This module provides an introduction to key concepts of film theory and history through analysis of the significant movements, styles, genres and theoretical concepts that have emerged during the first century of cinema.
Lectures
Film narration – definitions and concepts. Time, space and story. Mise en scene, montage.Genre analysis – definitions and concepts. Case studies: Film noir, Melodrama.Auteur Theory – theories of authorship. European and American perspectives. Cinema as art-form or industry?Theories of Spectatorship – The subject; Interpellation;The gaze.Approaches to Realism – Kracaeur, Bazin, Perkins, MacCabe, HaywardItalian neo-realism – socio-cultural contexts. Questions of form and content. Political cinema. Case study: Vittorio de Sica.Film Noir - socio-cultural contexts. Genre, aesthetic or movement? The role of the femme fatale. Key directors: Wilder, PremingerFeminist Film Theory - an introductionDocumentary – origins and early historyMelodrama: Ironic distanciation (Elsaesser, Nowell-Smith, Mulvey)The origins of Documentary.Primitive vs. institutional modes of representation – definitions and concepts.Understanding silent cinema. The emergence of narrative codes. Case studies: Méliès, Lumière, Porter.
The module will involve a series of lectures, class discussions, screenings and independent learning, for which selected readings will be assigned. In addition, learners will be required to attend a series of specially programmed screenings during the module. Student contact will consist of two hours per week (excl. screenings).
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Other Assessment(s) | 100 |