| CODE | ATS5155 | |||||||||
| TITLE | The Ancient World and Film | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty of Arts | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The ancient world and its texts are a major source of influence for the film industry, whether as direct source material or as subtext. Indeed, some people get to know the past only through film - but what version of the past do they experience? And how do films affect their perception of the past? This study-unit explores the various ways in which the ancient world is channelled in the cinematic medium. We will discuss major film epics that depict Ancient Greece and Rome, Egypt, and the biblical world, and we will examine issues of historicity, cultural anachronisms, artistic licence, as well as issues of gender, modern politics, agendas, and ideologies that might underlie such productions, and also specific themes, such as the scores, the type of language, and the wardrobes used in such cinematic renderings. There will also be sessions devoted to an analysis of how themes from ancient mythology inform the plots of contemporary films, whereas other sessions will discuss the representation of the ancient world in documentaries. Study-unit Aims: 1. To explore depictions of the past and the ancient world in film and to develop students' knowledge of the portrayal of the ancient world in factual documentaries; 2. To examine the use of ancient mythology as master text, pre-text, or subtext in modern cinema; 3. To analyze the use and/or misuse of the past in the world of film and in documentaries, and to assess how film can affect (indeed change) our perception of the past; 4. To discuss the perennial question of historical faithfulness vs artistic licence that arises with regard to cinematic renditions of the ancient world; 5. To introduce students to methodological approaches through which they could critically analyze and evaluate filmic interpretations of the past and the ancient world. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. recall basic knowledge about the ancient world, with special reference to Greece and Rome, Egypt, and the biblical world; 2. identify and discuss allusions to the ancient world and its mythology in contemporary cinema; 3. recognize the potentiality of film in affecting and changing our perception of the past; 4. critically analyze cinematic interactions with the past and to assess how cinema and documentaries interpret the past and how they use or misuse it; 5. appraise the fine balance between historical faithfulness and artistic licence that any cinematic representation of the ancient world has to grapple with; 6. hypothesize possible reasons or motives behind particular renditions of the ancient world or past historical figures in film and documentaries. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. employ historical-critical approaches to the interpretation of films, documentaries, popular books, magazines, newspapers, etc.; 2. combine their technical knowledge of film with the critical interpretative approaches introduced in this unit, allowing for the possibility of new avenues of research and of new ways of re-reading films. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Select Bibliography (a detailed bibliography will be given in class): Aichele, G. and Walsh, R. 2002 Screening Scripture: Intertextual Connections between Scripture and Film. Trinity Press International. Babington, B. and Evans, P. W. 1993 Biblical Epics: Sacred Narrative in the Hollywood Cinema. Manchester: Manchester University Press (PN1995.9.B53B3) Cartledge, P. and Greenland, F. R. (eds.) 2010 Responses to Oliver Stone's "Alexander": Film, History, and Cultural Studies. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. Clack, T. and Brittain, M. (eds.) 2007 Archaeology and the Media. London: Left Coast Press. Elley, D. 1984 The Epic Film: Myth and History. London: Routledge (PN1995.9.H5E5) Nisbet, G. 2006 Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture. Liverpool (PN1995.9.G74 N58 2008) Reinhartz, A. 2003 Scripture on the Silver Screen. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. Renger, A.-B. and Solomon, J. (eds.) 2013 Ancient Worlds in Film and Television: Gender and Politics. Leiden: Brill. Winkler, M. M. (ed.) 2001 Classical Myth and Culture in the Cinema. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wyke, M. 1997 Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, Cinema and History. London: Routledge (PN1995.9.H5 W95) |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Timothy Gambin Dennis Mizzi Carmel Serracino |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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