A survey of the major theoretical lenses and methodological approaches used in the academic criticism and scholarship of film, television, and other streaming media.

You can see what learning outcomes (LOs) are associated with which assignments by looking for the LO number (e.g. LO #5) in the full assignment description. These learning outcomes are adapted from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design accreditation standards for film making degree programs.

LO #1 – Cinematic Evolution

Students will demonstrate a knowledge of cinema's artistic and technological evolution.

LO #2 – Conceptual Terminology

Students will demonstrate an understanding of basic aesthetic terminology and critical theory concepts.

LO #3 – Time Analysis

Students will perceptively analyze films from both Western and non-Western cultures with a focus on time as an expressive design element.

LO #4 – Critical Evaluation

Students will critically evaluate cinematic and critical works from both Western and non-Western cultures.

Pop Quizzes

End of Unit Explainer Video

Notes

This brief schedule of the course is broken down by week, and it is subject to change. The information contained here is not a substitute for attending. More information on the schedule will be given in class throughout the semester. This plan for the semester is an abstract idea of what will happen. Things will undoubtedly change. When this happens, I'll inform you. 

As I mentioned in the course overview above, the content in this class is not predetermined, except in a general way. The content of class comes in response to our discussions, your individual projects, and me looking for patterns of need. Assignment due dates aren't included here, you can find them at the bottom of the syllabus, attached to the assignments, and in your Canvas ToDo list.

Expand the banner for a description of the week.

Week 01 – Up & Running

During this first week we'll go over the syllabus, class policies, how to take good notes, and we'll take a practice run at reading and "doing seminar." The reading is the "Ion" dialogue by Plato, which helps set out the role of the critic and show the Socratic Method in action.

Week 02 - Reproduction in Art

Each week we'll focus on a new reading and explore it through a seminar process. That means the content of our class is developed improvisationally, through discussion, using the Socratic method. The essay for this week is "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" by Walter Benjamin. We'll talk about how industrial processes changed art and how we think of it. We'll also talk about art in the age of "digital" reproduction.

Week 03 – Unit #1 – What is Cinema?

This is week one of a two-week unit on the nature of cinema, how we define it, and how it functions as a mdeium. Our essay for seminar is "Semiotics and the Cinema: Metz and Wollen" by Gilbert Harman, which will get us thinking about how cinema creates and uses "codes."

Week 04 – Unit #1 (con't) – What is Cinema?

In week two of our What is Cinema unit, we'll read "The Ontology of the Photographic Image" by Andre Bazin, who is arguably one of the foremost film theorist, and this is one of the foundational essays in the field. This essay is to get us thinking about how cinema differs from other arts such as painting and how cameras copy reality.

Week 05 – Unit #2 – Cinematic Reality

Unit two builds off our previous unit. We'll read "Film and Reality" and "The Complete Film" by Rudolf Arnheim. These two essays are chapters from Arnheim's book Film as Art. He moves us away from Bazin, suggessting that film isn't a copy of reality. Perhaps it is something else. Maybe there's a risk in cinema being too realistic.

Week 06 – Unit #2 (con't) – Cinematic Reality

As we continue on our journey looking at cinematic reality, we turn to "Cinematography: The Creative Use of Reality" by Maya Deren, who was an important avant-garde film maker. She argues that the process of making a film transforms reality. It's not just a copy, but the process (the filmmaker herself) changes reality into something different and new.

Week 07 – Unit #3 – Cut & Suture

In this new unit, we talk about a central debate in the discussion of cinema, what is foundational, the cut or the shot? The lead essay for this discussion is "The Virtues and Limitations of Montage" by Andre Bazin. Bazin challenges montage or editing. He worries about the effect of its overuse on the reality created by a film. This essay problematizes the montage theories of early theorists such as Eisenstein and Pudovkin.

Week 08 – Unit #3 (con't) – Cut & Suture

As we continue our unit on shots and cuts and the system of the suture, William Rothman's essay "Against the System of the Suture"  complicates things. As the title suggests, he is not into it. It'll be interesting to see where you all come out. Is a film made in the camera or in the editing timeline?

Week 09 – Unit #4 – Sound

We almost always jump to the conclusion that film is a visual medium, which used to be true a hundred years ago, but now sound is an equal player in the storytelling. We'll trade the eye for the ear and the microphone for the camera. "Technology and Aesthetics of Film Sound" by John Belton is our starting point. He gets us thinking about the fundamental differences between sound and image and how we think about them.

Week 10 – Unit #4 (con't) – Sound

For the second week of the unit on sound, we dive deeper into the aesthetics of sound with "The Voice in the Cinema: The Articulation of Body and Space" by Mary Anne Doane. In this essay, Doane asks us to think about film binding the voice to the human body and also how sound creates and defines spaces. 

Week 11 – Unit #5 – The Apparatus

In this unit, we circle back to Plato and his famous "Allegory of the Cave," which sets a foundation for Jean-Louis Baudry's essay "The Apparatus: Metapsychological Approaches to the Impression of Reality in Cinema." As you can see from the title, this essay is going to gather together a lot of concepts we've been exploring this semester. He will make some suggestions that seem a little out there, but they are being supported with recent science.

Week 12 – Unit #5 (con't) – The Apparatus

In his essay "Jean-Louis Baudry and The Apparatus" Noel Carroll challenges Baudry's idea (because: of course he does) but raises some questions for us about how we watch films. And since this essay was published in 1988 (when your professor was a film major in college!) we have to consider if and how the way we watch films has changed.

Week 13 – Thanksgiving

No class. No assignments. So I guess you're free to watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, or something. Kidding, watch something cooler than that. Watch lots of movies — it's break!

Week 14 – Larger Scale Application

We're back from break, and now it's time to talk about larger scale application. We have no more reading, but we'll be synthesizing and revisiting earlier reading, so you can prepare to create your final video, which will be about you and your film theory odyssey. 

Week 15 – Finish the Final Video

This is a working week, where we'll meet, discuss your projects, get help from peer groups, and generally wrap things up. I will talk a little bit about how all this content can help you when you're working, and if you ever decided to go on for an MFA as a filmmaker. Theory is everywhere in grad school.

Attendance is Required

Attendance is expected in this course. If a situation arises, you must request an excused absence, which is normally done in writing and in advance.

Surprises obviously can't be worked out in advance. In the event of a surprise or emergency, reach out as soon as possible.  In any case, start this process by sending me an email describing the situation and why it is unavoidable. Use your SUU email address only, not Canvas.

Each request will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

There will be no penalty if you are granted an excused absence. If your absence is not excused, then it's a 4% reduction of your final grade.

Students who have accommodations through the Disability Resources Center (DRC), and who follow correct procedures as outlined in their accommodations, will have access to excused absences through a slightly different process.

Official university absences, as defined by SUU policy 6.30Links to an external site., will count as excused absences as long as university policies and procedures are followed. You still have to reach out to me and formally request the excused absence. It's not automatic.

Responsibility for Missed Classes

If you miss any class—excused or not—it is your responsibility to reach out and connect with a classmate to get notes and other information that will allow you to come to class prepared.

$18.00 course fee.