Course Syllabus

TV/VIDEO COMM – TELV 104-56784 - History of Film 1945 to Present

Santa Ana College: Fall 2018

Wednesdays, 11:55am – 3:05pm, Room C-104

 

TEXT:  Flashback: A Brief History of Film, Louis Giannetti & Scott Eyman, Sixth Ed.

INSTRUCTOR: Ezra Lunel, B.A., MFA

EMAIL: lunel_ezra@sac.edu

COURSE OUTLINE

A survey course exploring film as an art form and developing appreciation of historical, artistic, and technical advances from 1945 to the present.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Student will identify and analyze, in written form, past and current film trends, genres and techniques, through reading and research.  By watching films in class, the student will be able to apply terminology and movie-making techniques discussed in class to the films being screened.


COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Students must complete all assignments and take all quizzes and tests in order to be eligible for a passing grade.  Deadlines are real-world and will not be extended.

  1.  Assignments: Analysis Papers

Students will be required to write two analysis essays on films viewed in class.  Students will explore and examine their ability to categorize and appraise film formats and techniques by choosing either to write on a film director of the period covered or a comparison of films within a favorite genre. Minimum of 2 full pages.  Due at the beginning of the next class.  Late papers will not be accepted.

Papers must be typed in MLA Format

  • Use 1-inch margins on the top, bottom and both sides.
  • Indent the first sentence of each paragraph from the left margin of your paper.
  • Use standard double spacing throughout the entire text of your paper.
  • Do not add space between paragraphs.
  • 12 pt font / Times Roman Numeral or Arial.

  1.  Tests & Quizzes

Quizzes, Midterm Exam and Final Exam will be based on:

  • reading assignments from the textbook, “Flashback: A Brief History of Film”
  • knowledge of the films screened in class
  • class lectures.

You must take quizzes and tests on their scheduled date.  No makeups.

  1.  Participation

Your attendance and participation is a vital part of your grade.

*FILMS LISTED IN CLASS SCHEDULE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON GUEST LECTURERS & OTHER FACTORS.

GRADES

Class Assignments & Quizzes 140 points

Mid-Term 100 points

Final 100 points

Participation 20 points (extra credit)

A = 306-340

B = 272-305

C = 238-271

D = 204-237

TARDY & ABSENCE

Attendance will be taken twice every class. Two tardies of 15 minutes or more will be considered 1 absence.  If you are tardy, you will be marked absent. You must “check in” if you arrive tardy in order to clear the absence on the day of the tardy. Leaving class early is also a tardy. More than two absences will result in an automatic drop from the class.

You are responsible for all materials missed when you are absent.  This includes lectures, handouts and assignments.

All cell phones must remain off during class.  

Aug. 29

(Session 1)

Course Introduction, Overview and Goals

Intro Lecture: American New Wave and the Vietnam War Era


Film: The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)


HW Assignment: Analysis Essay (Option #1): The Graduate

HW Assignment: Read Chap 12: American Cinema in the 1960s



Sep. 5

(Session 2)

Finish Screening and Discuss: The Graduate (1967) con.

 

HW Assignment: Read Chapter 8: American Cinema in the 1940s

HW Assignment: Study for Quiz #1 (Chapters 8 & 12)

Sep. 12

(Session 3)

Intro Lecture: Film Noir – Demise of the Hollywood System and the Challenge from TV

Film: Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)

Discuss: Sweet Smell of Success (1957) 

 

Turn In: Analysis Essay (Option #1): The Graduate

In Class: Take Quiz #1: Chs. 8 & 12

Sep. 19

(Session 4)

Intro Lecture: The Hollywood Musical


Film: Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen, 1952)


HW Assignment: Read Chapter 10: American Cinema in the 1950s

Sep. 26

(Session 5)

Intro Lecture: Post-World War II Social Realism and Italian Neorealism


Film: The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio de Sica, 1948)


HW Assignment: Analysis Essay (Option #2) The Bicycle Thieves

HW Assignment: Read Chapter 9: European Cinema in the 1940s

Oct. 3

(Session 6)

Intro Lecture: A World Cinema Emerges


Film: Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)


Due: Analysis Essay (Option #2) The Bicycle Thieves

HW Assignment: Study for Quiz #2 (Chapters 9 & 10)

HW Assignment: Read Chapter 11: International Cinema in the 1950s

Oct. 10

(Session 7)

Discuss: Wild Strawberries (con.)


Lecture: The Birth of Modernism in 1950’s International Cinema


In Class: Take Quiz #2: Chapters 9 & 10

HW Assignment – Study Lecture Notes and Films for Midterm Exam

Oct. 17

(Session 8)

MIDTERM EXAM


Intro Lecture: The French New Wave

Oct. 24

(Session 9)

Lecture (con.) The French New Wave


Film: The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959)

Discuss: the 400 Blows


Intro Lecture: The Film School Generation of the 1970s


HW Assignment: Analysis Essay (Option #3) The 400 Blows

HW Assignment: Read Chapter 13: International Cinema in the 1960s

Oct. 31

(Session 10)

Film: The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)


Due: Analysis Essay (Option #3) The 400 Blows

HW Assignment: Study for Quiz #3 (Chapters 11 & 13)

HW Assignment: Read Chapter 14: American Cinema in the 1970s

Nov. 7

(Session 11)

Discuss: The Godfather (con.)


Intro Lecture: International Auteurs and Cinema Language

Film: Walkabout (Nicholas Roeg, 1971)


In Class: Take Quiz #3: Chapters 11 & 13

HW Assignment: Read Chapter 15: International Cinema in the 1970s

HW Assignment: Study for Quiz #4: Chapters 14 & 15

Nov. 14

(Session 12)

Discuss: Walkabout (con.)


Intro Lecture: American Auteurs and Cinema Language

Film: Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)


In-Class: Quiz #4: Chapters 14 & 15

HW Assignment: Analysis Essay (Option #4): Night of the Hunter

Nov. 21

(Session 13)

Intro Lecture: European Surrealism & Mexican Social Realism


Film: Los Olvidados (Luis Buñuel, 1950)


Due: Analysis Essay (Option #3): Night of the Hunter





Nov. 28

(Session 14)

Intro Lecture: International Cinema in the 1980s: La Movida Madrileña


Film: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodovar, 1988)

Dec. 5

(Session 15)

Intro Lecture: American Influence on the Rise of Domestic Independent Film


Film: La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995)


HW Assignment: Study Lecture Notes and Films for Final Exam

Dec. 12

(Session 16)

FINAL EXAM


Due: Extra Credit Essay on any film screened or discussed in class during the semester.



Course Summary:

Course Summary
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