Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 1 x 1 hour Lecture per week and 1 x 1 hour Seminar per week |
| Other | 1 x 3 hour Viewing per week |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay 1 (2000 words) | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 2 (3000 words) | 60% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
command the basic terminology of film studies in terms of how the classical Hollywood cinema developed into an industrial norm;
generate theoretical applications of some basic classical Hollywood film theories, applying them to contemporary Hollywood films.
Aims
Classical Hollywood Cinema, the so-called `Golden Age?, approximately between the years 1915 ? 1960, was the period that the codes of cinematic storytelling were established, and to which, some theorists/historians argue, all later filmmakers respond, either by duplicating these codes or by rejecting and disrupting them. Either way, Classical Hollywood Cinema is the dominant discourse of all filmmaking sensibilities. In other words, it is the centre to which all other discourses develop from/respond to. This module negotiates the basic terminology of film studies through this historical period and by presenting an introduction to film theory, proceeds to examine how this terminology may be applied, by extension, to contemporary Hollywood cinema.
Brief description
Classical Hollywood Cinema, the so-called `Golden Age?, approximately between the years 1915 ? 1960, was the period that the codes of cinematic storytelling were established, and to which, some theorists/historians argue, all later filmmakers respond, either by duplicating these codes or by rejecting and disrupting them. Either way, Classical Hollywood Cinema is the dominant discourse of all filmmaking sensibilities. In other words, it is the centre to which all other discourses develop from/respond to. This module negotiates the basic terminology of film studies through this historical period and by presenting an introduction to film theory, proceeds to examine how this terminology may be applied, by extension, to contemporary Hollywood cinema.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | Students' written communication skills will be developed (e.g. appropriate language and style, accuracy, precision and ability to be concise). Opportunities will be given, through seminar sessions, for students to develop confidence in using their speaking and listening skills when communicating their ideas. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be able to develop their skills of information location and retrieval. * Students will be given opportunities to develop effective note-taking skills. * Students will develop their critical thinking skills. * Through group discussion, students will be given opportunities to develop an awareness of the opinions of others and reconsider initial ideas if necessary. |
| Information Technology | Students will be given the opportunity to develop their authorial and note-taking skills when planning and preparing for the written assignment, and will be encouraged to develop their note-taking skills in lectures. * Students will be given opportunities to develop their skills in searching for relevant reading and other materials (such as film reviews), through the University's Voyager Library Catalogue, the University electronic journal resource, Joey, and through the newspaper database, Lexis-Nexis. * E-mail and Blackboard will remain the main forms of communication and information sharing in this module, so students will be encouraged to actively engage in these processes. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Students will be given the opportunity to evaluate current knowledge and skills and set targets for self-improvement. * Students will be encouraged to take increasing responsibility for managing their own learning. * Students will be encouraged to build upon the knowledge gained from lectures through developing skills in self study (supported by the general and specific reading lists and other resources distributed throughout the module). |
| Problem solving | Students should be able to identify tensions and debates in the field, and will be encouraged to critically reflect on the process by which academics arrive at particular theoretical interpretations of particular films and historiographies. |
| Research skills | Students will be able to develop their skills of information location and retrieval. Students will be able to develop their textual analytic skills, and to learn to analyse texts in a focused and purposeful manner (especially in relation to their first essay which is based around close analysis of a film sequence). |
| Subject Specific Skills | |
| Team work | Some seminar sessions will involve group work where students will be able to collaborate through discussion, and then feed back their ideas to the seminar group as a whole. |
Reading List
Recommended TextBalio, Tino (ed.) (1976) The American Film Industry University of Wisconsin Press Primo search Black, Gregory D. (1994) Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics and the Movies Cambridge University Press Primo search Bordwell, David, Janet Staiger and Kristin Thompson (1985) The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960 Routledge Primo search Casper, Drew (2007) Postwar Hollywood 1946-1962 Blackwell Primo search Doherty, Thomas (1999) Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality and Insurrection in America New York: Columbia University Press Primo search Doherty, Thomas (1993) Projections of War New York: Columbia University Press Primo search Gomery, Douglas (2005) The Hollywood Studio System: A History BFI Primo search Lev, Peter (2006) Transforming the Screen, 1950-1959 University of California Press Primo search Maltby, Richard (2005) Hollywood Cinema 2nd ed Blackwell Primo search McDonald, Paul (2000) The Star System: Hollywood's Production of Popular Identities Wallflower Press Primo search Monaco, Paul (2003) The Sixties 1960-1969 University of California Press Primo search Naremore, James (1998) More than Night: Film Moir in its Contexts University of California Press Primo search Schatz, Thomas (1981) Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking and the Studio System McGraw Hill Primo search Schatz, Thomas (1998) The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era Faber and Faber Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5