History and Analysis of Cinema

Catalog description

Since the very first films were made, historians, filmmakers, and theorists have come up with various interpretations, and “missions” for the cinema: what it is, and what it should be doing. These responses give us a context for investigating how films are constructed and why we continue to enjoy watching images that move of their own accord and also move us. Through a series of film screenings and readings, the course will raise such questions as: What is film’s relationship to reality? Can cinema be considered a language? Why are we fascinated-obsessed-with cinema? What is the role of a spectator in creating the film’s meaning? What is a genre and how do genres help us think about the films that we classify within them (and beyond them)? How and why do we identify with screened images, and with character roles such as hero or anti-hero? How does cinema reflect or invent gender, race, national identity, and ethnicity? And finally, thinking at the present moment, what can we say about the future of cinema in the context of emerging technologies (e.g., digital, AI that change the creation, distribution, and exhibition possibilities for moving pictures? Format: Weekly required reading. Assignments include a midterm paper. The course is suitable for Freshmen. Note: Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes. Offered regularly.