Film Studies Course
Offerings: Fall 2007
To
Students: The film courses listed below will earn credits toward either the
major or minor in Film Studies. All
students are responsible for checking the Queens College course bulletin to
determine what prerequisites, if any, they need to enroll in any particular
course.
Students seeking advisement on
enrollments for Film Studies courses offered should contact:
Office: “G” 202B Phone: 718-997-2962
Office hours: (Fall 2007) Th 1:15- 3:00 PM and by appointment.
R = required course for Film
Studies major and minor E =
elective course
CMAL: Chinese 240: “Contemporary Chinese Film” (E) 3 hr, 3 cr
TH 1:40--4:30 PM Prof. Jia-xuan Zhang
NOTE: This is a section of Chinese 240 which is generally titled “Modern Chinese Fiction in Translation”
Prereq: Sophomore standing. Focus on major social and cultural developments in modern China through cinematic representations of themes including ritual, family, gender, state, ideology, and revolution. Course will provide students with a foundation in the visual literacy of Chinese film through screenings, readings, and analysis. No Chinese required. (Satisfies Humanities I, Tier 2 and Pre-Industrial and/or Non-Western Civilization)
CMAL: Hebrew 190: “Modern Israeli Cinema” (E) 3hr, 3cr
TH 3:30--6:20 PM Prof. Safit
NOTE: This is a section of Hebrew 190 which is generally titled “Topics in Hebrew Literature and Culture in Translation.”
From its very first steps, Israeli cinema has been, for the most part, engaged with national narratives and themes: the causes of Zionism, the effects of the Holocuast, the conflict with Israel's Arab neighbors, war and its outcome, internal ethnic tensions, etc. Even with the recent growth in the number of films that deal with more personal issues, one can learn much about Israeli society and culture through its cinema, just as the notion of a national cinema can be better understood through this special case. This course offers a peek into Israeli cinema placed in the context of Israeli history, politics, and broader cultural spheres. Screenings of a dozen or so films will be accompanied by readings of theoretical and literary texts with the aim of providing a context to and the tools for understanding the cinematic works and the culture that has provided them.
CMAL: Japanese 250: “Modern Japanese Film and Fiction”(E) 3hr, 3 cr
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W 3:30-7:00 PM Prof. Cook
NOTE: Prereq.: Sophomore standing.
The course will focus on the works of directors who brought the Japanese cinema to maturity and established its claim to international recognition as one of the most creative, translatable and exportable products of post-war Japanese culture. Readings for the course will include selected works of modern Japanese fiction as well as critical essays on Post-war cinema. No Japanese required. (Satisfies Humanities I, Tier 2 and/or Pre-Industrial and Non-Western Civilization requirement)
ITAL 250: Italian Cinema: “Neorealisms in Italian Cinema” (E) 4 hr, 3 cr
F 9:15-1:05 Prof. Eugenia Paulicelli
The course will focus on issues of representation and on what the aesthetic of neorealism, developed by Italian filmmakers in the immediate post-WWII period, meant for both Italian and global cinema. The course will go on to analyze the implications of neorealism in filmmaking and narrative, as well as its influence, criticism and legacy on films of the 1950s and 1960s. Authors will include Roberto Rossellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Federico Fellini. The course will be taught in English and counts for the majors in Italian and Film Studies. For further information, please contact the instructor: epaulicelli@gmail.com
MEDST 146: History of Cinema III (1970-the present) (E) 4 hr, 3 cr
T 9:15 AM- 1:05 PM Prof. Amy Herzog
Survey of the development of world cinema from the 1970s to the present. Covers economic, institutional, aesthetic, and political changes in cinema throughout a range of contexts: 1970s American Independents, the rise of the blockbuster, new trends in European, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern cinema, and the evolution of digital technologies. In-class screenings will include works by Alan J. Pakula, Bob Rafelson, Gordon Parks, Jr., Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, David Lynch, Pedro Almodóvar, Tsai Ming-liang, Abbas Kiarostami, and Werner Herzog.
MEDST 200: “Principles of Sound and Image” (R) 4 hr, 3 cr
T 6:30-10:20 PM Prof. Will McCarthy
An examination of the dominant visual and sound conventions characteristic of most film, television and video production. Lectures illustrated with a wide range of media examples present the basic principles of sound and image combinations, including technological principles, shot language, composition, editing, and storytelling. Students apply these principles in the production of two short video projects. Students are also introduced to the fundamentals of the FINAL CUT PRO editing software program, which they will use to edit their second video project. Readings cover both practical material and theoretical discussions of visual and audio parameters.
MEDST 240: “Styles of Cinema” (R) 4 hr, 3 cr
F 9:15AM-1:40 PM Prof. Stuart Liebman
The course will introduce students to the systematic “formalist” analysis of film stylistics in narrative cinema. We will focus on the way filmmakers use the film medium’s techniques and strategies to develop constructions of and reflections about aspects of human lives and the societies in which they live. The major course text will be David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson’s Film Art: An Introduction, 8 th ed. and it will be supplemented by other readings. Films of widely differing types will be screened, including The White Balloon (Jafer Panahi); Citizen Kane (Orson Welles); The Color of Money (Martin Scorsese); The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming); and Toni (Jean Renoir), among others.
MEDST 244: ‘16 mm Film Production’ (E) 4 hr, 3 cr
F 9:15 AM- 1:05 PM Prof. Zoe Beloff
This course is an introduction to 16mm film production. It covers basic cinematography: types of lens, exposure, black and white as well as color photography and basic lighting techniques for film. Special effects unique to film are also covered. Students are also introduced to basic narrative storytelling and shot construction. Classic narrative films as well as more experimental works are screened and critiqued. Each student completes two short silent narrative projects during the semester and also works as an assistant cameraperson on two of their classmates’ films.
Text Book: Cinematography by J. Kris Malkiewicz
MEDST 245: “Screenwriting” (E) 3 hr, 3 cr
F 1:40-4:30 PM Prof. Richard Vetere
This class will help students develop a screenplay from an original idea to the first act of a finished script. In a simulation of Hollywood's story development process, students will begin with a pitch, move to a treatment of their screen story, then act one of their scripts. Special attention will be paid to the fundamentals of storytelling, including creating memorable characters; three-act structure; and story points, such as the "inciting action" and the "climax." This will be achieved through an in-class writing workshop and exercises; screening mainstream, foreign, and independent films; reading film and TV scripts from accomplished writers such as Ted Tally and Larry David; and studying excerpts from screenwriting bibles, including Robert McKee's Story and William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade.
MEDST 245: “Screenwriting” (E) 3 hr, 3 cr
Friday 1:40-4:30 PM Prof. Vetere
This class will help students develop a screenplay from an original idea to the first act of a finished script. In a simulation of Hollywood's story development process, students will begin with a pitch, move to a treatment of their screen story, then act one of their scripts. Special attention will be paid to the fundamentals of storytelling, including creating memorable characters; three-act structure; and story points, such as the "inciting action" and the "climax." This will be acheived through an in-class writing workshop and exercises; screening mainstream, foreign, and independent films; reading film and TV scripts from accomplished writers such as Ted Tally and Larry David; and studying excerpts from screenwriting bibles, including Robert McKee's Story and William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade.
MEDST 311: “Film Culture, New York” (E) 3 hr, 1 cr
Thursday 6:00-9:00PM DATES TBA Profs. Beloff, Herzog, Liebman
Students are introduced to five of the premier venues for film screenings in New York City on five evenings, TBA. Venues include the Museum of Modern Art, Anthology Film Archives, the Walter Reade Theatre, and Film Forum, among others. Students are required to attend all five sessions. One or more articles will be assigned for each film and discussed with the professor who accompanies the students to each screening. A short final paper surveying what students learned about non-commercial programming and exhibition practices will also be required.
NOTE: Interested students must have at least taken MEDST 143 or 144 or other more advanced courses at Queens or elsewhere. Please consult with Professor Liebman about eligibility and enrollment, which will take place in the first two weeks of the Fall, 2007 semester.
MEDST 341W: “Theory of Film” (R) 3 hr, 3 cr
W 9:15 AM-12:05PM Prof. Amy Herzog
This class will provide an overview of significant movements, debates, and figures in film theory. Readings will span both classical and contemporary film theory, addressing a range of approaches including realism, structuralism, auteur theory, genre criticism, psychoanalytic film theory, feminist and critical race theories, and third cinema. The class will examine writings on cinema in their historical and national contexts, looking at the ways in which film theory intersects with political, cultural, and aesthetic trends.
MEDST 342W: “Genre: Holocaust Cinema (E) 4hr, 3cr
TH 9:15AM-1:05 PM Prof. Stuart Liebman
This is an upper level, very intensive and challenging course, grounded in a firm understanding of the history of the Holocaust that we will develop in the first weeks of the term. We will, however, focus on cinematic treatments of what took place as well as the complex issues surrounding the representation of this unprecedented historical event. Readings will include poems, memoirs, theoretical texts, and novels as well as historical and philosophical reflections about the Holocaust. Questions to be addressed include: What roles have films played in shaping public awareness of the Holocaust? How have films about the Holocaust and their public reception changed over time in different countries, especially in Germany and Eastern Europe where most of the slaughter actually took place, and where the vicissitudes of the Cold War and its aftermath have dramatically impacted the political, social and moral meanings of World War II? To what extent has cinematic "kitsch" and the voyeurism of uninformed audiences around the world adulterated public memory of the Holocaust? Special attention will be paid to the depiction of perpetrators and bystanders as well as of the Jewish victims who were their neighbors and friends.
In addition to a range of early documentaries about the Holocaust, we will also screen Die Mörder sind unter uns (W. Staudte, 1946); The Last Stop (W. Jakubowska, 1948); Border Street (A. Ford, 1948); Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1956); The Pawnbroker (S. Lumet, 1965); M. Klein (J. Losey, 1976); and Shoah (excerpts) (C. Lanzmann, 1985), among others.
Readings will include: Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz; Donald Niewyk, The Holocaust; and Cynthia Ozick, The Shawl; and the principal course text will be Doris Bergen, War and Genocide .
MEDST 344W: “National Cinemas: Germany” (E) 4hr, 3 cr
W 1:40-5:20PM Prof. Julian Cornell
The focus of this course is the question: “What is the ‘national’ in national cinema?” Utilizing a wide selection of films from Germany as specific cultural and historical manifestations and ‘evidence’ this class will examine how a given country’s cinematic production can be understood as an active intervention in the creation of that particular country’s national identity. We will investigate the process by which these films envision, imagine and critique their German national identity during critical points in their histories. In particular, the course will be concerned with the role of the artist and filmmaker as a social critic. We will also investigate how a given film addresses the question of what their country’s unique historical and political experience might mean. In addition, we will consider how politically engaged filmmakers have addressed the Nazi period and the totalitarian Communist government of East Germany. While there will be some discussion of film technique and form, the primary focus is on narrative and ideological critique, and film as a form of as social, historical document. Films to be screened will include The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Metropolis, Berlin: Symphony of a City, Fear Eats the Soul, The Marriage of Maria Braun, The Legend of Paul and Paula, Jakob, der Lügner, Aguirre, The Wrath of God, Every Man For Himself and God Against All, The Tin Drum, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, Das Boot, Wings of Desire, I Was 19 and Run Lola Run. Primary textbooks will include Siegfried Kracauer’s From Caligari to Hitler, Mark Silberman German Cinema: Texts and Contexts, and BFI’s The German Cinema Book.
MEDST 345 W “Great Directors: Japan” (E) 4hr, 3cr
M 7:10--9:40 PM Prof. Julian Cornell
This course will introduce students to the works of two of Japan’s best-known cinematic artists: Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi. Students will be asked to consider each director’s films from two complementary perspectives. First, each artist’s work will be examined in terms of its distinctive aesthetic attributes. How does a given film express the unique vision of the director in terms of cinematic technique, approach to narrative and recurring thematic preoccupations? Second, the director and their films will be discussed in light of the larger historical, political and cultural context of their given era. How can we understand the artist in relation to their times? How do the films function as a form of social criticism and attempt to define the meaning of Japanese history and culture? The works of these two cinematic artists will be contrasted and compared to other notable filmmakers from Japan in the postwar period including Yasujiro Ozu, Mikio Naruse, and Keisuke Kinoshita. Films to be screened will include: Rashômon, Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, The Bad Sleep Well, Ran, Sisters of Gion, Naniwa Elegy, Ugetsu Monogatori, The Life of Oharu, Sansho, the Bailiff, Cruel Story of Youth, Tokyo Story, When A Woman Ascends the Stairs and others.
MEDST 345 W “Great Directors: Japan” (E) 4hr, 3cr
M 7:10--9:40 PM Prof. Julian Cornell
This course will introduce students to the works of two of Japan’s best-known cinematic artists: Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi. Students will be asked to consider each director’s films from two complementary perspectives. First, each artist’s work will be examined in terms of its distinctive aesthetic attributes. How does a given film express the unique vision of the director in terms of cinematic technique, approach to narrative and recurring thematic preoccupations? Second, the director and their films will be discussed in light of the larger historical, political and cultural context of their given era. How can we understand the artist in relation to their times? How do the films function as a form of social criticism and attempt to define the meaning of Japanese history and culture? The works of these two cinematic artists will be contrasted and compared to other notable filmmakers from Japan in the postwar period including Yasujiro Ozu, Mikio Naruse, and Keisuke Kinoshita. Films to be screened will include: Rashômon, Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, The Bad Sleep Well, Ran, Sisters of Gion, Naniwa Elegy, Ugetsu Monogatori, The Life of Oharu, Sansho, the Bailiff, Cruel Story of Youth, Tokyo Story, When A Woman Ascends the Stairs and others.
PHIL 105: Film/Philosophy/Politics: “The Western: The Good, the Bad & the Beautiful” (E) 4 hr, 3 cr
T 1:40- 5:20 PM Prof. John Matturri
In its placing human beings and their basic aspirations and conflicts into open wilderness landscapes, the Western has been among the most prominent and most characteristically cinematic of film genres. In this course we will survey important examples of the Western, paying special attention to the philosophical issues that the films raise, including the nature and origin of society and the relation between the individual and community, the nature of character and virtue, of good and evil, as well as issues that are more specifically cinematic, including the use of space and landscape and of violence and action in film. Westerns have often been seen as unsophisticated action films most appropriate for children, but the assumption behind the course is that a number of extraordinary filmmakers have used the genre to reflect on the human condition in a way very worthy of serious viewing and serious philosophical consideration. No previous exposure to philosophy, or to Western films, is required for this course.
Among the examples to be seen are Hawks's Red River, Aldrich's Vera Cruz, Mann's The Naked Spur, Ray's Johnny Guitar, Peckinpah's Ride the High Country, and Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Some attention will be given to films that update and reflect on the genre, such as Malick's Badlands and Jarmusch's Dead Man, and to a Japanese samurai movie, Kurosawa's Yojimbo, that both was influence by and subsequently influenced Westerns. Special emphasis will be placed on the films of John Ford, arguably the greatest director of Westerns, and we will view his Stagecoach, My Darling Clementine, and The Searchers.
SPANISH 291: “Hispanic Film” (E) 4 hr, 3 cr
W 4:30 -8:20 PM Prof. Barbara Simerka
This course will study contemporary film in Spain and Latin America. The first unit will explore films in their specific historical and ideological context, including Spain's transition to democracy, and social movements/political repression in Latin America, with readings on Spanish and Latin American history to supplement the films. This section will also include US Latino films. The second unit will focus on film and other arts, including Saura's dance films and films based on popular novels or artists, as well as films about film-making. The final unit will analyze contemporary representations of gender and sexuality in Hispanic cinema. Each unit will require weekly questions on critical readings, a 3 page paper and an hour-long exam. There will be a take home final exam based on an independent film selection. Representative directors will include: Almodóvar, Amenábar, Saura, Trueba, González-Iñárritu, Gutierrez-Alea, Bemberg, Cuarón.
SEE ALSO: Comparative Literature 228: Themes in Literature:
“Gender in Middle East/North African Film and Literature” Prof. Andrea Khalil
NOTE: This course is not part of the Film Studies major but may be of interest to Film Studies students.
This course will trace the film and literature dealing with gender in the modern Middle East and North Africa. We will focus on works of fiction and films from the Middle East and North Africa that explicitly deal with gender construction and gender relations. Through the theoretical texts, we will study the ‘traditionally’ defined narratives of gender construction in Arabo-Muslim societies. By way of comparison, the fictional stories provide scenarios of how those narratives are commented on, rejected, or re-defined in the creative productions of writers and filmmakers. In some fictional stories, gender identities deviate from their prescribed norms, and grapple with what it means to be a man, or a woman in the modern Middle East and North Africa. We will look at a contrast, prevalent in literature and film that deals with gender relations, between ‘mythical’ gender constructions, and the gender identities that emerge from an engagement with real, and sometimes embattled historical realities.