Updates & Reminders

Hi, all. I posted those updates to the course schedule and will be emailing it to you shortly, along with an essay to read before our discussion of Orson Welles's 1938 radio performance of War of the Worlds. Tomorrow we will go over the Bordwell reading, discuss the early history of films and film devices, and begin to discuss the techniques of film analysis. We will also watch some early Lumiere and Edison films.

Course Description & Goals

This course will serve as an introduction to thinking and writing critically about film. On a primary level, the goal of this course is to strengthen students' skills in the areas of writing and research. This will be accomplished through workshop-style writing exercises and in-class presentations, research assignments, and thoughtful close-reading of critical writing. Students will learn to recognize and craft essays that move beyond description into the realm of original argumentation, and they should expect that their own writings will be held to a similar level of scrutiny as those on our reading list.

The screenings, readings, and assignments will be organized around the theme of Representations of Technology. The emphasis, in each case, will be on close-reading, but in the overall course of synthesizing these writings and films, we will come to consider the formal and narrative conventions of representations of technology, the political and cinematic contexts of our materials, and the history and theory of machines and machine culture. The films that we are watching trace the many influences that technologies have had on our lives, from our means of communicating and work habits to our understandings of time and space. The development of the technologies referenced, and the films and writings themselves, point to the evolution of American life, fears, and fantasies. Films: Metropolis, The Man With a Movie Camera, Modern Times, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Conversation, Blade Runner, Tron, WarGames, Videodrome.

Course Policies

Assigned readings should be brought to every class. Writing assignments are due in-class, at the beginning of the session (i.e. 11:10 am) on the specified due dates. No late or e-mailed papers will be accepted, and all papers must be typed and proofread, with numbered and stapled pages. Attendance is mandatory for all class sessions and field trips. Lateness is unacceptable. Students with two or more unexcused absences, or who fail to complete and turn-in all writing assignments on-time, will not pass the class.

A Note on Classroom Conduct:
If all goes as planned, this will be a very fun class with a lot of lively discussion. Students are expected to participate in class, not only by showing up but also by paying attention and contributing to discussions. While educated debate is encouraged, students are expected to be respectful of each others' work and ideas, to contribute constructive criticism as appropriate, and to generally contribute to the class by keeping up with the readings and assignments.

Students may not use portable devices at any time (including, but not limited to, cell phones, text messaging, mp3 players, gameboys, gps devices, speak and spell, etch-a-sketch, etc). Students who are found to be sleeping or using their laptops to surf the internet, check email, or update their Myspace profiles, during class time, will be expelled from the classroom. In all seriousness, this class will be an opportunity to watch some great films and to have very smart, engaging discussions about them. The atmosphere of the class will be that of a workshop in which we are all learning from each other. This will require your complete commitment.

A Note on Plagiarism & Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism will not be tolerated, under any circumstances. Students who plagiarize will automatically fail the class and it will be at the instructor's discretion to report the student to the university. There is no such thing as "only plagiarizing a little." Plagiarism includes stealing papers topics and the ideas of others, as well as specific language. If you have any questions as to what constitutes plagiarism or how to properly cite your colleagues or reference resources, see me and/or turn to these helpful online resources:

http://www.reshall.berkeley.edu/academics/resources/plagiarism/
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Citations.html

Student Learning Center and Students with Disabilities:
For assistance/concerns with writing or with questions concerning disabilities please contact the Student Learning Center at http://slc.berkeley.edu (510.642.7332) and the Disabled Students' Program at http://dsp.berkeley.edu.

Assignments & Grading

Attendance and class participation (including field trips and peer evaluations) will constitute 30% of your grade. The remaining 70% will be determined according to your performance in each of the following assignments.

Film & Reading Responses: For each film screened and each non-Bordwell reading, students must turn in a one-page, typed (double-spaced) paper summarizing the theme and primary argument(s) of the assigned author, or the notable narrative and formal qualities of the film screened. On a date for which we have more than one assigned reading, you may choose one of the writings. These papers will be due at the beginning of class and must pose a discussion question. 15% of grade (Note: Because these are graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis, poor performance on reading responses can result in the lowering of your grade by as much as one letter-grade.)

Diagnostic Essay: All students must turn-in a diagnostic essay at the beginning of the semester, for evaluation. While these will be ungraded, they are mandatory. Failing to turn one in will effect your participation grade. The essays will be 3-4 page papers on one of the films watched, thus far, in class.

Oral Presentations: Once during the semester, a student must give a five-minute presentation on a film or reading. These presentations will be advanced versions of the response papers, offering summary, analysis, and points of discussion. Creativity is encouraged!
5% of grade

Prospectus for essay #1: This will be a 1 paper proposal, outlining your topic, thesis, the main points you anticipate making in support of your thesis, and two potential research references, both of which must be from outside of the syllabus and not from the internet (though appropriate internet references are encouraged--we will discuss this.) Ungraded, but mandatory. Failing to turn one in will effect your participation grade.

Essay #1: (6-8 pages). This critical essay will require students to reflect critically on a film, offering a coherent thesis in relationship to the interpretation of the work. Formulation of this argument should be dependent upon a close reading of the formal qualities of the film and an integration of secondary sources.
20% of grade

Prospectus for essay #2: This will be a 1-2 page paper proposal, outlining your topic, thesis, the main points you anticipate making in support of your thesis, and three potential research references, at least two of which must be from outside of the syllabus and not from the internet (though appropriate internet references are encouraged—we will discuss this.) Ungraded, but mandatory. Failing to turn one in will effect your participation grade.

Essay #2: Research paper (10-12 pages). A more advanced paper addressing two films. Details will be discussed in class, as the semester progresses.
30% of grade

Students should keep original copies of all course work turned-in and all edited and graded assignments. Please consult the course schedule for due dates.

Texts:
Required: Course Reader
Recommended: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers; Strunk and White's Elements of Style

Schedule & Readings

Please Note: This schedule is subject to revision. Changes will be announced in class and posted on the course blog. In general, we will be revisiting assigned readings throughout the semester, and constantly balancing group discussion of films with textual analysis.

Readings will be discussed on the date listed and must be read before class. Students should always bring the assigned readings to class and be prepared to actively discuss them.

Weds 1/18
Course Introduction

Mon 1/23
Discussion: Modernity, the Machine, and early Cinema
Reading: Excerpts on Early Cinema and the Development of the Classical Hollywood Cinema, David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson, Film Art. In-class screening of early actualities (Edison, Lumieres, etc.)

Weds 1/25
Readings: Excerpts from Cantril, Hadley The Invasion from Mars: A Study in the Psychology of Panic. New York: Harper and Row, 1966; also read the Materials (including thee script) at the website, "Radio's War of the Worlds Broadcast (1938)":
http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/wotw.html

Mon 1/30
Discussion: Intro to film terms and film analysis
Reading: Excerpts, Bordwell & Thompson, Film Art, on editing, shots, and mise-en-scene
Metropolis (1927)

Weds 2/1
Reading: Dziga Vertov, "Kino Eye"
In-class screening: Excerpts, The Man With a Movie Camera (1929)

Mon 2/6
CLASS WILL MEET IN MOFFIT LIBRARY
Tour, Media Resources Center

Weds 2/8
Modern Times (1936)

Mon 2/13
DUE IN CLASS: 3-4 page diagnostic essay
Continued discussion, Modern Times. Those interested in writing about Chaplin can consult this list of references available in the Berkeley libraries: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/chaplinbib.html

Weds 2/15
Discussion: Critical writing & reading; In-Class writing exercise
Readings: Charles Babbage, "Of the Analytical Engine" (1864); EM Forster, "The Machine Stops" (1909)

Mon 2/20
NO CLASS--President's day

Weds 2/22
Research Lab

Mon 2/27
Writing workshop

Weds 3/1
Dr. Strangelove (1963)

Mon 3/6
Reading: Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Weds 3/8
Reading Continued: Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle

Mon 3/13
Research Lab

Weds 3/15
Discussion: Authorship & Genre
Readings: Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Bordwell & Thompson excerpt, "Understanding Genre"

Mon 3/20
Reading: Louis Althusser, "Ideology & Ideological State Apparatuses"
The Conversation (1974)

Weds 3/22
DUE IN CLASS: First Paper Prospectus
Continued discussion, Althusser and The Conversation

Mon 3/27
NO CLASS--Spring Break

Weds 3/29
NO CLASS--Spring Break

Note: Use this free period to work on the first draft of your first papers.

Mon 4/3
Peer review workshop--bring three copies of your paper to class

Weds 4/5
DUE IN CLASS: First papers
Blade Runner (1982)

Mon 4/10
Reading: Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Tron (1982)

Weds 4/12
Class Discussion: Tron & Various art projects based on/ employing video games (URLs to be posted on blog)

Mon 4/17
Reading: George Orwell, 1984 (1949)
WarGames (1983)

Weds 4/19
2nd PAPER PROSPECTUS DUE
Reading: George Orwell, 1984, Cont.

Mon 4/24
Reading: Marshall McLuhan, "The Medium is the Message"
Videodrome (1983)

Wed 4/26
Reading Continued: Marshall McLuhan,
"The Medium is the Message"

Mon 5/1
Writing Workshop

Weds 5/3
Peer-review workshop

Mon 5/8
DUE IN CLASS: Final papers