Syllabus: Politics in Film (PSC 400F/FIS 409) Tuesday 7-9:45 PM / Spring 2010 QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture. Course Description This course will examine US political life as reflected in the films made during a time of extraordinary change, namely, the ten-year period between 1936-46. These years not only encompass the second half of the Depression, all of WWII, and the beginning of the Cold War, but also form the transition from an egalitarian and democratic vision of America to one that embraced consumerism and the hierarchical demands of corporate business. This is a swing or dialectic continually at work in US history, but these years are unique in that they featured what George Toles calls “a crisis of interiority.” In moving from screwball comedy (what André Bazin considered the “most serious genre” in Hollywood film) to film noir, this crisis meant a connective loss to our private self and its transformative capabilities. The wide implications of this crisis as suggested in the range of films that will be analyzed are ones that we — and our political and social institutions — still grapple with. (3 credits) Instructor Instructor: Dr Jeffrey Crouse E-mail: [email protected]: Wright Hall (WRI) A220 Phone: (702) 895-5230 Office Hours: Tue 6:30-7:00, 9:45-10:45 PMClassroom Etiquette Students must arrive to class prepared and on time. Cell phones must be turned off and stored out of sight. Text messaging is not permitted. The use of laptops during class is solely limited to note taking and information the instructor may invite you to look up during a discussion; otherwise their use for music listening, game playing, web browsing, or Internet chats will not be tolerated. No one should talk while another person speaks, nor should there be any remarks meant for a classmate rather than the group. Classroom behavior should be courteous, respectful of others, and consistent with the expectations set forth by the university. Attendance Policy Attendance is mandatory and roll will be taken. Students will be allowed to miss two (2) classes (whether lectures or screenings) before one’s grade is permanently affected. For every absence afterward, the student’s entire semester grade will drop by 10% for every class missed. Course Grading The final grade is based on three (3) assignments and/or tests: • Paper I (30%) Details pertaining to this paper will be distributed in class. • Paper II (30%) Details pertaining to this paper will be distributed in class. • Final Exam (40%) In-class exam consisting of different rubrics (essay, short answer, T/F) Course Textbooks • Brian Neve, Film and Politics in America: A Social Tradition • Film International 7.6 (Film and the Romantic) Course Schedule and Assignments Disclaimer: It is expected that the following schedule will be observed. Should a change arise, I reserve the right to make any alteration as long as it is made clear to students. Introduction Week 1 (12 Jan) Reading: William Rothman, “Hollywood Reconsidered: Reflections on the Classical American Cinema” in The “I” of the Camera: Essays on Film Criticism, History, and Aesthetics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2004), pp. 1-16. Screening: An extract from Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 1939, 20th Century-Fox) The lecture notes will be partly drawn from: • Geoffrey O’Brien, “Young Mr. Lincoln, Hero in Waiting” monograph written for Criterion Collection (2006) Unit 1: Emersonian Hollywood Weeks 2 & 3 (19 & 26 Jan)QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture. Screening: Theodora Goes Wild (Richard Boleslawski, 1936, Columbia) 94 min. Starring: Irene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas, Thomas Mitchell, and Spring Byington Reading: James Harvey, Romantic Comedy in Hollywood: From Lubitsch to Sturges (New York: Da Capo Press, 1998), pp. 221-231. Unit 2: A Superior Kind of Man Weeks 4 & 5 (2 & 9 Feb) QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.Screening: Holiday (George Cukor, 1938, Columbia) 95 min. Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Lew Ayres, Doris Nolan, Jean Dixon, Edward Everett Horton, Henry Daniel, Binnie Barnes, and Henry Kolker Reading: Brian Neve, Film and Politics in America: A Social Tradition, “Out of the Thirties” (Ch. 1), pp. 1-27. Unit 3: ‘Cause We’re the People Weeks 6 & 7 (16 & 23 Feb) QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture. Screening: The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 1940, 20th Century-Fox) 128 min. Starring: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, and Charlie Grapewin Reading: TBA Unit 4: The Threat of Fascism Weeks 8 & 9 (2 & 9 Mar) Screening: Lifeboat (Alfred Hitchcock, 1944, 20th Century-Fox) 96 min. Starring: Tallulah Bankhead, Walter Slezak, John Hodiak, William Bendix, Hume Cronyn, Henry Hull, Canada Lee, Mary Anderson, and Heather Angel Reading: Brian Neve, Film and Politics in American: A Social Tradition, “Liberals, Radicals, and The Wartime Agenda” (Ch. 3) pp. 55-81.QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture. Unit 5: A Little More Rotten Weeks 10 & 11 (16 & 23 Mar) Screening: Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944, Paramount) 107 min. Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, and Edward G. Robertson. Reading: • Brian Neve, Film and Politics in American: A Social Tradition, “Film noir and Society” (Ch. 6) pp. 141-166. • William Rothman, “Hollywood Reconsidered: Reflections on the Classical American Cinema” in The “I” of the Camera: Essays on Film Criticism, History, and Aesthetics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2004), pp. 180-185. QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.Unit 6: American Amnesia Weeks 12 & 13 (6 & 13 Apr) Screening: The Locket (John Brahm, 1946, RKO-Radio Pictures) 85 min. Starring: Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum, Gene Raymond, Katherine Emery Reading: George Toles, “The Gift of Amnesia in John Brahm’s The Locket” in Film and the Romantic special issue, Film International 7.6 Issue 42 (Dec 2009), pp. 32-64. QuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture. Unit 7: The Dividing Line Weeks 14 & 15 (20 & 27 Apr) Screening: It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946, Liberty) 129 min. Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Gloria Grahame, Thomas Mitchell, H. B. Warner, and Ward Bond