Difference between pages "Concept of Authorship (Discussion)" and "JCM412-512 Seminar in American Cinema"

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(→‎Study groups: spring 2012 groups)
 
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==Readings==
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[[Image:DoubleIndemnity.jpg|thumb|Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in the film noir, ''[[wikipedia:Double Indemnity|Double Indemnity]]''.]]
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===Introduction, by John Caughie===
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'''TCF 440/540 Seminar in American Cinema''' is a discussion-oriented course taught by [[User:Jeremy Butler|Jeremy Butler]].
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'''Group 2'''
 
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#What are the basic assumptions of auteurist critics?
 
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#How did auteurism differ from previous film criticism?
 
  
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=== Edward Buscombe ===
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== Course objectives ==
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'''Group 3'''
 
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#What elements of romanticism underpin auteurism?
 
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#What is the difference between Hawks and "Hawks"?
 
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#*'''Student response:''' Hawks is the person, the director, while 'Hawks' is the structure named after the director. Another person could, or instance, follow the structure and produce a movie with a 'Hawks' structure, but it would still not be a movie directed by Hawks. Also, a certain style could be unconscious and part of 'Hawks' but not necessarily a conscious decision by Hawks. The 'Hawks' structure is a sort of culmination of everything about Hawks, whether it is all intended or not. "The structure is associated with a single director, an individual, not because he has played the role of artist, expressing himself or his own vision in the film, but because it is through the force of his preoccupations that an unconscious, unintended meaning can be decoded in the film, usually to the surprise of the individual concerned... It is wrong, in the name of a denial of the traditional idea of creative subjectivity, to deny any status to individuals at all."
 
  
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=== ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' ===
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The student will learn the three major critical methods applied to the American cinema: genre study, the auteur "theory," and the star "system." We will begin with the film noir, director Howard Hawks and actor Humphrey Bogart, and then, during the second half of the semester, turn our attention to the melodrama, director Douglas Sirk, and actress Lana Turner.
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'''All Groups'''
 
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#What is "formalism" and how did it relate to ''Cahiers''-style auteurism?
 
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#What is "personalism"?
 
  
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=== ''Movie'' ===
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Our focus will shift back and forth from the primary texts (the films themselves) to the writings on them. The latter will eventually lead us into considerations of feminism, Marxism, structuralism and semiotics.
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'''Group 4'''
 
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#What was ''Movie''?
 
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#How did ''Movie'''s approach to auteurism differ from that of ''Cahiers du Cinéma''?
 
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#*'''Student Response:''' _Movie_ attempted to go about film criticism with a more rational and objective approach. While both magazines held high the significance of the role of the director, _Movie_ was more moderate than _Cahiers du Cinéma_ in its application of auteurism. The British magazine employed a more "gestalt" approach, which acknowledged trends of good directors but also respected the result of complexes of input beyond the director (producer, photographer, etc.).
 
  
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=== Andrew Sarris ===
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== Online study guides ==
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'''Group 1'''
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===Chronological order===
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#What, according to Sarris, are the three premises of the auteur theory?
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#Film Analysis: [[BordwellThompson/Narrative Form (Discussion)|Discussion]] of film form chapters, ''Film Art''
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#*'''Student response:''' According to Sarris, auteur theory has three premises. "[T]he technical competence of a director as a criterion of value," explains that directors must posses some kind of skill to make a good film. The next criterion has to do with the director's style. That the director must have a distinguishable personality, and his film will reflect the way he thinks and feels. These recurring characteristics of style in the film serve as his signature. Finally, auteur theory is concerned with interior meaning or the "temperature of the director on set." This is the more ambiguous of the premises as is cannot be specifically written out. It is, at the clearest, almost mise en scene mixed with the imbedded meaning of the film projected by the director. These three premises imply that the success or grade of the film rely completely on the director and his specific style and personality.  
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#Classical Style I: [[TCF440540/Mise-en-scene (Discussion)|Discussion]] of mise-en-scene
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#*Explain, if you can, what Sarris means by "élan of the soul".
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#Classical Style II: [[TCF440540/Cinematography (Discussion)|Discussion]] of cinematography
 +
#Editing: [[TCF440540/Editing (Discussion)|Discussion]] of editing
 +
#Sound: [[TCF440540/Sound (Discussion)|Discussion]] of sound
 +
#Concept of Genre: [[Concept of Genre (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Concept of Genre (Discussion) | Discussion]] of Kitses (6-27), Buscombe (33-45), Collins (157-163).
 +
#Film Noir as Genre: [[Film Noir as Genre (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Film Noir as Genre (Discussion)|Discussion]] of Silver & Ursini (17-26, 37-52, 53-64, 65-76).
 +
#Concept of Authorship: [[Concept of Authorship (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Concept of Authorship (Discussion)|Discussion]] of Caughie (9-16, 22-67).
 +
#Howard Hawks as Auteur: [[Howard Hawks as Auteur (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Howard Hawks as Auteur (Discussion)|Discussion]] of Sarris (on Hawks, 52-56), Caughie (138-151), Hillier & Wollen (26-31, 32-34, 68-71, 83-86, 111-119).
 +
#Noir & Sexuality: [[Noir & Sexuality (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Noir & Sexuality (Discussion) | Discussion]] of Place (47-68), Dyer (52-72).
 +
#Concept of Star: [[Concept of Star (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Concept of Star (Discussion)|Discussion]] of Dyer (Stars, 106-50; recommended: 88-105).
 +
#Humphrey Bogart as Star: [[Humphrey Bogart as Star (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Humphrey Bogart as Star (Discussion)|Discussion]] of Sklar (104-120, 165-176, 227-251).
 +
#Domestic Melodrama as Genre: [[Domestic Melodrama as Genre (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Domestic Melodrama as Genre (Discussion)|Discussion]] of Haskell (153-188) -- in-class discussion preempted by midterm exam.
 +
#Domestic Melodrama Since World War II: [[Domestic Melodrama Since World War II (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Domestic Melodrama Since World War II (Discussion)|Discussion]] of Gledhill (5-39), Elsaesser (43-69).
 +
#Melodrama Variations: TV Soap Opera: [[Melodrama Variations: TV Soap Opera (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Melodrama Variations: TV Soap Opera (Discussion)|Discussion]] of Butler ("Apparatus," 53-70), Butler ("Actors," 75-91).
 +
#Douglas Sirk as Auteur: [[Douglas Sirk as Auteur (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Douglas Sirk as Auteur (Discussion)| Discussion]] of Sarris (on Sirk, 109-110), Fischer (3-28, 268-272); recommended: Doherty ([http://www.tcf.ua.edu/EO/SirkEssay.htm online]).
 +
#Lana Turner as Star: [[Lana Turner as Star (Lecture)| Lecture]] / [[Lana Turner as Star (Discussion)| Discussion]] of Dyer (30-52) [Also in Fischer (186-206)].
  
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'''All Groups'''
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===List of lecture notes===
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#What does Sarris mean when he uses the term "mise-en-scene"? ('''Hint''': it's ''not'' how Bordwell and Thompson use it in ''Film Art''.)
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[[:Category:TCF440/540 Lecture]]
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#*And how does this image (below) illustrate it?
 
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[[Image:Rules Moment07.jpg|thumb|left|Jean Renoir in ''Rules of the Game'' (French title: ''La Règle du jeu'').]]
 
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<br style="clear: both;">
 
  
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Pauline Kael, "Circles and Squares," ''Film Quarterly'' (reprinted in ''I Lost It at the Movies''), response to Sarris:
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===List of discussion notes===
 +
[[:Category:TCF440/540 Discussion]]
  
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:Sarris believes that what makes an auteur is "an élan of the soul." (This critical language is barbarous. Where else should élan come from? It's like saying "a digestion of the stomach." A film critic need not be a theoretician, but it is necessary that he know how to use words. This might, indeed, be a first premise for a theory.) Those who have this élan presumably have it forever and their films reveal the "organic unity" of the directors' careers; and those who don't have it - well, they can only make "actors' classics." It's ironic that a critic trying to establish simple "objective" rules as a guide for critics who he thinks aren't gifted enough to use taste and intelligence, ends up - where, actually, he began - with a theory based on mystical insight.
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==Study groups==
 +
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
 +
|-
 +
| valign="top" |
 +
===Group 1===
 +
*Mark Lent
 +
*Tyler Allison
 +
*John Mark Alston
 +
*Jason Atchley
 +
*Kevyn Bowling
 +
*Lindsey Sway
 +
| valign="top" |
 +
===Group 2===
 +
*Samuel Bubis
 +
*Nalisa Capers
 +
*Geoff Carroll
 +
*Matthew Cocozza
 +
*Katherine Tuebner
 +
| valign="top" |
 +
===Group 3===
 +
*Sean Fleming
 +
*Jaime Kaufman
 +
*Joshua Key
 +
*Melissa Lockhart
 +
*Devon Young
 +
| valign="top" |
 +
===Group 4===
 +
*Christopher McCarter
 +
*Brandon Lowe
 +
*Alison O'Neil
 +
*Ashley Polyne
 +
*Shelby Ross
 +
*Connor Simpson
 +
|}
  
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== Bibliography ==
+
== Texts & resources ==
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All from ''Theories of Authorship'', John Caughie, ed. (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981):
 
  
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#Introduction, John Caughie, 9-16.
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===Books===
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#Edward Buscombe, "Ideas of Authorship," 22-34.
 
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#''Cahiers du Cinéma'', 35-47.
 
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#''Movie'', 48-60.
 
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#Andrew Sarris, 61-67.
 
  
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==External links==
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#David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, ''Film Art: An Introduction''.
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#[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/AuteurTheory.htm Auteur Theory Illustrations]
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#John Caughie, ed., ''Theories of Authorship'' (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981).
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#[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/Bazin03.htm Auteurism's defining moment], according to Sarris.
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#Richard Dyer, ''Stars'', Second Edition, Supplementary Chapter by Paul McDonald (London: British Film Institute, 1998).
 +
#Recommended, not required: Lucy Fischer,ed., ''Imitation of Life: Douglas Sirk, Director'' (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1991).  
  
−
[[Category:TCF440/540 Discussion]]
+
===Articles and book chapters===
 +
#Jim Kitses, ''Horizons West'' (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969) 6-27.
 +
#Edward Buscombe, "The Idea of Genre in the American Cinema," ''Screen'', 11.2 (1970): 33-45.
 +
#Richard Collins, "Genre: A Reply to Ed Buscombe," ''Movies and Methods'', ed. Bill Nichols (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976) 157-163.
 +
#Alain Silver and James Ursini, eds., ''Film Noir Reader'' (New York: Limelight, 1996).
 +
#Andrew Sarris, ''The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973) 52-56, 109-110.
 +
#Jim Hillier and Peter Wollen, eds., ''Howard Hawks American Artist'' (London: British Film Institute, 1996).
 +
#Janey Place, "Women in Film Noir," ''Women in Film Noir'', ed. E. Ann Kaplan (London: British Film Institute, 1998) 47-68.
 +
#Richard Dyer, "Homosexuality and Film Noir," ''The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations'' (London and New York: Routledge, 1993) 52-72.
 +
#Robert Sklar, ''City Boys: Cagney, Bogart, Garfield'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992).
 +
#Molly Haskell, "The Woman's Film," in ''From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies'' (New York: Penguin, 1974) 153-188.
 +
#Christine Gledhill, "The Melodrama Field: An Investigation," ''Home is Where the Heart Is: Studies in Melodrama and Woman's Film'', ed. Christine Gledhill (London: British Film Institute, 1987) 5-39.
 +
#Thomas Elsaesser, "Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Melodrama," ''Home is Where the Heart Is'', 43-69.
 +
#Jeremy G. Butler, "Notes on the Soap Opera Apparatus: Televisual Style and ''As the World Turns''," ''Cinema Journal'', 25.3 (1986): 53-70.
 +
#Jeremy G. Butler, "'I'm Not a Doctor, But I Play One on TV': Characters, Actors, and Acting in Television Soap Opera," ''Cinema Journal'' 30.4 (1991): 75-91.
 +
#Lucy Fischer, "Three-Way Mirror: Imitation of Life," ''Imitation of Life: Douglas Sirk'', Director ed. Lucy Fischer (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press) 3-28.
 +
#Paul Willemen, "Distanciation and Douglas Sirk," ''Imitation of Life: Douglas Sirk, Director'', 268-272.
 +
#Recommended, not required: Thomas Doherty, "Douglas Sirk: Magnificent Obsession," ''The Chronicle Review'', 49, no. 12 (November 15, 2002), p. B16. Available online.
 +
#Richard Dyer, "Four Films of Lana Turner," ''Movie'' 25: 30-52.
 +
 
 +
[[Category:TCF440-540]]
 +
[[Category:TCF Classes]]

Revision as of 15:58, 18 January 2012

Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in the film noir, Double Indemnity.

TCF 440/540 Seminar in American Cinema is a discussion-oriented course taught by Jeremy Butler.

Course objectives

The student will learn the three major critical methods applied to the American cinema: genre study, the auteur "theory," and the star "system." We will begin with the film noir, director Howard Hawks and actor Humphrey Bogart, and then, during the second half of the semester, turn our attention to the melodrama, director Douglas Sirk, and actress Lana Turner.

Our focus will shift back and forth from the primary texts (the films themselves) to the writings on them. The latter will eventually lead us into considerations of feminism, Marxism, structuralism and semiotics.

Online study guides

Chronological order

  1. Film Analysis: Discussion of film form chapters, Film Art
  2. Classical Style I: Discussion of mise-en-scene
  3. Classical Style II: Discussion of cinematography
  4. Editing: Discussion of editing
  5. Sound: Discussion of sound
  6. Concept of Genre: Lecture / Discussion of Kitses (6-27), Buscombe (33-45), Collins (157-163).
  7. Film Noir as Genre: Lecture / Discussion of Silver & Ursini (17-26, 37-52, 53-64, 65-76).
  8. Concept of Authorship: Lecture / Discussion of Caughie (9-16, 22-67).
  9. Howard Hawks as Auteur: Lecture / Discussion of Sarris (on Hawks, 52-56), Caughie (138-151), Hillier & Wollen (26-31, 32-34, 68-71, 83-86, 111-119).
  10. Noir & Sexuality: Lecture / Discussion of Place (47-68), Dyer (52-72).
  11. Concept of Star: Lecture / Discussion of Dyer (Stars, 106-50; recommended: 88-105).
  12. Humphrey Bogart as Star: Lecture / Discussion of Sklar (104-120, 165-176, 227-251).
  13. Domestic Melodrama as Genre: Lecture / Discussion of Haskell (153-188) -- in-class discussion preempted by midterm exam.
  14. Domestic Melodrama Since World War II: Lecture / Discussion of Gledhill (5-39), Elsaesser (43-69).
  15. Melodrama Variations: TV Soap Opera: Lecture / Discussion of Butler ("Apparatus," 53-70), Butler ("Actors," 75-91).
  16. Douglas Sirk as Auteur: Lecture / Discussion of Sarris (on Sirk, 109-110), Fischer (3-28, 268-272); recommended: Doherty (online).
  17. Lana Turner as Star: Lecture / Discussion of Dyer (30-52) [Also in Fischer (186-206)].

List of lecture notes

Category:TCF440/540 Lecture

List of discussion notes

Category:TCF440/540 Discussion

Study groups

Group 1

  • Mark Lent
  • Tyler Allison
  • John Mark Alston
  • Jason Atchley
  • Kevyn Bowling
  • Lindsey Sway

Group 2

  • Samuel Bubis
  • Nalisa Capers
  • Geoff Carroll
  • Matthew Cocozza
  • Katherine Tuebner

Group 3

  • Sean Fleming
  • Jaime Kaufman
  • Joshua Key
  • Melissa Lockhart
  • Devon Young

Group 4

  • Christopher McCarter
  • Brandon Lowe
  • Alison O'Neil
  • Ashley Polyne
  • Shelby Ross
  • Connor Simpson

Texts & resources

Books

  1. David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction.
  2. John Caughie, ed., Theories of Authorship (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981).
  3. Richard Dyer, Stars, Second Edition, Supplementary Chapter by Paul McDonald (London: British Film Institute, 1998).
  4. Recommended, not required: Lucy Fischer,ed., Imitation of Life: Douglas Sirk, Director (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1991).

Articles and book chapters

  1. Jim Kitses, Horizons West (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969) 6-27.
  2. Edward Buscombe, "The Idea of Genre in the American Cinema," Screen, 11.2 (1970): 33-45.
  3. Richard Collins, "Genre: A Reply to Ed Buscombe," Movies and Methods, ed. Bill Nichols (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976) 157-163.
  4. Alain Silver and James Ursini, eds., Film Noir Reader (New York: Limelight, 1996).
  5. Andrew Sarris, The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973) 52-56, 109-110.
  6. Jim Hillier and Peter Wollen, eds., Howard Hawks American Artist (London: British Film Institute, 1996).
  7. Janey Place, "Women in Film Noir," Women in Film Noir, ed. E. Ann Kaplan (London: British Film Institute, 1998) 47-68.
  8. Richard Dyer, "Homosexuality and Film Noir," The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations (London and New York: Routledge, 1993) 52-72.
  9. Robert Sklar, City Boys: Cagney, Bogart, Garfield (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992).
  10. Molly Haskell, "The Woman's Film," in From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies (New York: Penguin, 1974) 153-188.
  11. Christine Gledhill, "The Melodrama Field: An Investigation," Home is Where the Heart Is: Studies in Melodrama and Woman's Film, ed. Christine Gledhill (London: British Film Institute, 1987) 5-39.
  12. Thomas Elsaesser, "Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Melodrama," Home is Where the Heart Is, 43-69.
  13. Jeremy G. Butler, "Notes on the Soap Opera Apparatus: Televisual Style and As the World Turns," Cinema Journal, 25.3 (1986): 53-70.
  14. Jeremy G. Butler, "'I'm Not a Doctor, But I Play One on TV': Characters, Actors, and Acting in Television Soap Opera," Cinema Journal 30.4 (1991): 75-91.
  15. Lucy Fischer, "Three-Way Mirror: Imitation of Life," Imitation of Life: Douglas Sirk, Director ed. Lucy Fischer (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press) 3-28.
  16. Paul Willemen, "Distanciation and Douglas Sirk," Imitation of Life: Douglas Sirk, Director, 268-272.
  17. Recommended, not required: Thomas Doherty, "Douglas Sirk: Magnificent Obsession," The Chronicle Review, 49, no. 12 (November 15, 2002), p. B16. Available online.
  18. Richard Dyer, "Four Films of Lana Turner," Movie 25: 30-52.
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