Syllabus: Politics in Film (PSC 400F) Spring 2007 Course Description This three (3) credit course analyzes political aspects of film in a variety of national cine-mas (Hollywood, European, African, Asian), across different decades (from the silent era to the twenty-first century), genres (cinéma vérité, documentary, period epic, martial art, western, melodrama, musical, anti-war), and through a range of themes (colonialism, the ideologies of fascism and Marxism, race, gender, sexuality, the nuclear family, and war). Instructor Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey Crouse E-mail: [email protected] Wright Hall (WRI) A223 Phone: (702) 895-5247 Office Hours: Monday through Thursday 1:00 to 2:00p.m. PSC 400F-001 Politics in Film Tuesday & Thursday 11:30am-12:45pm WRI C235 Classroom Etiquette Students must arrive to class prepared and on time. Cell phones must be turned off and stored out of sight. 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 is prohibited. No one should talk while another person is speaking, 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 Policy2Attendance 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 affected. For every absence afterward, the student’s entire semester grade will drop by 10% for every class missed. Reading There are no course textbooks. Instead students are expected to follow the readings listed below (see Course Schedule and Assignments), downloading them on-line via the UNLV reserve library. 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 the students. Introduction (17 Jan. / Tues.) Unit 1: Film and Colonialism A terrorist or a freedom fighter: what’s the difference? The Algerian War of Independence from 1954 -1962 against French occupation will be our case study. Screening: The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy/Algeria, 1966) 121 min. This film will be shown in two (2) parts on 19 and 24 Jan. (Thurs. / Tues.). Screening: Remembering History (2004), this documentary on the Algerian War will be shown on 26 Jan. (Thurs.). → Lecture / Discussion: 31 Jan. and 2 Feb. (Tues. / Thurs.). § Reading: Your in-class notes while watching Remembering History. Unit 2: Film and Fascism Why do societies fall under the spell of fascism? Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany (1933-45), and Qin Shi Huang (the “King of Qin”) and early China (221 BCE-210 BCE) are our case studies. Screening: Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, 1934). 120 min. Note: Only the first 65 min. of this film will be viewed (7 Feb. / Tues.). Also: the Commentary track by historian Dr. Anthony Santoro will be heard during film. Screening: Hero (Zhang Yimou, People’s Republic of China/Hong Kong, 2002) 98 min. This film will be shown in two (2) parts on 9 and 14 Feb. (Thurs. / Tues.). → Lecture / Discussion: 16 and 21 Feb. (Thurs. / Tues.). § Reading: Susan Sontag, “Fascinating Fascism,” New York Review of Books, February 6, 1975 (later reprinted in Under the Sign of Saturn, 1980). Download: Goggle this essay on the Internet.3Evans Chan, “Zhang Yimou’s Hero and the Temptations of Fascism,” Film International, No. 8, 2002. Unit 3: Film and Marxism What made 1920s Soviet cinema feel so new and exciting? Are films of that time examples of totalitarian cinema, or are they something different? The Kino-Eye group’s Man With the Movie Camera, made during the period of the NEP, will be the main case study. Screening: The Man with the Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, Russia, 1929) 68 min. This film will be viewed in its entirety on 23 Feb. (Thurs.). → Lecture / Discussion: 28 Feb. and 2 March (Thurs. / Tues). § Reading: Marko Daniel, “The Man with the Movie Camera: Speed of Vision, Speed of Truth?” Download: http://www.25hrs.org/vertov.htm/ Unit 4: Film and Race It has been claimed that the western, Hollywood’s genre contribution to world film, is a cinema of racial genocide. Is that true? To what degree, over time, do masters of the western such as director John Ford, recognize the extermination of the Native American / aboriginal people in their work? Screening: The Searchers (John Ford, USA, 1956) 119 min. This film will be seen over two (2) classes on 7 and 9 March (Tues. / Thurs.). → Lecture / Discussion: 21 March (Tues.). Note: there will be no class next week (14 and 16 March) because of Spring Break. § Reading: Douglas Pye, “Double Vision: Miscegenation and Point of View in The Searchers” in The Book of Westerns, Ian Cameron, Douglas Pye (eds.), 1996. Unit 5: Film and Gender Though the majority of filmmakers in movie history (including Hollywood) are men, is it possible for the position of women to be represented ─ whether by men or women ─ without a loss of integrity? If so, is it possible within the conventions of a mainstream film? Screening: Blonde Venus (Josef von Sternberg, USA, 1932) 97 min. Screening: The Smell of Burning Ants (Jay Rosenblatt, USA, 1994) 21 min. These movies will be viewed over two (2) classes on 23 and 28 March (Thurs. / Tues.). → Lecture / Discussion: 30 March (Thurs.) § Reading: Florence Jacobowitz, “What Does a Man Know About Mother Love?”4 CineAction!, No. 21/22, November 1990. Unit 6: Film and Sexuality Sexuality in art is never a “given” but, like race, gender, class, nationality, and religion, is a construction whether conscious in the mind of the artist or not. And given that no mainstream Hollywood movie dared to tackle the subject of AIDS until Philadelphia, much rode on the way in which its filmmakers would address the impact of this disease upon the gay community yet still turn out a commercial product. What is its view of sexuality ─ gay and straight? What choices does it make to present homosexual love and identity to a largely heterosexual audience? Screening: Philadelphia