Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | Ten 1-hour lectures |
| Seminars / Tutorials | Ten 1-hour seminars |
| Workload Breakdown | Lecture and seminar attendance: 20 hours; lecture and seminar preparation (research and reading): 100 hours; essay research and preparation: 45 hours; text commentary research and preparation: 35 hours. |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Continuous assessment : Three 500-word response papers | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | Continuous assessment : Informal presentation, seminar attendance and performance | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | Continuous assessment : One final essay (2500 words for Level 3 students) | 40% |
| Supplementary Exam | 1 x 2 hour examination if continuous assessment submitted. 1 x 3 hour examination if no continuous assessment submitted. | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Engage in discussions about the historical evolution of Spanish American film expression;
2. Use the language of cinema to enter debates surrounding issues of content and form;
3. Have familiarity with some of the most widely discussed examples of Spanish American film, as well as with important critical texts that consider them;
4. Show increased familiarity with the key methods and critical tools employed by scholars to study film and film history;
5. Be acquainted with a variety of film genres as used by particular trans-national directors;
6. Engage critically with a wide variety of scholarly material including monographs and specialised articles.
7. Present their findings in a logical, organised and scholarly fashion both orally - through debates and informal presentations - and in written form - through essays and text commentaries.
8. Compare texts and engage in debates that analyse the connections or differences among these film texts.
Aims
This new module exposes students to the study of Spanish American film in the 20th and 21st centuries. Looking at practitioners from the 'Golden Age' of Mexican cinema in the 1940s to present-day filmmakers such as Alejandro Gonzalez I'rrritu, the module aims to engage students in discussions of the formal-aesthetic, historical, political and narrative issues contained in some of the most popular and/or controversial films from Spanish America.
Brief description
Is there such a thing as a 'unique' Spanish American cinema? How do history and cinematic expression combine and collide on the screen to produce an idea of the Spanish American cultural landscape? In this module, students will view a range of films from different periods and countries in Spanish America, and will be asked to use the language of cinema to closely analyse and discuss formal and aesthetic constructions of film narrative, whilst reading book and journal articles that provide a historical and political framework for the films. Two-hour class meetings (as well as separate screening times), organized around five (5) films and a set collection of critical texts, will allow students to view, read, and discuss the historical, narrative, and formal development of a Spanish American cinematic tradition.
Content
1. Mexican Indigenism and the Art of Film Muralism: The Films of Emilio Fernandez
2. Revolution and the Hispanic Avant-Garde: Memorias del subdesarrollo: Tomas Gutierrez-Alea's Cuba
3. Panic Theater, the 1960s and American Landscapes: Alexandro Jodorowsky
4. Gender, History and Allegory: The Feminist Filmography of Maria Luisa Bemberg
5. Neoliberalism and the Urban Film Narrative: Alejandro Gonzalez I'rrritu and the New Boom in Mexican Cinema
Reading List
Should Be PurchasedBordwell, David & Thompson, Kristin (2007) Flm Art: An Introduction McGraw Hill Publishing Primo search King, John (2000) Magical Reels: A history of Cinema in Latin America Verso Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6