Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
This course is designed to familiarize students with the history of film as a medium of artistic
and ideological expression and help them develop a vocabulary for discussing and analyzing film
texts in an informed, sophisticated, and meaningful way. The first half of the course will be
spent outlining the formal and stylistic elements of film as an art and commercial mass medium
(mise-en-scene, cinematography, narrative, editing, and sound). The remainder of the course
will be spent exploring the ways filmmakers working in both Hollywood and international
cinemas have employed these formal and stylistic elements; this will involve an analysis of the
meaning and theoretical basis of film genre, European modes of production (including Italian
Neo-Realism and the French New Wave), and avant-garde and documentary filmmaking. Each
class session will consist of lecture, screenings of relevant clips and/or full-length films, and
discussion of readings and screenings. Students’ achievement of the learning objectives will be
assessed through four written responses as well as two examinations that utilize multiple-choice,
fill-in-the-blank and/or short answer responses. Information regarding the four written responses
will be provided on a separate handout.
To increase students’ understanding of how films are made, to help students develop visual
literacy and a vocabulary for analyzing films in terms of form and style, and to increase students’
awareness of film as an art, mass medium, and cultural artifact.
Course Policies
Please note that in a summer course there is a significant amount of material to be covered in
very little time. We will utilize ALL of the class time allotted, but there will be 15 to 30-minute
breaks between lectures and screenings each night. Because this is an evening class, students
need to plan ahead with regard to meals/snacks. No eating is permitted in class, but students
may eat outside the classroom during the break.
Students are expected to attend all classes, to be punctual, attentive, and considerate, and to keep
up with the assignments listed on the syllabus. All required readings and full-length screenings
are to be completed outside of class before the regular class session. For example, the readings
and screenings listed for Class 2 should be completed before the class meets for that session.
Please note that there will be a great deal of material to read in order to “catch up” after
Class 1, so please plan accordingly. Students who must miss a class remain responsible for all
course material covered in that class; there are no make-up classes, and each class will only be
taught once.
Cell phones should be turned off upon entering class. Use of laptops is permitted, with the
forewarning that the display must be completely darkened or closed during screenings of clips.
Because clips will be shown intermittently throughout each class (i.e. not all at the beginning or
end), students may find it more convenient to take notes in a notebook rather than on a laptop. If
the use of laptops becomes disruptive to the classroom environment, they will no longer be
permitted. Laptops must be turned off and put away during in-class screenings of films.
Maria Pramaggiore and Tom Wallis, Film: A Critical Introduction, 2nd edition (Boston:
Pearson, 2008)
There are two additional readings available through the library’s electronic reserves that are also
required texts. You will need to search the electronic reserves page by instructor name
(Kretschmar) and enter the password to access these readings.
Write the password here: ____________________________
Some full-length screenings are to be completed outside of class, and they are considered
required texts. All are on reserve at the McDermott Library, but are available in a number of
other venues as well.
Grading Policy
Attendance 10%
Exam 1 35%
Exam 2 35%
4 Written Responses 20%
No make-up exams will be given. The grades acquired are final and I will not engage in any kind of
negotiation (i.e. the need for a higher grade to retain GPA, requests for extra credit, etc).
Narrative
READING: Chapter 4
Cinematography
READING: Chapter 6
OUT-OF-CLASS SCREENING: Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee,
1989; 120 min.)
IN-CLASS SCREENING: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941;
119 min.)
Sound Design
READING: Chapter 8
OUT-OF-CLASS SCREENING: Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley
Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952; 103 min.)
Students should be aware that some of the films and clips screened in this class contain
potentially objectionable material such as strong language, violence, and/or nudity. Such
elements are a part of cinema history and the films have been carefully chosen not for shock
value, but because they align with the goals and topics of the course. If such elements will
prevent a student from fully engaging with the course, viewing, discussing, or writing about the
films, he or she should consider enrolling in a different course.
Please note that the Rules on Student Services and Activities of the University of Texas System
will be strictly adhered to. For information on the administration’s rules and policies regarding
student conduct and discipline, academic integrity, e-mail use, withdrawal from class, student
grievance procedures, incomplete grade policies, disability services, and religious holy days,
consult the material, generated by the administration, available in the university catalogue.