“How does the Hollywood musical weave its magical spell?” “How do figures such as Jane Fonda, Robert Redford and indeed Ronald Reagan emphasize the links between American cinema and politics?” “Does Hollywood reflect popular American culture?” “What is typically Woody Allen about Woody Allen? What image does he paint of America?” The American Cinema is so widely written about that the scope for expanding one’s ideas on the subject seems endless. This course will use the American cinema as a vehicle for developing English expression and discussion techniques. Student-led discussions on genres, directors, stars or schools of thought will be illustrated by excerpts from at least three American films.

Examples of categories are: science fiction, musicals, war, Kubrick, Kazan, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Actors’ Studio, Blacks in American Cinema, the Hero….

After choosing a subject, students will work in pairs to research and develop their ideas in order to animate a class discussion on the topic. Discussion leaders will also be asked to submit an article for class reading the week before their discussion. The “personal project assessment” will include: depth of research reflected in content; articles and questions to the class; communication techniques in your presentation; and level of English. Weekly assignments for all will include watching a film, reading an article and answering a written question or two.

This class is based on teamwork: your major role will be to acquire enough knowledge from your homework to be prepared to respond to the discussion leaders’ questions. Your “class assessment” will be based on the quality and quantity of your weekly speaking and writing.

If the Cinema is your passion, here is an additional reading list: Davies, Philip and Brian Neve, eds. Cinema, Politics and Society in America. Manchester University Press, 1981. Dick, Bernard F. Anatomy of Film. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990. Lumet, Sidney. Making Movies. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Mast, Gerald and Marshall Cohen, eds. Film Theory and Criticism. Oxford University Press, 1985. Oxford University Press, 2000. Monaco, James. How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, and Multimedia: Language, History, Theory. Quart, Leonard and Albert Auster. American Film and Society Since 1945. New York: Praeger, 1991. Levy, Emanuel. Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. New York: New York University Press, l999.

Last Modification : Wednesday 28 March 2012