Courses
Film and Media Culture courses are often cross-listed with other departments - this listing includes both courses originating or cross-listed with FMMC. Note that majors can ask approval from their advisers to count courses with significant film/media content taught in foreign languages toward the FMMC major. Courses numbered in the 1000s are Winter Term only, and might be taught only erratically. Most FMMC courses have required screening or lab sections - see Offerings by Semester for scheduling details.
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
FMMC 0101 - Aesthetics of the Moving Image ▲ ▹
Aesthetics of the Moving Image
How do films convey meaning, generate emotions, and work as an art form? What aspects of film are shared by television and videogames? This course is designed to improve your ability to watch, reflect on, and write about moving images. The course will be grounded in the analysis of cinema (feature films, documentaries, avant-garde, and animation) with special focus on film style and storytelling techniques. Study will extend to new audio-visual media as well, and will be considered from formal, cultural, and theoretical perspectives. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
FMMC 0102 - Film History ▲
Film History
This course will survey the development of the cinema from 1895 to present. Our study will emphasize film as an evolving art, while bearing in mind the influence of technology, economic institutions, and the political and social contexts in which the films were produced and received. Screenings will include celebrated works from Hollywood, international cinema, documentary, and the avant-garde. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
FMMC 0104 - Television & American Culture ▹
Television and American Culture
This course explores American life in the last six decades through an analysis of our central medium: television. Spanning a history of television from its origins in radio to its future in digital convergence, we will consider television's role in both reflecting and constituting American society through a variety of approaches. Our topical exploration will consider the economics of the television industry, television's role within American democracy, the formal attributes of a variety of television genres, television as a site of gender and racial identity formation, television's role in everyday life, and the medium's technological and social impacts. 2 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2014
FMMC 0105 - Sight and Sound I ▲ ▹
Sight and Sound I
In this course students will gain a theoretical understanding of the ways moving images and sounds communicate, as well as practical experience creating time-based work. We will study examples of moving images as we use cameras, sound recorders, and non-linear editing software to produce our own series of short works. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the possibilities of the medium through experimentation, analysis, and detailed feedback while exploring different facets of cinematic communication. (FMMC 0101, or FMMC 0102, or approval of instructor) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab
Spring 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
FMMC 0106 - Writing for the Screen I ▲
Writing for the Screen I
In this course we will examine the fundamental elements of dramatic narrative as they relate to visual storytelling. We will emphasize the process of generating original story material and learning the craft of screenwriting, including topics such as story, outline, scene structure, subtext, character objectives, formatting standards, and narrative strategies. Weekly writing assignments will emphasize visual storytelling techniques, tone and atmosphere, character relationships, and dialogue. Students will be required to complete two short screenplays. Required readings will inform and accompany close study of selected screenplays and films. (FMMC 0101 OR CRWR 0170 or approval of instructor) (Formerly FMMC/ENAM 0106) 3 hrs. sem.
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
FMMC 0134 - Hollywood Genres
Hollywood Genres
This course will study the form and development of Hollywood film genres such as the science fiction film, the gangster film, the musical, and the romantic comedy, in order to determine what we can learn from these texts about ourselves and our culture. The conventions, archetypes, common plots, and key dramatic conflicts of various genres will be outlined and their meaning analyzed. The historical transformation of genres will be highlighted. Screening, readings, and written reports. (Formerly FMMC/AMCV 0134) 2 hrs. lect./ 3 hrs. screen/1 hr. disc.
Spring 2011
FMMC 0175 - Anime: Japanese Animation
Anime: Japanese Animation
Animated films (Japanese anime) have generated new excitement worldwide. Anime films raise serious questions about our existence and identity, about the relationship of the present to myths of the past, about the body and its transformations, about the power of the erotic, and about human aspirations in a mechanized world. In this course we will investigate the anime genre in its cultural contexts with special attention to the relations anime has with cinema. Films for study include Metropolis, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 0178). 3 hrs. lect./disc./screening.
Spring 2009
FMMC 0203 - Bollywood and Beyond
Bollywood and Beyond: Topics and Themes in Indian Cinema
Bollywood, the term given to the Indian film industry juggernaut in Bombay, India, has gained an avid following of millions of viewers world-wide. In this course we will seek to obtain a critical understanding of the history and development of the popular Indian film industry. We will explore the ideas and ideals of Indian art and visuality, notions of gender, idealized beauty, caste, class, religion, social norms, globalism, modernity, nationalism, and fundamentalism. Films are subtitled and no knowledge of another language is expected. 3 hr lect./disc., and readings will accompany evening screenings.
Fall 2011
FMMC 0225 - Gothic and Horror
Gothic and Horror
This course examines the forms and meanings of the Gothic and horror over the last 250 years in the West. How have effects of fright, terror, or awe been achieved over this span and why do audiences find such effects attractive? Our purpose will be to understand the generic structures of horror and their evolution in tandem with broader cultural changes. Course materials will inlcude fiction, film, readings in the theory of horror, architecture, visual arts, and electronic media. 3 hrs. lect./disc. 3 hrs lect.
Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Fall 2012
FMMC 0232 - The Documentary Film
Documentary: Art of the Nonfiction Film
Documentary film combines nonfiction with an aesthetic aspiration. This course will explore the achievement in the documentary, raising issues about the influence of documentary upon political persuasion, historical memory, the status of film as evidence, and its utility as a means of investigation. Questions will be posed, such as: Can documentary achieve a distinctive understanding of a phenomenon? How does nonfiction address/guide the relationship between sound, image, and subject? The course will offer a historical perspective, as well as study contemporary works, with the aim of preparing students to both understand and produce documentary films. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2011, Spring 2013
FMMC 0237 - Japanese Film
Japanese Film
This course traces the history of Japanese film through the cinema of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Oshima and other directors. We will focus on the golden age of the 1950s, the New Wave of the sixties, and films of the 1990s and 2000s. Films include Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Tokyo Story, as well as influential works by current directors. 3 hrs. lect./disc. and screening
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011
FMMC 0238 - Film Noir ▹
Film Noir
A series of urban crime films and melodramas made in Hollywood between 1940-1960, but concentrated in the decade immediately after World War II, have been understood by critics to constitute the movement of film noir. This course will study prominent films from this group as well as contemporary films influenced by them, and the critical literature they have elicited in order to understand the cultural sources, the stylistic attributes, the social significance, and the long-term influence attributed to film noir. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2010, Spring 2013, Spring 2014
FMMC 0239 - Cinema of Alfred Hitchcock
The Cinema of Alfred Hitchcock
The cinematic artistry of Alfred Hitchcock in a dozen of his major films (mainly from the 1950s, including North by Northwest, Psycho, Rear Window, The Trouble with Harry, Vertigo) with attention to Hitchcock's style and technique, his obsessive images (such as dangling over the abyss), and his characteristic themes (the transfer of guilt, the double, etc.) and with a focus on the figure of the artist in Hitchcock's work. Issues such as the relationship of film to narrative fiction and to dramatic literature will also be explored. 3 hrs. lect./disc./screening
Fall 2011
FMMC 0242 - Film Comedy
Film Comedy
A survey of American film comedy from the silent era to contemporary productions. The course will focus on various approaches such as clown comedy, romantic comedy, and satirical comedy. In addition, the course will explore screen comedy in the context of various theories of comedy, including the narrative design, the social dynamics, and the psychological understanding of humor. The filmmakers will include: Chaplin, Keaton, Lubitsch, Wilder, Woody Allen, among others. Screenings, readings and written assignments. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0102 or instructor approval) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2009, Spring 2012
FMMC 0243 - Internet Art
Internet Art
New media art has interdisciplinary ties to video, sound, performance, and literature. This course considers the web as a venue of production, exhibition, and distribution, and examines how technology influences concepts of narrative, aesthetics, identity, community, and culture. Students will design and implement a series of interactive internet based projects. (FMMC 0101, FMMC 0105. FMMC 0135 or ART 0160 or approval of the instructor) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2009, Spring 2010
FMMC 0244 - International Cinema: ▲
International Cinema
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.
Fall 2009, Spring 2012, Fall 2013
FMMC 0246 - Media Tech & Cultural Change
Media Technology and Cultural Change
This course will explore how new media technologies impact society and change cultural practices. The course will consider new media of today and yesterday, including printing, comics, audio and digital media, focusing on the social construction of technology, how media technologies help foster our sense of identity and social reality, and how media technologies can be understood across a range of disciplines. We will use new media as both a topic of analysis and as a mode of expression, with ongoing lab projects exploring course concepts via the creation of digital media. No previous media technology skills required. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0104) 3 hrs. lect./disc./2 hrs. lab
Spring 2010
FMMC 0250 - Chinese Cinema ▲
Chinese Cinema
This course, taught in English, surveys the history of movies in China since the 1930s and also offers an in-depth look at the work of: China's fifth-generation directors of the 1980s and their successors up to the present; Taiwan's new wave; and Hong Kong popular cinema, including martial arts film. Our focus is the screening and discussion of films such as The Goddess (a 1934 silent classic), Stage Sisters (1965; directed by the influential Xie Jin), the controversial Yellow Earth (1984), In the Heat of the Sun (a 1994 break with the conventional representation of the Cultural Revolution), Yang Dechang's masterpiece A One and a Two (2000), and Still Life (Jia Zhangke's 2006 meditation on displacement near the Three Gorges Dam). The course is designed to help students understand the place of cinema in Chinese culture and develop the analytical tools necessary for the informed viewing and study of Chinese film. We will look at everything from art film, to underground film, to recent box office hits. (No prerequisites) One evening film screening per week. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Fall 2009, Fall 2013
FMMC 0252 - Authorship and Cinema
Authorship and Cinema
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Winter 2012
FMMC 0254 - Millennial Media
Millennial Media: Youth Audiences and Commercial Culture
Coming of age narratives speak to both youth audiences and adult viewers, and thus have a pervasive impact on popular culture. In this course, we will explore the commercial construct of the "millennial generation," a generation imagined to span those born from the late 1970s through 2000. We will consider how representations of adolescents circulate in American film, television, and digital media texts such as Harry Potter and Glee, examining their industrial contexts and their audience response. We will interrogate trade and popular publications seeking to define millennials, and consider the social significance of generational discourse more broadly. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0104 or AMST 0211) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2011, Spring 2012
FMMC 0255 - French New Wave
French New Wave
Beginning in 1959 and continuing through the 1960s, dozens of young French cinephiles, thrilled by Hollywood genre movies and European art films, but disgusted with their own national cinema’s stodgy productions, took up cameras and began making films. This movement, known as La Nouvelle Vague, remains one of the most exciting, inventive periods in cinema history. This course focuses on the major films and directors (Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Alain Resnais) of the period and also gives consideration to the cultural, technological, and economic factors that shaped this movement. (Formerly FMMC 0345)
Spring 2011
FMMC 0256 - British Crime Drama
British Crime Drama
What makes British crime drama different from its American counterpart? Using gender, race, and sexuality as the primary lens, students will tease out the signature features of the British television genre. Through an examination of historical and contemporary shows, students will discern how cultural differences and Britain’s specific histories of empire and colonialism inflect the crime stories that are told. In particular we will use the crime drama to understand Britain’s encounter with modernity and how this is reflected in aesthetic choices.
Spring 2013
FMMC 0260 - Kurosawa
Kurosawa
Kurosawa is internationally recognized as one of the great auteurs whose films continue to inspire directors around the world. In this course we will analyze Kurosawa's style and technique in over a dozen films from the 1940s to the 1990s, including Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Ran, and Kagemusha. We will examine Kurosawa's relationship to the Hollywood Western and to filmmakers Clint Eastwood, Stephen Spielberg, and George Lucas. We will give special attention to the moral questions Kurosawa raises in films about ancient warriors, small-time gangsters, everyday men and women, and Shakespearian heroes. 3 hrs. lect./ 3 hrs. screen.
Fall 2009, Fall 2010
FMMC 0262 - Politics of Animation
The Politics of Animation: Documentary, Propaganda, Art
In this course we will examine films in an emerging international genre known as animated documentary. Animation plays a surprisingly influential role in nonfiction films, as in a famous segment in Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine. More recently, some directors have relied solely on animation to make films with claims to telling the truth. Often politically controversial and intensely personal, these works challenge traditional definitions of cinematic form. Why is animation so persuasive? To answer this question we will explore the urban origins of early cartoons, Disney’s global hegemony, Warner Brothers’ wartime propaganda, Soviet agitprop, and the diverse ideological perspectives of limited animation in Japanese anime and American television programming. With this preparation in hand, we will analyze several animated non-fictions in their cultural and political contexts, including the artworks of William Kentridge (South Africa), Barefoot Gen (Japan), Persepolis (France/Iran), and Waltz with Bashir (Israel). 3 hrs. lect./ 3hrs. screen.
Fall 2009, Fall 2010
FMMC 0264 - Indian Cinema Romance ▹
Indian Cinema: Romance, Nation, and Identity
In this course we will use the lens of romance to examine the world's largest film-making industry. Focusing primarily on Hindi cinema produced in Bombay/Mumbai, we will examine the narrative conventions, aesthetic devices (such as song-dance sequences), and other cinematic conventions that are unique to Indian films' narration of romance. Through a historical overview of films from the silent, colonial, and post-colonial eras into the contemporary era of globalization, we will track how the family is configured, the assignment of gender roles, and how national identity is allegorized through family romance. The course includes weekly screenings of films, which will be sub-titled in English. 3 hrs. lect.
Spring 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2014
FMMC 0267 - Gender, Sexuality and Media
Gender and Sexuality in Media
In this course, we will explore the intersecting roles played by gender and sexuality in our media, focusing specifically on film, television, and digital culture. We will examine the multiple ways in which popular media texts construct and communicate gender and sexuality, and we will analyze the role of gender and sexuality in the processes of spectatorship and meaning-making. We will study a wide range of theories of gender and sexuality in media including feminist film theory, queer media theory, and literature on gender and sexuality in video game history and culture. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen.
Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012
FMMC 0276 - Remix Culture
Remix Culture
With the spread of digital technologies, remix has come to the forefront as a major form of artistic work and cultural and political commentary. In this course we will explore the history, cultural and legal impact, and creative logics of remix traditions. We will examine how digital technologies shape transformative creativity. Drawing on the work of theorists such as DJ Spooky and Lawrence Lessig, we will consider the creative and legal ramifications of remix logics. We will explore a range of remix works across media with a focus on video. Students will also produce remixes through individual and group work. 3 hrs. lecture/3 hrs. screening
Spring 2011, Fall 2012
FMMC 0277 - Watching the Wire
Urban America & Serial Television: Watching /The Wire/
Frequently hailed as a masterpiece of American television, The Wire shines a light on urban decay in contemporary America, creating a dramatic portrait of Baltimore's police, drug trade, shipping docks, city hall, public schools, and newspapers over five serialized seasons. In this course, we will watch and discuss all of this remarkable-and remarkably entertaining-series, and place it within the dual contexts of contemporary American society and the aesthetics of television. This is a time-intensive course with a focus on close viewing and discussion, and opportunities for critical analysis and research about the show's social contexts and aesthetic practices. (FMMC 0104, FMMC 0236, or AMST 0211) 3 hrs. sem./screen.
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2013
FMMC 0278 - Stardom and Celebrity
FMMC 0279 - Film & Literature ▹
Film and Literature
The most common approach to the study of film and literature focuses on cinematic adaptations of literary works, but in this course we will broaden that tack, expanding to more of a comparative approach and considering topics relevant to both forms. We will explore how the cinema developed a formal language equivalent to the novel, as well as how fiction writing has been influenced by film. We will also consider how cinema's position as the equivalent of the novel has been usurped by television. Films screened will include A Day in the Country; Le Plaisir; Blow-Up; the recent BBC series Sherlock; and others. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0102 or ENAM 0103 or CMLT 0101) (Formerly FMMC 0276)
Spring 2014
FMMC 0282 - VideoGames: Art/Culture/Medium ▹
Video Games as Art, Culture, and Medium
Video games have become one of the world's most important entertainment forms, exerting broad influence economically, aesthetically, culturally, and socially. This course explores the medium of the video game in its multiple facets and offers an introduction to the academic subfield of game studies. We will read about game history, design, and cultural criticism, as well as play an array of games to gain a better understanding of how this medium matters. Prior background in gaming is not required. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0104 or by approval) 3 hrs. sem./lab
Spring 2014
FMMC 0285 - Producing Environmental Media ▹
Producing Environmental Media
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.
Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014
FMMC 0305 - Hollywood Unbound Pre-Code
Hollywood Unbound: The Pre-Code Era, 1930-34
Film historian Thomas Doherty has characterized the films produced in the early "talkie" years, 1930-34, as "the raw stuff of American culture, unvarnished and unveiled." In this course we will explore the cinematic product of that era, by viewing representative films about gender identity and sexual freedom, equality, and "inversion," political corruption, vice, crime, violence, racial and religious transgressions, and how those films reflect the social and cultural realities of Depression America. An understanding of how this period of creative innovation enhanced by sound aroused social and religious indignation leading to Joseph Breen's 1934 enforcement of the Production Code will emerge from our study.
Spring 2010
FMMC 0310 - Film and History
Film and History
In this class we will study the challenges and promises of film as a historical artifact by focusing on cinematic representation of social activism and struggles of liberation (from national and post-colonial struggles to the rise of ethnic consciousness and revolutionary movements of the 20th century). Students will examine how filmmakers present historical figures as well as the acts of ordinary citizens. In addition to researching the historical events represented on the screen, and exploring how film can be used as primary and secondary sources, we will also become involved in the creative process of historical representation. We will study films from countries around the world but most of our examples will come from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Fall 2010
FMMC 0330 - Hollywood Renaissance, 1967-76 ▹
Hollywood Renaissance, 1967-76
In this course we will study the transition in American film history from the classical studio based production system to contemporary practice, sometimes known as "the Hollywood Renaissance". We will explore numerous changes marking this transition, including the influence of the European "art" cinema, the shift from the Production Code to the current ratings system, the impact of a young generation of filmmakers trained in the academy, developments in film technology, and the social and political changes influencing American culture during this era. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0102 or by approval) 3 hrs. seminar/3 hr. screen
Spring 2012, Spring 2014
FMMC 0335 - Sight and Sound II ▲
Sight and Sound II
In this course we will explore non-fiction, narrative, and experimental modes of production. We will emphasize thorough pre-production planning, expanded understanding of image and sound, and editing. The critical dialogue established in Sight and Sound I will be extended and augmented with readings and screenings of outstanding independently produced work. (Approval-required; FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0105). Obtain application on FMMC website online and submit prior to the start of registration. Priority given to FMMC majors. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab.
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
FMMC 0336 - South Asian Diaspora
From Bollywood to Hollywood: Gender and the South Asian Diaspora
In this course we will examine the South Asian diasporic experience in Britain and the United States. We will consider this along two dimensions. First, we will examine how this experience has been represented in popular culture, specifically in film and other visual media. Second, we will examine the role of gender in shaping these experiences. Do men and women understand and apprehend this diasporic identity differently? If so, how?
Fall 2011
FMMC 0341 - Writing for the Screen II ▹
Writing for the Screen II
Building on the skills acquired in Writing for the Screen I, students will complete the first drafts of their feature-length screenplay. Class discussion will focus on feature screenplay structure and theme development using feature films and screenplays. Each participant in the class will practice pitching, writing coverage, and outlining, culminating in a draft of a feature length script. (Approval required, obtain application on the FMMC website and submit prior to spring registration) 3 hrs. sem/3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014
FMMC 0346 - Special Topics MediaProduction
Special Topics in Media Production
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011
FMMC 0347 - Remote Control:Global TV Cult.
Remote Control: Global TV Culture
In this course we will critically analyze the role television plays in the formation of national and global cultures. Our examination of television industries in the U.K., Brazil, India, and Nigeria will underscore variations in broadcasting practices and the multiple ways in which television is deployed to enact social change. In this course we will introduce students to women's participation in the four countries as audience members, program producers and subjects of television programming. Case studies will help illuminate the transformations that are entailed as television programs cross national and cultural borders. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2010
FMMC 0348 - 3D Computer Animation ▲
3D Computer Animation
3D computer animation has revolutionized animation, graphics, and special effects. In this course students will explore basic 3D modeling techniques, virtual material and texture creation, digital lighting, rendering, and animation. Every workshop will be hands on and fully immersed in this rapidly evolving technology. Students will leave with a strong conceptual understanding of the 3D graphics pipeline, a fundamental 3D skill set, options for further study, and an independent final animation project. (FMMC 0105 or by approval) 3 hrs. workshop
Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
FMMC 0354 - Film Theory
Film Theory
This course surveys the issues that have sparked the greatest curiosity among film scholars throughout cinema's first century, such as: What is the specificity of the film image? What constitutes cinema as an art? How is authorship in the cinema to be accounted for? Is the cinema a language, or does it depart significantly from linguistic coordinates? How does one begin to construct a history of the cinema? What constitutes valid or useful film research? Readings will include Epstein, Eisenstein, Bazin, Truffaut, Wollen, Mulvey, Benjamin, Kracauer, and others. (Formerly FMMC 0344) (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0102 or FMMC 0131 or FMMC 0231 or instructor approval) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2010
FMMC 0355 - Theories of Popular Culture
Theories of Popular Culture
This course introduces a range of theoretical approaches to study popular culture, exploring the intersection between everyday life, mass media, and broader political and historical contexts within the United States. We will consider key theoretical readings and approaches to studying culture, including ideology and hegemony theory, political economy, audience studies, subcultural analysis, the politics of taste, and cultural representations of identity. Using these theoretical tools, we will examine a range of popular media and sites of cultural expression, from television to toys, technology to music, to understand popular culture as a site of ongoing political and social struggle. (Formerly AMST/FMMC 0275) (FMMC 0102 or FMMC 0104 or FMMC 0236 or AMST 0211) 3 hrs. lect./disc./3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2009, Spring 2011
FMMC 0357 - Storytelling in Film & Media
Storytelling in Film & Media
All media feature their own particular techniques of storytelling. We will explore how narrative forms work differently between film, television, and digital media such as videogames. Drawing on theories of narrative developed to understand the structures, techniques, creative practices, and cultural impacts of narrative for literature and film, we will consider how different media offer possibilities to
creators and viewers to tap into the central human practice of storytelling. Students will read theoretical materials and view examples of film, serial television, and games, culminating in a final research project, to better our understanding of narrative as a cultural practice. (FMMC0101 or FMMC0104) 3 hrs. sem./3 hrs. screen.
Fall 2010, Fall 2012
FMMC 0358 - Theories of Spectatorship
Theories of Spectatorship, Audience, and Fandom
In this course we will explore a range of theoretical approaches to the study of spectatorship and media audiences. How has the viewer been theorized throughout the history of film, television, and digital media? How have theoretical understandings of the relationship between viewer and media changed in the digital age? How have gender, class, and race informed cultural notions of media audiences from silent cinema to today? We will consider key theoretical readings and approaches to studying spectators, viewers, audiences, fans, and anti-fans across the history of the moving image. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0102 or FMMC 0104 or FMMC 0254) 3 hrs. lect./disc./3 hrs. screen.
Spring 2013
FMMC 0360 - Methods of Film Criticism ▲
Methods of Film Criticism
In this seminar we will study film criticism. Questions include: How does criticism combine description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation? What are the values and techniques of various methods of film analysis, such as genre, authorship and neo-formalism? What can techniques, such as plot segmentation, teach us about film narrative? How can criticism take into account the response of the spectator? Films considered will be those which raise particular challenges for the film critic. Assignments will include readings, screenings, class presentations, short papers, and a 10-12 page research essay. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0102 or instructor's approval) 3 hrs. lecture/3 hrs. screen.
Fall 2011, Fall 2013
FMMC 0431 - Film & Media Senior Seminar:
Film & Media Senior Seminar:
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.
Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Fall 2011
FMMC 0507 - Independent Project ▲ ▹
Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture
Guidelines for submitting proposals are available on the Film & Media Culture web site along with a list of prerequisites.
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
FMMC 0700 - Senior Tutorial ▹
Film and Media Senior Tutorial
All FMMC majors must complete this course, in which they undertake a critical essay, a screenplay, or a video. The following prerequisite courses are required: for a video project: FMMC 0105, FMMC 0335, FMMC/CRWR 0106; for a screenwriting project: FMMC 0105, FMMC/CRWR 0106, FMMC/CRWR 0341; for a research essay: demonstrated knowledge in the topic of the essay, as determined in consultation with the project advisor, and coursework relevant to the topic as available.
Spring 2013, Spring 2014
FMMC 0707 - Senior Independent Work
Senior Honors Project in Film and Media Culture
During the first term of their senior year, students with a GPA of A- in film and media culture courses may apply to undertake a senior project (FMMC 0707) for honors, with the project to be completed the last term of the senior year.
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Winter 2013
FMMC 1002 - Visual Language of Editing
Visual Language of Editing
In this course students will have a hands-on experience of the language of video editing that we see in the media every day. Through lecture and discussion, students will analyze professionally produced music videos and commercials in an effort to understand the elements of shot selection, sequencing, pacing, and storytelling. Students will then produce their own short videos, re-editing the works viewed, and utilizing the raw film footage that was used to create the professional product. (FMMC 0105 or by waiver)
Winter 2011
FMMC 1010 - Creating an Original TV Series
Creating an Original Television Series
In this course, students will learn the fundamental mechanics of conceiving and designing an original television series. We will begin with a case study presentation of several recent television series: one-hour drama, thirty-minute sitcom, cable long-form, etc. Treatments, show "bibles," and shooting scripts will be examined along with corresponding screenings. Each student will create his or her own television series and will present a pitch, treatment, character breakdown document, and one-year (season-long) overview of story and character arc (for each main character). Students will have a choice of working with a partner, as part of a team, or individually. At term's end, students will submit a show "bible" and first draft of the premiere episode. (FMMC/AMST 0104 or FMMC/ENAM 0106)
Winter 2010, Winter 2011
FMMC 1012 - UK Popular Culture
United Kingdom Popular Culture
George Orwell once described the English in terms of their fondness for “the pub, the football match, the back garden, the fireside, and the ‘nice cup of tea'." But what would he have made of the Sex Pistols or Amy Winehouse? In this course we will trace a particular arc through post-1945 British popular culture in order to ask how we got from Orwell to The Office, from the Rolling Stones to Radiohead. We will ask how film, music, and TV prepared the ground for important episodes in British history: the “special relationship” with the United States, the modernization of sexuality, the transformation from welfare state to free market capitalism, the slow passage toward a multicultural society.
Winter 2010
FMMC 1014 - Filmmaking with Limits
Filmmaking, With Limits
The recent popularity of lipdubs – music videos consisting of a single take, shot with a moving camera, and featuring as many performers as possible – is only the latest example of how setting arbitrary restrictions on the making of creative work serves to facilitate invention. In fact, lipdubs are part of a long tradition in cinema, one in which filmmakers set strict formal guidelines that they must adhere in the making of a movie. In this course students will take up a series of video production assignments with strict (and highly arbitrary) formal guidelines. Can you make a one-minute video about a childhood memory with the lens zoomed all the way in and the camera in constant motion? (3 hrs. lecture/3 hrs. screening) (FMMC 0105 or instructor approval)
Winter 2011
FMMC 1015 - Remix Culture
Remix Culture
With the spread of digital technologies, remix has come to the forefront as a major form of artistic work and of cultural and political commentary. We will examine how digital technologies shape transformative creativity. Drawing on the work of theorists such as DJ Spooky and Lawrence Lessig, we will consider the creative and legal ramifications of remix logics. We will explore a range of remix works across media, with a focus on video remix. Students will also produce remixes through individual and group work. This course counts as elective credit towards the FMMC major. 3 hrs. lecture/3 hrs. screening
Winter 2012
FMMC 1016 - Cinema of David Lean
Cinema of David Lean
An introduction to the art of cinema through an intensive study of how David Lean uses his camera to tell a story visually and expressively in a dozen of his films: from In Which We Serve (1942) through his famous Dickens adaptations, Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), to A Passage to India (1984), and including The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), of which Steven Spielberg observed that he did not know any director who did not genuflect before these two cinematic masterpieces. (Some attention will be paid to Lean’s literary sources.)
Winter 2011
FMMC 1017 - Graham Greene
Graham Greene: In B&W (and Color Too)
Graham Greene, one of the master storytellers of the 20th century, was also the most cinematic of novelists. His universe was morally complex and ambiguous; his heroes, fallible and conflicted; his stories, dense, complicated, textured… yet always compelling and dramatically simple. Greene’s body of work (on both page and screen) spans decades and genres and is quite singularly brilliant: The Third Man, The Fallen Idol, Our Man in Havana, This Gun for Hire, The End of the Affair, Brighton Rock, and The Ministry of Fear, to name just a few. Greene also wrote about film and published voluminous reviews and essays. In this course, we will briefly survey the life and art of Graham Greene by reading excerpts of biography, autobiography, letters, short novels, writings on film, original screenplays, and, most of all, by watching the movies. This course counts as elective credit towards the FMMC major.
Winter 2012
FMMC 1019 - Sustainable Television
Sustainable TV: Producing Environmental Media
In this project-based course, we will collaborate to produce a nonfiction television program discussing sustainability and energy issues. Students will collectively serve all roles in the project, from research and writing, to shooting and editing, resulting in a team-based environment with tight deadlines. Visiting filmmakers and experts will offer project guidance, with the final project shown on local cable, online, and possibly in conjunction with the PBS series Planet Forward. Students will be selected by application to create a team with a range of experience and expertise – prior video production or environmental studies experience is preferred but not required. (Approval required, application available at http://go.middlebury.edu/sustainabletv)
Winter 2010
FMMC 1134 - Radio Documentary Production
Sound and Story: Documentary for the Airwaves
In this course students will learn the production skills and storytelling sensibility necessary to create compelling radio documentary. Through curated readings and practical exercises, we will cover field-recording basics and interview techniques which each student will use to produce their own short audio piece. At the conclusion of this intensive storytelling production seminar, each student will formally pitch their piece to Vermont Public Radio. Each student will be required to purchase a set of studio quality, noise-canceling headphones (no ear buds) costing approximately $90.
Winter 2013