15-SM-24
In this seminar, we will discuss some major trends in the history and present day of American film. Particularly, we will survey the ways in which Hollywood and independent cinema has evolved from silent shorts, race and exploitation films or the rise and fall of the studio system to the conglomeration of the mainstream film industry and the burgeoning of independent cinema . We will also develop the vocabulary and tools for critical thinking and film analysis, the latter of which requires a careful examination of a given picture’s narrative and genre, mise-en-scène, camera work, editing, montage and sound. During the course, we will specifically focus on i) the history of Hollywood film with the special focus on the American New Wave, Movie Brats and some classic auteurs; ii) the history of independent filmmaking; iii) aesthetics of the main pure and hybrid film genres and their derivatives like neo-noir film. A series of interactive lectures and screenings will be facilitated by discussions on how filmmakers appeal to American cultural practices, social behaviors and prejudices surrounding issues such as identity, race, gender, sexuality, violence, crime, urbanization, war, family, relationships, etc. The seminar will also give you the opportunity to leverage film criticism to determine why the examined works and the way they depict certain events and phenomena have exerted the lasting influence on the American cinematic storytelling and landscape in general.
- Nauczyciel: Kornelia Boczkowska