Module Information
Module Identifier
TF20320
Module Title
FILM AND CULTURAL IDENTITY
Academic Year
2010/2011
Co-ordinator
Semester
Intended for use in future years
Pre-Requisite
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 2000 word essay | |
| Semester Assessment | 3000 word essay For information on due dates for submission of assessed work, please refer to the departmental web pages at http://www.aber.ac.uk/tfts/duedates.shtml | |
| Supplementary Assessment | Resit will be by submission of failed component (essay) to a fresh topic |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1) Identify representations of cultural identity in films,
2)) Analyse specific instances of the portrayal of cultural identity in films
3) Relate these instances to other elements of the films
4) Work with the theories and concepts of cultural identity in studying film
5) Have an understanding of how issues of cultural identity are dealt with by audiences
Aims
The aims of the module are:
- Identify representations of cultural identity in films,
- Analyse specific instances of the protrayal of cultural identity in films and relate these instances to other elements of the films
- Provide a thorough undrestanding of the relationship between film and cultural identity in a selection of territories
- Work with the theories and concepts of cultural identity in studying film
- Have an understanding of how issues of cultural identity are dealt with by audiences.
Content
This module introduces students to studying film in relation to the key concept of cultural identity. 'Cultural Identity' refers to the ways in which films are linked to, and comment back on the cultural background they come from. As such, the module aims, specifically, to introduce you to a range of practices that have been used to read films as representations of cultural identity, and to think about films as vehicles for the exploration of the problems and issues associated with cultural identity in different historical periods and contexts.
We have structured the module so that we begin by thinking about what might constitute the 'British identity' or 'British character' and then move to consider the different challenges that have been made, through cinema, to this idea and there is one coherent British identity. Because some of the lectures will focus on such issues as realism, race, gender, and youth culture, we hope that the module will serve as an introduction to these issues in general, as well as in terms of how they have been explored within the context of British cinema.
Films Studies - indicative list
Carry On Up the Khyber (Gerald Thomas, 1968)
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)
Performance (Nicholas Roeg and Dennis Cammell, 1970)
Local Hero (Bill Forsyth, 1983)
Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)
Alfie (Lewis Gilbert, 1966)
The Man in the White Suit (Alexander Mackendrick, 1951)
Meantime (Mike Leigh, 1984)
Babylon (Franco Rosso, 1980)
The Wicked Lady (Leslie Arliss, 1945)
We have structured the module so that we begin by thinking about what might constitute the 'British identity' or 'British character' and then move to consider the different challenges that have been made, through cinema, to this idea and there is one coherent British identity. Because some of the lectures will focus on such issues as realism, race, gender, and youth culture, we hope that the module will serve as an introduction to these issues in general, as well as in terms of how they have been explored within the context of British cinema.
Films Studies - indicative list
Carry On Up the Khyber (Gerald Thomas, 1968)
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)
Performance (Nicholas Roeg and Dennis Cammell, 1970)
Local Hero (Bill Forsyth, 1983)
Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)
Alfie (Lewis Gilbert, 1966)
The Man in the White Suit (Alexander Mackendrick, 1951)
Meantime (Mike Leigh, 1984)
Babylon (Franco Rosso, 1980)
The Wicked Lady (Leslie Arliss, 1945)
Reading List
Recommended TextAshby, Justin and Andrew Higson (eds) (2000) British Cinema: Past and Present Routledge Primo search Barr, Charles (1993) Ealing Studios Studio Vista Primo search Barr, Charles (ed) (1986) All Our Yesterdays: 90 Years of British Cinema BFI Primo search Bassnett, Susan (ed.) (1997) Studying British Cultures: An Introduction Routledge Primo search Bourne, Stephen (1998) Black in the British Frame: Black People in British Film and Television 1896-1996 Cassell Primo search Chibnall, Steve and Julian Petley (eds) (2002) British Horror Cinema Routledge Primo search Chibnall, Steve and Robert Murphy (eds) (1999) British Crime Cinema Routledge Primo search Cook, Pam (ed.) (1998) Gainsborough Pictures Continuum Primo search Curran, James and Vincent Porter (eds) (1983) British Cinema History Weidenfeld and Nicholson Primo search Friedman, Lester (ed.) (2006) Fires Were Started: British Cinema and Thatcherism 2nd ed Wallflower Press Primo search Hainsworth, Paul, John Hill and Martin McLoone (eds) (1994) Border Crossing: Film in Ireland, Britain and Europe Belfast: Queen's University Primo search Higson, Andrew (ed.) (1996) Dissolving Views: Key Writings on British Cinema Cassell Primo search Hill, John (1999) British Cinema in the 1980s Oxford University Press Primo search Hill, John (1986) Sex, Class and Realism: British Cinema 1956-1963 BFI Primo search Hutchings, Peter (1993) Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film Manchester University Press Primo search Leach, Jim (2004) British Film Cambridge University Press Primo search Lindner, Christoph (ed.) (2003) The James Bond Phenomenon Manchester University Press Primo search MacNab, Geoffrey (ed.) (2000) Searching for the Stars: Stardom and Screen Acting in British Cinema Cassell Primo search McArthur, Colin (ed.) (1982) Scotch Reels: Scotland in Cinema and Television BFI Primo search Monk, Claire and Amy Sargeant (eds) (2002) British Historical Cinema: The History, Heritage and Costume Film Routledge Primo search Murphy, Robert (1992) Sixties British Cinema BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed.) (1999) British Cinema of the 90s BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed.) (2002) The British Cinema Book 2nd ed BFI Primo search Petrie, Duncan (2000) Screening Scotland BFI Primo search Petrie, Duncan (ed.) (1992) New Questions of British Cinema BFI Primo search Pirie, David (1973) A Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema (1946-1972) Gordon Fraser Primo search Richards, Jeffrey (1997) Films and British National Identity: From Dickens to Dad's Army Manchester University Press Primo search Richards, Jeffrey and Anthony Aldgate (1983) Best of British: Cinema and Society from 1930 to the Present Blackwell Primo search Sargeant, Amy (2005) British Cinema: A Critical History BFI Primo search Spicer, Andrew (2001) Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema I.B. Tauris Primo search Storry, Mike and Peter Childs (eds) (1997) British Cultural Identities Routledge Primo search Street, Sarah (1997) British National Cinema Routledge Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5