“Film has dream, film has music. No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul. A little twitch in our optic nerve, a shock effect: twenty-four illuminated frames in a second, darkness in between, the optic nerve incapable of registering darkness. . . I slowly wind one frame after another, see almost imperceptible changes, wind faster — a movement.” ~ Ingmar Bergman's Laterna Magica (1987); translated by Joan Tate (1988)
“Cinema is a mirror by which we often see ourselves. ~ Alejandro González Iñárritu
“Every film is a political act; it's how you see the world.” ~ Mira Nair
“The cinema substitutes for our gaze a world more in harmony with our desires.” ~ André Bazin
“In this age of mixing and hybridity, popular culture, particularly the world of movies, creates a new frontier providing a sense of movement, of pulling away from the familiar and journeying into and beyond the world of the other.”
~ bell hooks
This course introduces students to select issues in film studies. Students will learn key vocabulary and concepts of film forms, techniques, and history, and develop critical analysis skills necessary to become informed viewers of a wide variety of historical, contemporary and international films. This course will also introduce the theories, methods, and concerns of film studies as a discipline, preparing students for further work in the field. Class time will be used for screenings and critical study of major films. Students will produce critical responses to film, production exercises using consumer tools (smartphones), and a research paper and presentation.
For sample research and media projects, please connect with me through the Reach Out page.
This course follows the EDIT 10: BEST PRACTICES FOR INCLUSIVE TEACHING IN MEDIA PRODUCTION