COMMUNICATION 497U: Seminar - Film & Society         Fall 2003

Prof. Marty Norden
409 Machmer Hall, 545-0598, 545-1311
norden(at)comm.umass.edu
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~norden/497Usyll.html

"There is hardly a murder or a robbery in any neighborhood now, but what someone remarks that the crime can be traced to a moving picture show." --anonymous New York City film exhibitor, 1911

In this seminar we will investigate issues related to the general topic of film and society and will doubtlessly make forays into such cognate fields as economics, politics, sociology, and psychology along the way. The semester will be divided into four overlapping units: Development & Structure, Function, Representation, and Audience. The first unit will cover the emergence and maturation of the American film industry and its connections with other cultural institutions and society in general. The second unit will examine the various roles that filmmakers have assumed, such as entertainers, historians, and propagandists. The third unit will focus on film and society's mutually causal relationship with special attention paid to film's role as a socio-cultural document. Finally, the fourth unit will investigate spectatorship issues.

REQUIRED TEXTS (available at the Jeffrey Amherst College Store, 26 S. Prospect St., downtown Amherst):

Neale, Steve, and Murray Smith (eds.). Contemporary Hollywood Cinema. New York: Routledge, 1998.
Turner, Graeme. Film as Social Practice. 3nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1999.

REQUIREMENTS:
One "research review" is required for this seminar. For this project, you will examine and report on a coherent body of literature (most likely a single major book, but it could also be a grouping of related lesser texts) related to a unit in our seminar. The review must be presented both orally and in written form. The written version of the review (5 pages, minimum) is due the same day as the oral presentation. (But please don't plan to merely read your review, unless you have a degree from the Orson Welles School of Intonation.) In addition, please prepare a 1 or 2 page abstract/outline of the review for distribution to your seminar-mates on the day of your presentation. The review will be worth approximately 25 per cent of your final grade. A list of books suitable for review purposes will be handed out shortly.

An audience research project involving the use of the Internet Movie Database (us.imdb.com) is also required. For this project, you will summarize audience members' reactions to a movie of your choice, using that movie's IMDB "User Comments" section. This project should run about 3-to-5 pages and is due no later than Thur., Dec. 11, our last class period. Please be prepared to give a very brief (2-3 minute) oral summary of your findings on Dec. 11. The IMDB project will be worth approximately 15 per cent of your final grade.

Note: For your protection, I would advise you to make and keep a copy of the research review and the IMDB project (whether a photocopy, a computer print-out, or stored as a computer file) until you receive the originals back from me.

In addition, two exams are required and will each be worth about 25 per cent of your final grade. The first is scheduled for Thurs., Oct. 16, and the second during Final Exam week (specific time, date, and place TBA). I have not yet determined the precise form of these essay exams, but in all likelihood it will be some variant of the open book/open note or take-home formats. More information on the review, the IMDB project, and the exams will be forthcoming shortly.

Regular attendance and informed participation will be cherished dearly, and will be worth approximately 10 per cent of your final grade.

Please be forewarned that I have a near-pathological aversion to handing out "incompletes." I will give such non-grades only under the most extreme of circumstances (such as illness or your own death) and even then grudgingly. Otherwise, any missing work will be averaged into the final grade.

GENERAL SEMINAR SCHEDULE (subject to change, of course):
[The movie information links below connect to the Internet Movie Database]

Sep. 4		Introduction and overview
		Readings: Turner, Intro, Ch. 2 & 3

			UNIT I: DEVELOPMENT & STRUCTURE	
Sep. 9		Historical development of the film industry
		Readings: N&S, Part 1

Sep. 11		Screening: Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Sep. 16		Current structure of the film industry
		Readings: Turner, Ch. 1; N&S, Part 2

Sep. 18		Screening: The Player (1992)

Sep. 23		Unit I reviews

Sep. 25		Unit I reviews

			UNIT II: FUNCTION
Sep. 30		Filmmakers as propagandists
		Screening: War Comes to America (1945)		

Oct. 2		Screening: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Oct. 7		Filmmakers as entertainers and historians
		Readings: N&S, Ch. 13; Turner, Ch. 4

Oct. 9		Unit II reviews

Oct. 14		Unit II reviews

Oct. 16		Exam

			UNIT III: REPRESENTATION
Oct. 21		Gender
		Readings: N&S, Ch. 12, 15, 16, 18; Turner, Ch. 6, 7

Oct. 23		Screening: Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) 

Oct. 28		Race
		Readings: N&S, Ch. 14; Willis (distributed in class)

Oct. 30		Screening: Jungle Fever (1991)

Nov. 4		Unit III reviews

Nov. 6		Unit III reviews

Nov. 11         HOLIDAY

			UNIT IV: AUDIENCE
Nov. 13		Socio-psychological issues
		Readings: Turner, Ch. 5; B. Austin (distributed in class)

Nov. 18		Screening: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Nov. 20		Socio-psychological issues, Part 2; Unit IV reviews

Nov. 25         Unit IV reviews

Nov. 27         HOLIDAY

Dec. 2		Screening: Basic Instinct (1992)
		Readings: N&S, Ch. 17; T. Austin (distributed in class)

Dec. 4 & 9      [To be announced]

Dec. 11		IMDB project reports

Changes in the above schedule may arise with the addition or substitution of other films and/or reading assignments. In addition, I plan to show excerpts from numerous other films to supplement the readings and lecture/discussion material.

A STATEMENT ABOUT COPYRIGHT:
Many of the materials created for this course are the intellectual property of the instructor. This includes, but is not limited to, the syllabus, lectures and course notes. Except to the extent not protected by copyright law, any use, distribution or sale of such materials requires the permission of the instructor. Please be aware that it is a violation of university policy to reproduce, for distribution or sale, class lectures or class notes, unless copyright has been explicitly waived by the faculty member.

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