 80s and 90s:   David Lynch and Robert Altman"

Tu Mar 11:


Th Mar 13:


Week Ten:    March 18-20
"Japan and China:  The Humanist Tradition"

Tu Mar 18:

Th Mar 20:
Week Eleven:  March 25-27
"Post-War British and Commonwealth Cinema"

Tu Mar 25


Th Mar 27

Week Twelve:  April 1-3
"Contemporary International Cinema:  Mexico and Iran"

Tu Apr 1


Th Apr 3


Week Thirteen:  April 8-10
"Film in Sweden and Germany"

Tu Apr 8:


Th Apr 10:


Week Fourteen:  April 15-17
"Contemporary International Cinema:  France"
Tu Apr 15 Th Apr 17  --  NO CLASS -- EASTER BREAK
Week Fifteen:  April 22-24
"Contemporary North American Cinema:  Spike Lee and Jim Jarmusch"

Tu Apr 22


Th Apr 24

Final Exam:   Tuesday, April 29 from 4 to 7 pm in Room 304 of Jackson Hall

The exam will consist of three parts:

1)  15 (fifteen) short answer items (quotes, terms, film titles, names, etc. which will come from the study guides for Belton and Cook which are at the top of this page, from discussions/lectures in class, and from the films themselves) worth 30 points,

2)  three essays on films from the second half of the course (since mid-term) worth 60 points -- 20 points each,

3) and one essay on a short film that I'll show at the beginning of the exam worth 10 points.  

Note:  For part one you need study only the "identification" items in Belton and Cook.  I'll not be asking any of the "discussion" questions on this exam.  

For part two I'll name 5 films from the second half of the course and you should be prepared to write an analysis of three of them.  These essays should be analytical essays in which you try to indicate what the film is saying and how it is saying it.  While you may take any critical perspective and argue any thesis, you need to back up your assertions from specific references to moments in the films.  The best essays will tend to look at issues of genre, national cinema, visual style, and thematics, though not necessarily all in the same essay.  In part three you'll see a short film and practice your ability to quickly process and analyze a film.  

Remember:  this is NOT an open-book or open-note exam.  


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