American Film Studies: Theory & Practice

Washington University in St. Louis, 2020

This course will survey the major economic and social developments in the history of American cinema, from its origins in the late 19th century through its continued, albeit radically altered, existence in the 21st century. We will begin with the earliest days of the U.S. film industry, tracing its growth as well as changes in modes of production and organizing structures that allowed it to become the dominant global force in the making and mass marketing of movies. We will explore mainstream American film's relationship to existing and emergent realms of culture and media as well as to expectations regarding its role and responsibilities as a “public entertainment” denied First Amendment protection until 1952. Film style and form do not constitute the major focus of this course, but we will approach a number of films with attention to style and form in order to understand how cultural, economic, industrial, aesthetic, and technological determinants have impacted American filmmaking as a blend of art and commerce. By the end of this course, you will have a detailed knowledge of the history of American cinema, the individuals and institutional processes that have shaped it, the most important challenges and milestones that have marked it, and the aesthetic forms and socio-cultural effects that have been attributed to it. Priority given to majors and minors. Students will explore these topics across readings and in-class screenings of feature films. Furthermore, recommended readings will help students develop their final papers by addressing additional dimensions of course topics. Writing assignments (both formal and informal) and exams will call on students to apply their understanding of course concepts.

Washington University in St. Louis, 2020

By close examination of three specific types of film narratives, this course will explore how genre has functioned in the Hollywood mode of production. Students will gain an understanding of genre both as a critical construct as well as a form created by practical economic concerns, a means of creating extratextual communication between film artists/producers and audiences/consumers. While our focus will be on the superhero, Western, and science fiction genres, students will also complete a group project on another film genre of their choice. In addition to film showings, there will be readings in genre theory as well as genre analyses of individual films. Students will explore these topics across readings and screenings of feature films. Furthermore, recommended readings will help students develop their unit papers by addressing additional dimensions of course topics. Writing assignments (both formal and informal) and presentations will call on students to apply their understanding of course concepts.

1987

This document highlights the findings of a committee formed by The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to assess the status of film at all levels in American education. The introduction by the editor, William Costanzo, stresses that film is best understood in relation to the language arts-not as a "visual aid" but as an integral part of the environment in which students learn to read, write, listen, speak, and otherwise make meaning of their lives. Dale T. Adams, in an essay entitled "An Historical Perspective," presents a survey of the shifting tides of film study in relation to other currents in American education. In "Film Education Research: A Summary," Joan D. Lynch takes a broad look at who is teaching film, including background information, motives, methods, and attitudes, while Jonathan H. Lovell provides a closer look in his essay "Where We Stand," describing in detail three exemplars instructional film programs, at the elementary, secondary, and college levels. Finally, Brian Gallagher's essay entitled "Film Study in the English Language Arts: Technology and the Future of Pedagogy," considers how new changes in technology are likely to influence the course of film study in the near future. (References are attached.) (NICA)

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 2023

This course provides an introduction to the study of film aesthetics, history, and criticism. It introduces an aesthetic vocabulary that students will use to analyze components of film form, such as mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, and genre. The course approaches films as texts that indicate cultural attitudes and norms of their time and that can be understood through textual analysis. A number of critical methodologies are introduced to study cinema’s role in American culture, including issues of race, class, and gender. The course seeks to enhance the students’ understanding of film from a historical perspective, contextualizing film within the history of cinema technology and the movie industry.

in Special Issue: Proceedings of the 2008 HAAS Conference, in Réka M. Cristian and Zoltán Dragon (eds.), AMERICANA, E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary, Volume V, Number 2, Fall 2009. (ISSN: 1787-4637), available: http://americanaejournal.hu/vol5no2/tzsa

Cinema Journal Vol. 41, No. 1 (Autumn 2001), pp. 110-114, 2001

An introductory survey course in international film history is potentially laden with practical and intellectual difficulties: how to cover every nation or movement in one term, the difficulty of selecting representative canonical and/or noncanonical (or even anticanonical) film texts, and the choice of a methodology by which to investigate history. This essay will focus on the latter problem--what kind of history we teach--in an effort to establish that different professors, textbooks, assignments, and lesson plans all emphasize different approaches to the study of cinema history. Indeed, the methodological terrain can be divided into five paradigms: (1) aesthetic/textual history, (2) technological history, (3) film industry/economic history, (4) sociocultural history, and (5) historiography. When only one approach is selected as the primary paradigm, that initial determination often structures most subsequent curricular decisions and thus proffers a one-note viewpoint on a highly complex subject. As a result, students are limited to seeing the cinema and its history as a one-dimensional field of inquiry.

2021

A comprehensive overview of how to study film, this updated third edition provides concise and provocative summaries for approaching the language of film analysis, ways of thinking about film history, and approaches and methods for studying cinema, from national cinemas to genre to stardom and beyond. The new edition tracks the changes in film production and exhibition by situating the study of film within contemporary digital media cultures and structures, such as social media and streaming platforms. Without forsaking its emphasis on the study of film, the third edition updates its examples and provides fresh insight into today's image culture. Film Studies: The Basics provides beginning students in film studies, as well as lifelong film buffs, with the tools to pursue film analysis, film history, and further inquiries into the medium.

This course introduces film as an art form and a cultural medium. Through the analysis of selected films from various genres, styles, and historical periods, students will explore the elements of film language, narrative structure, visual aesthetics, and the social and cultural contexts of cinema. The course aims to develop critical thinking and analytical skills, and foster an appreciation for the art of filmmaking.

lsn.curtin.edu.au

During second semester 1997 we undertook a project to ascertain how the use of Hollywood feature films with historical content affected students' learning of twentieth century American History. Questionnaires, reflective journals and interviews were used to gauge the impact ...