| CODE | BEN1012 | |||||||||
| TITLE | 20th Century Cinema Studies | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Visual Arts | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Aims: This Unit introduces students to a range of cinematic genres and styles developed during the 20th century. The Unit focuses particular attention on cinematic forms and/or examples that students may not have come across in their viewing experience. On occasions, however, the Course may take excursions into more mainstream or popular cinema genres and examine exemplary productions from this to again explore the forms of excellence in creative and innovative imagining popular mainstream cinema has produced. On each occasion, however, canonical works will be avoided in preference for more experimental, challenging, or unusual/off beat work. The original contributions of these works may be evident in either formal qualities of the film or in the substantial content/subject of the work. Cinema (and its televisual derivatives) have often been described as the art-form of the 20th century. Coupled with its popularity the world over, cinema has often broken new ground in imagining and developing ideas about the way people live and the attitudes they have towards themselves and their lives. Although most of the works considered will be fictional; these creative innovations and ideas first imagined and developed in this medium have often become some of the most prescient, insightful, and accurate descriptions of contemporary modern life. Thus it has been said, of all the art-forms and media, it is cinema which has introduced and modelled the innovations in social and cultural reality that were already (or were about to become) part of everyday life of the cinema's audience. Learning Outcomes: Knowledge and Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • Analyse, articulate and critique a range of cinematic genres, forms, and creative works drawn from the 20th Century; • Develop a broad historical lineage of non-conventional experimental and artistic cinematic works during the 20th Century; • Describe features of experimental and artistic filmic works produced during the 20th Century; • Discuss some exemplary 20th Century mainstream cinematic productions and the features that make such productions innovative; • Critically review cinematic works in both aural and written forms. Skills: By the end of the study-unit, the student will be able to: • Look at and appreciate films as critical analytical viewers; • Debate in a logical coherent manner their viewing experiences and understanding of a range of 20th Century cinematic productions; • Enter into open logical and scholarly public debate on issues concerning film and its reception; • Write critical review essays and prose of appraisal of cinematic works; • Develop self initiated short film productions (10 min). Main and Supplementary Reading List: Experimental film and video : an anthology / edited by Jackie Hatfield; picture editor, Stephen Littman A history of experimental film and video: from canonical avant-garde to contemporary British practice / A.L. Rees Mad to be saved: the Beats, the ’50s, and film / David Sterritt Indiscretions: avant-garde film, video, & feminism / Patricia Millencamp Film art phenomena / Nicky Hamlyn Videography: video media as art and culture / Sean Cubitt Westerns: aspects of a movie genre ; and, Westerns revisited / Phillip French Westerns: making the man in fiction and film / Lee Clark Mitchell The searchers / Alan LeMay The twilight of the young: the radical movements of the 1960s and their legacy : a personal report / by Klaus Mehnert Subversive pleasures: Bakhtin, cultural criticism, and film / Robert Stam Filmography (suggested viewing) Exit through the gift shop [video recording] / Banksy Louise Bourgeois: the spider, the mistress and the tangerin [videorecording] / a film by Marion Cajori and Amei Wallach Wings of desire: a film [videorecording] / by Wim Wenders London and Robinson in space: two films [videorecording (DVD)] / by Patrick Keiller; narrated by Paul Scofield The London nobody knows & Les bicyclettes de Belsize [videorecording] / various Martha Graham [videorecording (DVD)]: dance on film Simon Schama’s Power of art [videorecording (DVD)] Gallivant, plus twelve short films [videorecording (DVD)] 8 ½ / Federico Felini Casanova / Federico Felini Rivers and tides: Andy Goldsworthy working with time [videorecording] / a film by Thomas Reidelsheimer |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Seminar and Workshop | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | John Grech |
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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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