Course Syllabus

FILM 2332.59M: UNDERSTANDING FILM

Summer 2010
Mondays and Wednesdays 5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Jonsson Auditorium (JO 4.614)

Instructor: Kelly Kretschmar

Phone: 972-883-2170
Email: kretschmar@utdallas.edu
Email communication is preferred
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays before class in JO 5.712
(appointments are required)

Course Description and Format

This course is designed to familiarize students with the history of film as a medium of artistic
and ideological expression and help them develop a vocabulary for discussing and analyzing film
texts in an informed, sophisticated, and meaningful way. The first half of the course will be
spent outlining the formal and stylistic elements of film as an art and commercial mass medium
(mise-en-scene, cinematography, narrative, editing, and sound). The remainder of the course
will be spent exploring the ways filmmakers working in both Hollywood and international
cinemas have employed these formal and stylistic elements; this will involve an analysis of the
meaning and theoretical basis of film genre, European modes of production (including Italian
Neo-Realism and the French New Wave), and avant-garde and documentary filmmaking. Each
class session will consist of lecture, screenings of relevant clips and/or full-length films, and
discussion of readings and screenings. Students’ achievement of the learning objectives will be
assessed through four written responses as well as two examinations that utilize multiple-choice,
fill-in-the-blank and/or short answer responses. Information regarding the four written responses
will be provided on a separate handout.

Student Learning Objectives

To increase students’ understanding of how films are made, to help students develop visual
literacy and a vocabulary for analyzing films in terms of form and style, and to increase students’
awareness of film as an art, mass medium, and cultural artifact.

Course Policies

Please note that in a summer course there is a significant amount of material to be covered in
very little time. We will utilize ALL of the class time allotted, but there will be 15 to 30-minute
breaks between lectures and screenings each night. Because this is an evening class, students
need to plan ahead with regard to meals/snacks. No eating is permitted in class, but students
may eat outside the classroom during the break.

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It is imperative that students keep up with all readings and screenings assigned outside of
class. Each individual class session represents one or two week's worth of work, so there will
be a sign-in sheet distributed in every class. Students who think they will need to miss one or
more classes are encouraged to sign up for a different course.

Students are expected to attend all classes, to be punctual, attentive, and considerate, and to keep
up with the assignments listed on the syllabus. All required readings and full-length screenings
are to be completed outside of class before the regular class session. For example, the readings
and screenings listed for Class 2 should be completed before the class meets for that session.
Please note that there will be a great deal of material to read in order to “catch up” after
Class 1, so please plan accordingly. Students who must miss a class remain responsible for all
course material covered in that class; there are no make-up classes, and each class will only be
taught once.

Cell phones should be turned off upon entering class. Use of laptops is permitted, with the
forewarning that the display must be completely darkened or closed during screenings of clips.
Because clips will be shown intermittently throughout each class (i.e. not all at the beginning or
end), students may find it more convenient to take notes in a notebook rather than on a laptop. If
the use of laptops becomes disruptive to the classroom environment, they will no longer be
permitted. Laptops must be turned off and put away during in-class screenings of films.

Required Textbooks, Readings, and Screenings

Maria Pramaggiore and Tom Wallis, Film: A Critical Introduction, 2nd edition (Boston:
Pearson, 2008)

There are two additional readings available through the library’s electronic reserves that are also
required texts. You will need to search the electronic reserves page by instructor name
(Kretschmar) and enter the password to access these readings.
Write the password here: ____________________________

Some full-length screenings are to be completed outside of class, and they are considered
required texts. All are on reserve at the McDermott Library, but are available in a number of
other venues as well.

Grading Policy

Grades for this course will be calculated on the following basis:

Attendance 10%
Exam 1 35%
Exam 2 35%
4 Written Responses 20%

No make-up exams will be given. The grades acquired are final and I will not engage in any kind of
negotiation (i.e. the need for a higher grade to retain GPA, requests for extra credit, etc).

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 COURSE CALENDAR

Class 1 (Mon. July 5) Course Mechanics

Introduction to Film Analysis

READING: Chapter 2 and Chapter 10 (pgs. 311-320 only)

Narrative
READING: Chapter 4

Class 2 (Wed. July 7) Mise-en-Scene

READING: Chapter 5
IN-CLASS SCREENING: Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray,
1954; 111 min)

Class 3 (Mon. July 12) Written Response #1 Due!!!

Cinematography
READING: Chapter 6
OUT-OF-CLASS SCREENING: Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee,
1989; 120 min.)
IN-CLASS SCREENING: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941;
119 min.)

Class 4 (Wed. July 14) Editing

READING: Chapter 7
IN-CLASS SCREENING: The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967;
105 min.)

Class 5 (Mon. July 19) Written Response #2 Due!!!

EXAM #1 (begins at 5:30 p.m.)

Sound Design
READING: Chapter 8
OUT-OF-CLASS SCREENING: Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley
Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952; 103 min.)

Class 6 (Wed. July 21) Film Genres and Genre Criticism

READING: Chapter 13
IN-CLASS SCREENING: Night of the Living Dead (George
Romero, 1968; 97 min.)

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Class 7 (Mon. July 26) Written Response #3 Due!!!

Beyond Hollywood: International Film Movements

READING: Electronic Reserves “Excerpt from Film Art” by
Bordwell and Thompson
OUT-OF-CLASS SCREENING: The 400 Blows (Francois
Truffaut, 1959; 97 min.)
IN-CLASS SCREENING: The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica,
1948; 90 min.)

Class 8 (Wed. July 28) Beyond Hollywood: Documentary and Avant-Garde

Filmmaking
READING: Chapter 9
IN-CLASS SCREENING: Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (Errol
Morris, 1997; 80 min)

Class 9 (Mon. August 2) Written Response #4 Due!!!

New Hollywood and Film Authorship

READING: Chapter 14
Electronic Reserves: “The New Hollywood” by Thomas Schatz
OUT-OF-CLASS SCREENING: MASH (Robert Altman, 1970;
116 min.)

EXAM #2 Monday, August 9 (begins at 5:30 p.m.)

Syllabus subject to change, but not without notice

Students should be aware that some of the films and clips screened in this class contain
potentially objectionable material such as strong language, violence, and/or nudity. Such
elements are a part of cinema history and the films have been carefully chosen not for shock
value, but because they align with the goals and topics of the course. If such elements will
prevent a student from fully engaging with the course, viewing, discussing, or writing about the
films, he or she should consider enrolling in a different course.

Please note that the Rules on Student Services and Activities of the University of Texas System
will be strictly adhered to. For information on the administration’s rules and policies regarding
student conduct and discipline, academic integrity, e-mail use, withdrawal from class, student
grievance procedures, incomplete grade policies, disability services, and religious holy days,
consult the material, generated by the administration, available in the university catalogue.

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