ENG332 Historical Approaches to Film

351 Natural Sciences Building
M 10:20-1:10; W 10:20-12:10

Course Description
This course serves as a general introduction to the process of studying movies in a historical context. On the whole, it’s not necessarily easy to conceptualize film historically. Identifying a relationship between film and history carries very different connotations. The historical developments of Hollywood and of international cinemas, as well as avant-garde and documentary traditions, are one key focal point. Who were the earliest filmmakers and what did they seek to accomplish? How and why did Hollywood evolve as an industry? When did other national cinemas (German Expressionism, Soviet Montage, Italian Neo-Realism, French New Wave) emerge and why? What stylistic and thematic trends in movies developed out of these different historical events? How did genres such as documentary and the avant-garde grow both as a response to dominant narrative models of cinema, and as cultural and institutional histories of their own? What are the histories of 16mm and non-theatrical films? How have technological innovation and the emergence of other media platforms affected film’s economic and artistic development historically? What role have audiences played in shaping film history? In this class, we will focus on these issues in order to fully articulate an introduction to “historical approaches” to film. Yet other questions implied in such a broad topic remain: how does film represent history narratively and thematically? How does it reflect historical events allegorically and/or incidentally? How does a film’s significance change over time? Why do audiences interpret films differently in one historical period versus another? The goal of the class will be in part to both understand and problematize the traditionally linear notions of film history by focusing on the changes, redundancies and resurgences within the production, distribution and reception of movies during different periods of time. The primary textbook, Film History, will outline the major historical developments in film, while secondary readings will more fully flesh out particular case studies.

Textbooks
Bordwell and Thompson, Film History 3rd ed. (McGraw Hill, 2009)
Staiger, Perverse Spectators: the Practices of Film Reception (NYU Press, 2000)
Waller, Moviegoing in America (Blackwell, 2002)

Screenings: You are expected to attend all screenings, even if you’ve seen the film before, and to watch them actively and closely. Refrain from using laptops and cellphones during screenings. WARNING: We will be watching films in this class that contain graphic violence, nudity, and adult themes. If you think this content will offend or disturb you, you should reconsider your enrollment in this class.

Readings: Not everything in the reading will be covered in class sessions, and some of the readings may be challenging. So read closely and take notes. You may need to re-read the more difficult texts in order to understand them. You are responsible for all content in the readings. If you do not understand elements of the reading, feel free to ask questions during discussion and office hours.

Office Hours and E-mail: My door is always open; feel free to come by during office hours to talk about your writing, the readings, the films, or any other aspect of the course. Please allow at least 24 hours before following up on emails sent.

Assignments:
Response Paper 1 (Historical Methodologies) . . . 5%
Response Paper 2 (Historicizing Films) . . . 10%
Response Paper 3 (Press Kits/Promotional Histories) . . . 15%
Research Paper . . . 25%
Final Exam . . . 25%
Participation . . . 20%

*Please note that completion of all assignments is required to pass the course.

Response Papers: These assignments will ask you to respond to particular prompts regarding the relationship between film and some of the various ways for conceptualizing cinema history—thinking about particular methodologies, placing films in historical contexts, and articulating the hows and whys of film promotion. As such, the papers will ask you to closely engage with the course readings. It is important to think about the larger idea(s) put forth by the authors, and not just briefly “cite” them. More specific guidelines for each paper will be presented as we move closer to the due dates. All responses should be about two full pages (typed & double spaced), well-written, proofread, and have a clear point that avoids summary.

Research Essay: The topic of your research paper is open to any major aspect of film and media history. Develop a coherent, convincing argument, using at least three sources (including at least two from outside the class’s assigned readings). Avoid current topics (even those loosely grounded in historical narratives). Also, challenge yourself to go beyond obvious and well-worn topics such as authorship or film noir. Remember that part of the grading criteria (see below) is originality of argument, relatively speaking. Ideally, the project should work through one of the historical methodologies we cover in class—distribution, production, exhibition, reception, historicism, and so forth. As part of that, your paper will want to engage in-depth with the work of film and/or media historians—authors who are actively thinking about how to conceptualize film history, as opposed to just referring generally to past events. The authors you use do not have to be ones we read in class, but their work should in some way reflect the spirit of the area(s) we covered. The topic must be approved by me in advance. The research paper should be at least 6-8 full pages, double-spaced. It will be graded on strength and originality of argument; command and general use of theoretical sources; avoiding too much narrative summary; convincing, specific details to illustrate your points; and, just as important, general writing style, which includes organization, tone, proofreading and so forth.

Midterm and Final: Both exams will be divided evenly between multiple choice and essay questions, covering material taken from course screenings and assigned readings. The multiple choice questions will largely focus on information taken from lecture and Film History, while the essay questions will emphasize analyzing, comparing and/or contrasting the secondary readings and case studies.

Late Work: Essays and response papers will be deducted 5% for each weekday late (excludes weekends). Papers emailed in lieu of attendance will be considered late without prior arrangement.

Attendance: You are allowed six excused absences for the length of the course, including all lectures and screenings. This includes sick days, family emergencies and other documented absences. After that, 5% of the final grade will be deducted for each absence. 10 absences, or more, will result in an automatic failure for the course.

Participation: You are expected to attend every class and screening, for the full amount of time we meet, be actively engaged with the class, and to be respectful of myself, your classmates, and the course objectives and rules. This also includes keeping laptops and cellphones stowed away during screenings. Laptops are only to be used for note-taking.

Academic Integrity: Students are expected to comply with University regulations regarding academic integrity. If you are in doubt about what constitutes academic dishonesty, speak with me before the assignment is due and/or examine the University website. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to cheating on an exam (e.g., copying others’ answers, providing information to others, using a crib sheet) or plagiarism of a paper (e.g. taking material from readings without citation, copying another student’s paper). Failure to maintain academic integrity on an assignment will result in a loss of credit for that assignment—at a minimum. Other penalties may also apply. The guidelines for determining academic dishonesty are detailed on the website: https://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/plagiarism.html.
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Spring Schedule 2012

Readings can be found in the course textbooks: Film History (indicated as “BT”), Moviegoing in America (“MA”) and Perverse Spectators (Staiger). Additional readings can be found through ANGEL, e-books, or the MSU Main Library Reserves. Readings should be completed before class that day. Readings and screenings are subject to change, though any modifications will be announced in advance.

1/9—introductions; reading: Waller, “Introduction” (MA); screening: Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
1/11—Early Cinema; reading; reading: “The Invention and the Early Years of the Cinema” (BT 3-21) and Gunning, “Cinema of Attractions” (ANGEL); screening: selections from Landmarks of Early Film, Vol. 1

1/16—no class, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
1/18—Alternatives to film history; Staiger, “Writing the History of American Film Reception” and “Modes of Reception,” Musser, “Introducing Cinema to the American Public” (MA) and “Handling the Visitor (1909)” (MA)

1/23— Transition to sound; reading: “The Late Silent Era in Hollywood” (BT 128-151), “The Introduction of Sound” (BT 177-194), “Music (1927)” (MA) and “Future Developments” (MA); screening: Sunrise (1927)
1/25— Surrealism; reading: “From Rum Shop to Rialto” (MA) and “The International Experimental Cinema” (BT 290-295); screening: The Blood of the Poet (1932)

1/30—National cinemas; reading: “Soviet Cinema in the 1920s” (BT 105-127), “Germany in the 1920s” (BT 87-104) and “Cinema and the State” (BT 239-258); screening: Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
2/1— Nontheatrical cinema; reading: Streible, Roepke, and Mebold, “Introduction: Nontheatrical Film” (ANGEL), Ackland and Wasson, “Useful Cinema” (ANGEL), and “Our Movie Made Children (1934)” (MA); screening: selections from Treasures of American Film Archives, Centron Film Company, Disneyland Dreams (1956)

2/6—Classic Studio System; reading: “The Hollywood Studio System” (BT 195-217) and Staiger, “The Romance of the Blonde Venus: Movie Censors Vs. Movie Fans”; Screening: Stand-In (1937)
2/8—Classic Hollywood audiences; reading: Staiger, “The Perversity of Spectators”; Response Paper #1 Due

2/13—Reading: “Government and Corporate-Sponsored Documentaries” (BT 282-286), “Wartime Documentaries” (BT 286-290) and Nichols, “How Did Documentary Filmmaking Get Started?” in Introduction to Documentary (e-book); screening: Triumph of the Will (1935), The River (1938), The City (1939), and Power and the Land (1940)
2/15—Neo-Realism; reading: “Postwar European Cinema: Neo-Realism and its Contexts” (324-341); screening: Rome, Open City (1945)

2/20—Postwar Hollywood; reading: “American Cinema in the Postwar Era” (BT 298-323) and “What’s Playing at the Grove? (1948)” (MA); Staiger, “Hybrid or Inbred: The Purity Hypothesis and Hollywood Genre History”; screening: Sunset Boulevard (1950)
2/22—White Flight; reading: Avila, “The Spectacle of Urban Blight” (ANGEL) and Taylor, “Big Boom in Outdoor Theatres” (MA); Response Paper #2 Due

2/27— Television; reading: Anderson, “Disneyland” (ANGEL); Screening: The Disneyland Story (1954) and “Bang, You’re Dead” (1961); Midterm Review
2/29—Midterm (in class)

Spring Break (3/5-3/9)

3/12—New Waves; screening: Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959); reading: Debord, Society of the Spectacle (excerpt) (ANGEL)
3/14 –Promotional strategies; Twomey, “Some Considerations on the Rise of the Art Film Theater (1956)” (MA) and Gomery, “Fashioning an Exhibition Empire” (MA)

3/19—research on press books project (Response Paper #3); reading: “Hints to Exhibitors (1908)” (MA)
3/21—no class (Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference)

3/26— New Hollywood; reading: “Hollywood’s Fall and Rise” (472-493) and Ray, “Right Cycle Films” (ANGEL); Screening: The Wild Bunch (1969)
3/28—Exploitation; Reading: Staiger, “Finding Community in the 1960s” and Durwood, “The Exhibitors (1972)” (MA)

4/2—Hong Kong Cinema; reading: “New Cinemas in East Asia” (BT 643-658); Screening: The Killer (1989); Response Paper #3 (press books) Due
4/4—Film and popular consumption; reading: Paul, “The K-Mart Audience at the Mall Movies” (MA) and Hildrebrand, “Be Kind, Rewind: The Histories and Erotics of Home Video” (ANGEL)

4/9—1990s “art” cinema; reading: “American Cinema and the Entertainment Economy” (BT 661-693) and Sconce, “Smart Films” (ANGEL); screening: Boogie Nights (1997); Proposal Due
4/11—nostalgia and pastiche; reading: Gorfinkel, “The Future of Anachronism” (ANGEL) and McLane, “Domestic Theatrical . . .” (MA)

4/16—Global Cinema; reading: “Towards a Global Film Culture” (BT 694-712); Screening: The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
4/18—Film audiences in the 1990s; Reading: Stones, “Modern Times” (MA); Staiger, “Taboos and Totems”

4/23—Histories of the Digital; reading: “Digital Technology and the Cinema” (BT 713-736) and Cubitt, “Technological Film” (ANGEL); Screening: Hugo (2011)
4/25—Film Preservation; reading: Usai, “Reader’s Report” in The Death of Cinema (ANGEL); Final Exam Review; Research Paper Due

Final Exam