COMM 340 students: Click here to learn your paper assignment and its due date.

Communication 340
HISTORY OF FILM I
Fall, 2009
Course e-mail address: comm340(at)comm.umass.edu

Prof. Marty Norden
409 Machmer, 545-0598
norden(at)comm.umass.edu
Prof. Norden's home page: people.umass.edu/norden

Changwook Kim, Teaching Assistant
E36 Machmer, 545-1311 (leave message)
changwoo(at)comm.umass.edu

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COURSE SUMMARY:
This course is designed to provide a survey of significant events and representative films that mark the history of cinema from the medium's late 19th-century beginnings to about 1950. Although we will give attention to a variety of styles and functions, our main focus will be on the narrative film and the many factors -- industrial, technological, aesthetic, social, cultural, and political -- that helped shape it. Particular emphasis will be placed on the emerging dominance of "Hollywood" and international contributions/alternatives/challenges to that dominance.

The lecture period at 2:30 to 3:45 on Tuesdays in Machmer E37 will be followed by a screening session (listed as lab) at 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the same room. The lecture period on Thursdays, also at 2:30 to 3:45 in Machmer E37, will contain a discussion component.

TEXTBOOK:
Gerald Mast and Bruce Kawin, A Short History of the Movies, abridged 10th ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. This textbook is available at Amherst Books, 8 Main St., downtown Amherst.

OUTSIDE READINGS:
The required reading for this class includes a number of articles beyond the Mast & Kawin text. They are not bundled together in a packet; instead, they are available at no cost through our online syllabus (see below). To access a particular essay, simply click on its title.

Each reading assignment noted below should be completed before class on the indicated date to correlate with that week's lecture material and film(s), and to facilitate discussion. Additional topics and readings may be assigned at a later date. The Glossary that starts on p. 463 of the Mast & Kawin text will be helpful to you at various points in the semester.

ANOTHER WORD ABOUT OUR ONLINE SYLLABUS:
In addition to the article titles, almost all film titles and director's names listed below on our syllabus are active hyperlinks. If you would like more information on any film or director, simply click on the appropriate link. It will take you to the corresponding entry at the Internet Movie Database for that film or director.

 

COURSE SYLLABUS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS:

Week #1: Sep. 8 & 10
Topic:		The "Primitive" Cinema
Screenings:	A Trip to the Moon [Le Voyage dans la lune] (1902), directed 
		   by Georges Méliès
		The Great Train Robbery (1903), directed by Edwin S. Porter
		A sampling of films made by such pioneers as Eadweard Muybridge, 
		   Auguste and Louis Lumière, Thomas Edison, and Winsor McCay
Readings:	M&K, Chap. 2 & 3
                "The 'Primitive' Cinema: A Sampling" [PDF; one-page handout]

Week #2: Sep. 15 & 17
Topic:		Early Women Filmmakers
Screenings:	How Men Propose (1913), directed by Lois Weber
	        Matrimony's Speed Limit (1913), directed by Alice Guy-Blaché
		A House Divided (1913), directed by Alice Guy-Blaché
		Where Are My Children? (1916), directed by Lois Weber
Readings: 	M&K, pp. 93-95
		Martin F. Norden, "Women in the Early Film Industry" [PDF]

Week #3: Sep. 22 & 24
Topic:		D. W. Griffith
Screening:	The Birth of a Nation (1915), directed by D. W. Griffith
Readings: 	M&K, Chap. 4
		"The Birth of a Nation and Black Protest" and attached
		   1915 NAACP letter calling for the film's censorship

Week #4: Sep. 29 & Oct. 1
Topic:		Representation of Race and Ethnicity
Screening:	Within Our Gates (1920), directed by Oscar Micheaux 
Readings:	M&K, pp. 90-92
		Gerald Butters, "From Homestead to Lynch Mob"
		Dina Ciraulo, "Narrative Style ..." [PDF]

Week #5: Oct. 6 & 8
Topic:		Silent-Era Documentary
Screening:	Nanook of the North (1922), directed by Robert Flaherty
Readings:	M&K, pp. 96-97
		Robert Flaherty, "How I Filmed Nanook of the North"

Week #6: Oct. 15 only (Monday Schedule on Oct. 13)
Topic: 		Mack Sennett, Charles Chaplin, and the Short Comedy
Screenings:     Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913), directed by Mack Sennett
                The Pawnshop (1916), directed by Charles Chaplin
Readings:	M&K, Chap. 5
		Harry C. Carr, "Mack Sennett - Laugh Tester"
		Conrad Hyers, "Farewell to the Clown: A Tribute to Charlie"

Week #7: Oct. 20 & 22
Topic:		Emergence of the Hollywood Studio Era
Screening:	Greed (1924), directed by Erich von Stroheim
Readings:	M&K, remainder of Chap. 6
		"Erich von Stroheim's Greed"
		Jonathan Rosenbaum, "The Cruellest Cut"

Week #8: Oct. 27 & 29
******MIDTERM EXAM (IN LECTURE PERIOD) ON TUES., OCT. 27******
******A FILM WILL BE SHOWN AS USUAL AT 4 P.M. ON THE 27TH******
Topic:		Soviet Cinema
Screening:	The Battleship Potemkin [Bronenosets Potyomkin] (1925), directed
                   by Sergei Eisenstein 
Readings:	M&K, Chap. 8
		Anna Chen, "In Perspective: Sergei Eisenstein"
                Gregg Severson, "Historical Narrative in The Battleship Potemkin"

Week #9: Nov. 3 & 5
Topic: 		German Cinema
Screening:	Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang
Readings:	M&K, Chap. 7
		David Edelstein, "Radiant City"
		David Wharton, "Crucified to the Machine"

Week #10: Nov. 10 & 12
Topic:		The Talkies
Screenings:	Steamboat Willie (1928), directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks
		The Jazz Singer (1927), directed by Alan Crosland 
Readings:	M&K, Chap. 9
		Bob Allen, "Why the Jazz Singer?"
		Irv Saposnik, "Jolson, The Jazz Singer, and the Jewish Mother"

Week #11: Nov. 17 & 19
Topic:		Hollywood Studio Styles
Screenings:	Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1984), directed by Julia Spark
		Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), directed by Mervyn LeRoy and
		   choreographed by Busby Berkeley
Readings:	M&K, pp. 172-189
		Peter Kemp, "Grit 'n' Glitz"

Week #12: Nov. 24 only (holiday on Nov. 26)
Topic:		French Cinema
Screening:	The Grand Illusion [La Grande illusion] (1937), directed
		   by Jean Renoir
Readings:	M&K, Chap. 10
		Stuart Klawans, "Renoir All Over Again"

Week #13: Dec. 1 & 3
Topic:		Masters of Mood and Action
Screening:	My Darling Clementine (1946), directed by John Ford
Readings:	M&K, pp. 189-205
		Jonathan Jones, "Ford's Galaxy"

Week #14: Dec. 8 & 10
Topic:		Italian Neorealism
Screening:	Bicycle Thieves [The Bicycle Thief; Ladri di biciclette] (1948),
		   directed by Vittorio De Sica
Readings:	M&K, pp. 240-245
		Frank Tomasulo, "Bicycle Thieves: A Re-Reading" [PDF]

Changes in the above schedule may arise in the form of additional topics and/or the addition or substitution of other films. Also, we plan to show numerous excerpts from other films throughout the semester to help illustrate the readings and lecture material.

FILMS ON RESERVE:
We will routinely place video copies of our main movies on reserve in the "Audio-Visual reserve" section of the Du Bois library's third floor. The copies are intended for students writing papers on those films or who unavoidably missed a Tuesday screening. You should not plan to view the course films on a regular basis by borrowing our video copies. To set up screening times, visit the Reserve Office or call them at 545-2358. PLEASE NOTE that each film will stay on reserve for only about a week after its showing in class, so plan accordingly.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

A. TESTS
Two tests will be given in this course: a midterm exam, scheduled for Tues., Oct. 27 during our regular 2:30-3:45 class period; and a final exam. The final will only cover material studied since the midterm. The format of the exams will be discussed in class at a later date. Each test will be worth approximately 25% of your final grade. Make-up exams will not be given except through special arrangement made in advance with me.

B. PAPER
One formal paper is required for this course. It will be worth approximately 25% of your final grade and will focus on one or more historical aspects of a film screened in class. Click here to learn which film you'll be writing about and your paper's specific deadline. Your paper will be due at the beginning of the lecture period two weeks after that film's screening in class.

Your paper should follow a "purpose/evidence/conclusion" structure and include a thesis statement that will guide your writing and research. Your thesis statement, which should appear no later than your paper's second paragraph, should emerge from a research question that relates to the history of that particular film. Importantly, your paper must discuss the film within some historical context -- a paper that simply discusses the film's plot, characters, cinematography, etc., without connecting these items to a broader historical framework will not be sufficient.

Here are some basic research questions to get you to start thinking about your film and how you might approach it:

• What were the major factors (e.g., technological, economic, ideological, cultural, artistic) that contributed to the creation of the film? How did they do so?
• What is the film's relationship to its genre at that time?
• How did critics respond to the film when it first appeared, and how has the critical response changed over time?
• How does the film reflect or attack the socio-cultural context out of which it emerged?
• What does the film seem to be saying about such issues as race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, age, and/or ability?
• How is the film similar to, and different from, other films made by the same director or studio?
• If the film was censored or its content altered in any significant way (e.g., Greed), how and why did this action occur?
• If the film features a reasonably well-known star (e.g., Charles Chaplin), how does the film support (or, in some cases, contradict) that actor's "star image"?

I would recommend that you take ONE of the above general questions and customize it to your particular film. If you would like to pursue a research question that isn't related to any of these general questions, please see me before you begin working on your paper.

You must include an annotated bibliography at the end of your paper. By "annotated," I mean that you must write a brief, evaluative paragraph for each source that you listed in your bibliography. Your bibliography must consist of at least six sources (books, newspaper and magazine articles, websites, etc.) that were useful to you in your research. Importantly, no more than half of these sources may originally be web-based. Please do NOT include the following items in your annotated bibliography in order to reach the six-source minimum: the film itself, our textbook, and "wiki" sites such as Wikipedia. You are certainly welcome, however, to use these items as starting places for your research.

The paper should be at least five pages in length (not including the annotated bibliography) and must be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. Please note that you MUST include citations (either endnotes or MLA-style parenthetical cites) within the text of your paper -- the bibliography alone will not be enough. I as the reader of your paper should not have to guess where your sources leave off and your own observations begin. Please follow this general guideline whenever you present a point of information in your paper: if it is not your own observation and is not general knowledge, you should provide a citation for it. This guideline applies not only to direct quotations but also paraphrased material. In other words, you should give a citation if you put someone else's observation, factual material, etc., into your own words.

If you have never written a paper about a film before (or even if you have), I recommend that you look over Timothy Corrigan's excellent book A Short Guide to Writing About Film. You might also check out the online resources at Dartmouth College's Writing Program. Its Materials for Students section contains many helpful links, including -- drumroll please -- a unit on Writing About Film. Finally, I recommend that you make and keep a copy of the paper (whether a photocopy, a print-out, or a computer file) until you receive the original back from me.

Do not e-mail me your paper under any circumstances. Submit a hard copy only, please.

As noted above, the paper is due two weeks after the movie's screening. I will accept late papers but for reduced credit and only if you have made arrangements with me in advance.

C. WEEKLY RESPONSE PAPERS
Beginning on Sep. 17, you will be required to submit a brief (approximately 1-to-3 paragraph) essay written in class each Thursday. You will write this essay in response to a question or two that I will pose on the film(s) that we have just seen and discussed. This series of weekly writing projects is designed to allow you to articulate your views, if in a highly abbreviated way, on the films that we see. It will also function as a once-a-week attendance monitor. We will set aside the last ten minutes or so of each Thursday period to allow you to work on this assignment. Please submit your essay directly to Changwook Kim, our Teaching Assistant, before you leave class on Thursday. Each of these very brief weekly papers will receive a mark ("+" for very good, a check mark for average, "-" for sub-par, or some similar scheme) and together will account for approximately 25% of your final grade. Importantly, they will also help prepare you for the two tests and the paper.

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.

Please contact me if you have any questions about our course requirements.

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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 instructor.