OVERVIEW
In the film world, the beginning of the 21st Century marked yet another era
of cinematic evolution. Rigorous developments of digital-driven technology changed
inexorably the way we interact with motion pictures and the need for critical
skills increased beyond casual responses.
Whether for purposes of education, information, and/or sheer entertainment,
the impact of the moving image arts is inescapable. Educated people are acutely
aware of the need to better understand, command, and selectively share a bewildering
blur of visual information penetrating every aspect of society via electronic
super highways. Movies are deeply woven into our social fabric. In the comfort of theatre seats,
on cushioned couches, aboard airplanes and increasingly linked to ubiquitous
laptop computers, moviegoers in every part of the world relive wars, famines,
political and communal upheavals, catastrophic events, exalt heroes and pillory
villains; in short, experience vicariously an entire spectrum of human intercourse. For students of the Humanities, this pervasive facet of film art is of fundamental
importance. Criticisms hurled at the film industry for its often blatant commercial
concerns need to be weighed against intelligent and educated assessments of
film as a creative medium equivalent to theatre, literature, music, and the
traditional visual arts of painting and sculpture. The unique function of film
in the context of the Humanities lies in the collective nature of film creation.
It seems to me that any analysis of the film experience demands personal reflection,
an emotional and creative response to the compressed narrative, selective imagery,
fragmented vision, stylized music, improbable visuals, and constricted dialogue;
aesthetic characteristics shared by other Humanities disciplines. Film is defined by its special language, as is true of every art form. An idiosyncratic
mixture of moving images, of compressed and expanded time, of light and shadow,
of music, and of natural and manufactured sound, film thrives on directorial
vision and makes incredibly complex demands on the performer, as well as the
viewer. For meaningful exploration into motion picture art and craft, the course
aims to make students familiar with the tools of film analysis, including terminology
relating to film craft, a dissection of film forms and elements, and a guide
to meaningful film criticism.
This course provides opportunities to view and analyze several movies with
special focus on the techniques and content of the medium, introduces the relationship
of film to the humanities disciplines, and requires extensive written analysis
of film experiences. The purposes of this course are the following:
• to place the extraordinary fusion of art and craft in motion pictures
within the context of the Humanities; i.e., to better understand how film, generally
considered to be a medium of mass entertainment, may prompt students of the
Humanities to regard movies as a unique source of insight into prevailing social
cultures
Dr. Hal Marienthal,
Professor of English & Communications
Phone: 303/477-0842 (Home/Office)
303/477-0845 (FAX)
Internet: HatHal@aol.com
• to widen student literacy by exploring special motion picture vocabularies
and such technical components as mise en scene, sound, the editing
process, and film photography, among others
• to increase an understanding of (and appreciation for) the incredibly
complex process of motion picture production and the contributions made by its
various practitioners
• to offer students useable familiarity with tools of film analysis, including
an overview into cinematic theories such as the auteur theory, formalism, structuralism
and semiology-- all elements of artistic expression shared by other Humanities
disciplines
• to offer a carefully selected menu of motion pictures (historic epics,
comedies, futuristic dramas, mysteries, musicals, war classics, dramatized documentaries,
experimental social films) as the basis for critical analyses which demonstrate
a distinct relationship of film to other Humanities disciplines
• to give students the opportunity (and analytical tools) to relate the
familiar process of watching movies to the more exacting and intricate task
of recognizing film symbolism, the nature of characterization, the narrative
structure of motion pictures, and other artistic relationships clearly analogous
to aesthetic endeavors in other art forms
1. The basic text for the course is Louis Giannetti’s Understanding Movies,
9th Ed. (Prentice Hall, 1999). The book is up-to-date and contemporary in both
content and approach. It is necessary to have access to this book to complete
the assignments. The text is available from the CSUDH Follett University Bookstore.
2. Knowledge of Modern Language Association formation is required for students
in the HUX program. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Paper 6th Ed. 2003,
treats every aspect of documentation. The sixth edition of the Handbook is a
complete, up-to-date guide to documentation style and online research. It is
available from the CSUDH Follett University Book and is required text for this
course.
You will find excellent bibliographical references at the end of each chapter
of Giannetti’s text. Further reading for greater familiarity and deeper
understanding of the complex interrelationships between assignments is highly
recommended. For bibliographical availability consult local public libraries
or your nearest academic reference facilities.
HUXCRSGD.524 -
http://www.csudh.edu/hux/syllabi/524/1.html
Copyright © 1997 California State University Dominguez Hills