Grades are online

Hi, guys. Grades are now online. Thanks for a truly wonderful semester. I hope that you have great summer vacations.

Pizza Time = 11:30

Greetings. This is a reminder that class will start at 11:30 (11:40 Berkeley time?), tomorrow. As we discussed, I'll be bringing pizza, so don't be late! As an extra special treat, we'll be watching the first episode of Futurama--ironically, the tale of a pizza delivery boy who travels to the future!

Good luck finishing your papers.

Final Paper Assignment

Important Dates:
Paper proposal due: Wednesday, April 19
First 2-3 paragraphs due: Writing Workshop, Monday, May 1
Peer Review Session: Wednesday, May 3
Papers due: Monday, May 8, at the beginning of class

REMINDERS: This paper will constitute 30% of your final grade. Attendance at writing workshops and peer review sessions is mandatory.

Paper Topic:
Expanding on the model of critical writing initiated in the first paper, students will present a critical essay with a major research component. Research components may include: historical background on the context of the film, biographical research on the filmmaker (only if two films by the same artist are being compared), and theoretical research on the cultural or philosophical issues at stake in the film.

These essays must discuss two films. One of the films must be on our syllabus. The student may choose a second film from syllabus, or a film not viewed in class.

Paper Format & Guidelines:
The paper must be 10-12 pages long. (As always, it should have a title, your name, and page numbers, and it should be stapled.) This paper will require you to reflect critically on two films, offering a coherent thesis in relationship to the interpretation of the works. Formulation of this argument should be dependent upon the formal components of the film, which will also entail contextualizing the relationship between form and content.

I will be evaluating your ability to formulate a clear thesis, to argue in favor of this thesis, to identify and analyze the works' formal elements, and to synthesize and apply the vocabulary we have established through our readings and discussions. Your thesis should make a concise statement about what the works signify and the way in which they do so.

Paper Proposals:
You must turn in 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. Proposals must also address the research component of your project. These proposals must be turned in, in class, on Wednesday, April 19.

Writing Workshop:
On Monday, May 1, we will have a writing workshop. Please bring three copies of your first 2-3 paragraphs to class, on this day.

Peer Review:
On Wednesday, May 3, we will have a peer review session. Please bring three copies of your first draft to class on this day.

1984

Here is a PDF of George Orwell's 1984. You might want to start reading it now. It will take you a bit to read and will also offer a nice point of comparison for Tron...

Blade Runner

This week we're watching Blade Runner. I would also like to encourage you to read or peruse Philip K. Dick's, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the novel on which the film is based. I'd like to discuss the challenges of adapting a novel to film and the difference between telling a story in words or images. Some of you might also be interested in reviewing the film's screenplay, and comparing the text for your favorite scenes...

Paper Reminders

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all having a nice Spring Break.

I wanted to remind you that we have a peer review session scheduled for Monday, so you should bring THREE copies of your paper to class.

The sessions need to start on time, so you cannot be tardy. The papers will be due at the beginning of class on Wednesday and I do not accept late papers. SO those who come in late... your papers will be late & unacceptable.

Please plan ahead to print your papers and be on time.

Presentation Dates

Here are the remaining presentation dates, for this semester. If you've not yet emailed me with your preference, please do so asap!

Weds 3/22: Film: The Conversation

Jason L.

Mon 4/10: Film: Blade Runner

Lani
Shadi

Weds 4/12: Film: Tron

Mark
Van

Mon 4/17: Reading: George Orwell, 1984

Brandon
Daniel

Weds 4/19: Film: War Games

Aaron
Jason H.

Mon 4/24: Reading: Marshall McLuhan, "The Medium is the Message"

Randy

Wed 4/26: Film: Videodrome

Silvia
Lindsay

Althusser Reading Prompts

I really enjoyed our discussion of Walter Benjamin's essay and I hope that we can carry forth that level of analysis and some of the questions raised into our discussion of the upcoming Louis Althusser reading. Though you might find Althusser a bit more direct in his approach to his thesis, it's still a very complex essay. I thought I'd raise some points or questions for you to consider, in preparation for our discussion of the essay, on Monday. Feel free to incorporate your thoughts on these into your response papers...

* In discussing Benjamin, we talked about how economic and socio-political systems can beget or inscribe aesthetic systems. How might this idea carry over into Althusser's essay?

* Compare & contrast how Althusser and Benjamin understand history & historicization, in relation to (re)production. In so doing, you might consider the relation of time and space and how they are represented by the authors.

* How does Althusser's use of words like infrastructure, system, and machine relate to the ways we've been using them, in class, thus far?

* Is there a machine metaphor at play in Althusser's characterization of the State and/or is machine culture the product of the State?

* How does Althusser describe the relationship of the individual to the State, the law, authority (intellectual as well as legal), religion, other individuals, the machine, etc? How does this compare to the portrayal of these relations in the films that we've watched, this far?

That's a start. I'd like you to come to some conclusions on your own. This essay had a very deep impact on me when I first read it as an undergrad, and I'd like to hear your initial responses. It's been very influential in contemporary political, philosophical, and art (ie film, lit, semiotic, etc) theory, and is worthy of very close reading.

Upcoming Assignments

Prospectus for essay #1 (Due Weds. 3/22):

This will be a 1-page paper proposal outlining your topic/film, 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. Ungraded, but mandatory. Failing to turn one in will effect your participation grade.

Essay #1 (6-8 pages, Peer Review Mon. 4/3; Due Weds. 4/5):

The paper must be 6-8 pages long. (As always, it should have a title, your name, and page numbers, and it should be stapled.) This paper will require you to reflect critically on one of the films we've watched to date, offering a coherent thesis in relationship to the interpretation of the work. Formulation of this argument should be dependent upon the formal components or elements of the work, including a close-reading of the rhetorical relationship between the narrative and the filmic structure, which will also entail contextualizing the relationship between form and content.

I will be evaluating your ability to formulate a clear thesis, to argue in favor of this thesis, to identify and analyze the work's
formal elements, and to synthesize and apply the vocabulary we've established through our readings and discussions. Your thesis should make a concise statement about what the work signifies and the way in which it does so.

As noted above, your paper must cite at least two references, in addition to our assigned readings.

Related Art Projects...

Hello. I wanted to give you a link to Joy Garnett's Bomb Project, which I mentioned during out discussion of Dr. Strangelove. The site has all kinds of great info on the history of the bomb and related art projects.

I also wanted to point you to one my favorite internet art projects, which is a piece by Jennifer & Kevin McCoy, called 201: A Space Algorithm. The McCoys created a master list of every single shot in 2001: A Space Odyssey and made a site at which you can remix and watch the shots, according to certain parameters. (Of course, one combination of options just lets you watch the whole film 'normally,' online.) It's very interesting.

No Class This Week

Hi, all. Happy President's Day! This is just a reminder that we aren't meeting this week, as today is a holiday and I'll be at a conference, on Wednesday. Next Monday we'll have a writing workshop, so there's no homework for that. Just come and talk about your papers, to date, and to complete some writing exercises. Then we'll jump ahead, in time, to Kubrick's Dr Strangelove!

Diagnostic Essay Assignment

Diagnostic essays are due at the beginning of class, on Monday, February 13. Late or emailed papers will not be accepted. The papers are ungraded but mandatory. They will provide a first opportunity to write in greater depth about a film, and for us to begin identifying current strengths & weaknesses in your writing.

The papers should be 3-4 double-spaced pages in length. You may write about any of the films we've watched in class, thus far, including the Lumieres's and Edison films, A Trip to the Moon, Metropolis, and Modern Times.

The best way to approach the paper (particularly given its short page count) is to treat it as a sequence analysis, identifying a single sequence and performing a close-reading of it. The sequence should be at least 3 minutes long, but not more than 10 minutes long. A sequence is a series of shots somehow connected logically--in terms of a) their common locale or setting; and/or (b) their relation to one dramatic moment in the plot (i.e. a "scene"); and/or c) their common function in terms of furthering plot development; and/or (d) their relation to some common theme or issue. Such a sequence may be worth choosing, however, less for its relation to setting, plot, or theme, than for the fact that it contains a typical or extraordinary stylistic feature you would like to examine. Examples might be the robot transformation sequence, in Metropolis, or the dream sequence in A Trip to the Moon.

Your paper should briefly address what happens in the sequence, but it should not be a 3-page description of the events. Note the relationship between events and the way they are represented. (Remember: signifier & signified.) What characterizes the mise-en-scene (sets, locales, composition, lighting, and movement of other objects in the frame--including people)? This can include diegetic & non-diegetic material. What characterizes the cinematography: film stock; color, black/white, or tinting; lenses and changes in focus (deep focus, shallow); camera angles (high/low/"straight-on"), camera movement (panning, tracking, zooms), framing; shot duration; distance of camera to objects (close-ups, medium & long shots)? How is it edited? Finally, what is notable about the sound? (Include dialogue, the score, diegetic music/sound, special effects, silence, etc.)

You must have a thesis and write the paper like a normal "argumentative paper." For example: "The juxtaposition between 'silent' dialogue and recorded speech makes a statement about the 'voice of the worker,' in Modern Times." I would advise you to watch the entire movie, again, to consider how the sequence fits into the film at large.

In this paper, as in all papers, I will be analyzing your ability to do the following:

* Formulate a coherent thesis and support it with evidence from the film.
* Write analytically, moving beyond plot summary and into close-reading of the film.
* Relate your interpretation of the sequence/film to the theme(s) of the class--representations of technology and sub-themes, such as modernity, machine culture, science/evolution, time/space relations, travel/transportation, the body, law & authority, etc.
* Write gracefully, using proper grammar and clear word choice.

In this first paper, you do not need to cite a printed reference, however you are not discouraged from doing so. Emphasis should be placed on close-reading of the film itself, but as we will be incorporating written/secondary texts into our discussions and as you will be required to cite such texts in your two longer papers, it's never too soon to begin practicing. Meanwhile, as a reminder, I have a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism. Even in an ungraded paper, plagiarism will result in automatic failure of the class.

Ok, have fun and feel free to email me with questions.

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.