Film Power and American History.docx

Film Power and American History.docx

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FilmPowerandAmericanHistory

Film,PowerandAmericanHistory:

History225g

Fall2010

Prof.VanessaR.Schwartz

10:

00-11:

50,MW

THH202

TAs:

SteveCollicelli,KarinHiga,SarahHollenberg

SchwartzOfficeHours:

M:

12-1pmandW:

8-9:

30amandbyappt.（SOS170）

vschwart@usc.edu

Description:

Fewcontemporaryinstitutionsandformsofrepresentationhavehadagreaterimpactontheworldthanfilmandtelevision.Yet,whilewelearntobespectatorsearlyoninourlives,weoftenlackthecriticaltoolsneededtocontextualize,analyze,andcritiquetheimagesandideologiesofscreenculture.JustasreadingandliteracyisafundamentalstageinhumandevelopmentintheWesternworld,soisone’sidentityasaconsumerofthemovingimage.Wecannotunderstandtheworldaroundusnorunderstandhowtoimproveitunlessweconsiderthemeaningoftheroleofspectatorshipandthepowerandinfluenceofmovingimagesbothonthescreenandintheworldoutsidetheimage.

Thereisalsoaspecificityofthecinematicimage（photographedimagesthatappeartomovebecauseofanopticalillusion）thatgivesfilmaparticularrecoursetothe“realworld.”Filmhasofferedanamazingalchemyofdreamsandrealitiesthathavemadethemoviesapowerfulvehicleforstory-telling（whetherfictionalornon-fictional）andisamodethatcontinuestobeveryinfluentialdespitechangesintechnologiesofproductionandconsumptionformats.

ThisisnotaclassonAmericanhistorythroughthemovies.Instead,thegoalofthisclassistoconsiderthehistoryofthetwentiethcenturyascreated“by”theexistenceofthemoviesanditsinstitutions.WewillaskaboutthespecialroleplayedbyAmericainshapingthathistory.Hollywoodhasplayedadisproportionatelylargeroleinthehistoryofthemoviesandtheirinfluencebutthatinfluencehasbeenglobalinscale.ThiscourseisthestoryofhowAmericacametodominatetheworldinpartbycapturingheartsandmindsthroughapowerfulform–atonceartanddocument.WefollowtheemergenceofHollywooditselfasacosmopolitanandinternationalcenteroffilmproduction.Hollywoodisnotnorhasiteverbeen“America.“ItsglobalsuccesshingednotonsellingAmericanatoswankyParisiansbutratheronthefactthatitalreadyrepresentedthevaluesofswankyParisiansandGermansandEuropeanstoAmericanfarmers.WebeginfromthepremisethattheopennessofHollywoodandthemobility（oftenforced）offilmmakersincomingtoHollywood,firstasaplace,thenasamethodofproduction,hasmadeHollywood,Hollyworld.Theclassexaminesthehistoryofthemoviesanditsinstitutionsandpracticesatthesametimethatitconsiderstheenormousinfluenceandimpactofthemoviesonthehistoryofthetwentiethcenturythatproducedaconditioninwhichlittleappearstohavehappened“offscreen.”Thiscourseisaboutthe20thcentury,“asamovie.”

ClassFormat:

Wewillmeettwiceweeklyinalectureformatandthenonceaweekfordiscussionofthereadingmaterials,screeningsandlectures.AllreadingsandscreeningsaretobecompletedbyFriday’sdiscussion.Readingscomefrombooksmadeavailableforpurchaseorintheformofarticlesthatarepostedontheclassblackboard.AllscreeningmaterialswillbeavailableinLeaveyLibrary.WewillalsoofferapublicscreeningwithsnacksonWednesdaysoftheweek’sfilm（s）from6:

30-8:

30pm（orthereafter）inourclassroomwhereyoucanwatchtheweek’srequiredfilms.Thisisoptional,ofcourse.

Requirements:

Thecourseincludesamidterm（25%ofthegrade）,afinal（30%ofthegrade）,2papers（15each%）,andclassparticipation（15%）.Weexpectstudentstoattendallscheduledclassesanddiscussions;unexcusedabsenceswillaffectyourgradeandmorethan3willresultinanautomaticfailureintheclass.Allworksubmittedmustbyentirelywrittenbythestudent.PlagiarismwillresultinanFinthecourseandtheinitiationofexpulsionproceedings.

RequiredReadingsandScreenings:

BooksforPurchase:

LeoCharneyandVanessaSchwartz,CinemaandtheInventionofModernLife（BerkeleyandLosAngeles:

UniversityofCaliforniaPress）

RobertSklar,Movie-MadeAmerica:

ACulturalHistoryofAmericanMovies（NewYork:

VintageBooksandToronto:

RandomHouse,1994）

VanessaSchwartz,It’sSoFrench!

:

Hollywood,Paris,andtheMakingofCosmopolitanFilmCulture（Chicago:

UniversityofChicagoPress,2007）

ArticlesonBlackboard:

BostonBranchoftheNationalAssociationfortheAdvancementofColoredPeople.“FightingaViciousFilm:

Protestagainst‘TheBirthofaNation’（1915）.”InStevenMintzandRandyRoberts,eds.Hollywood’sAmerica:

UnitedStatesThroughItsFilms.St.James,NewYork:

BrandywinePress,1993,79-80.

Collier,John.“CheapAmusements.”CharitiesandCommons（11April1908）.InRichardAbel,TheRedRoosterScare:

MakingCinemaAmerican,1900-1910.Berkeley,LosAngeles,andLondon:

UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1999,73-77.

Currie,BartonW.“TheNickelMadness,”Harper’sWeekly（August24,1907）.InStevenMintzandRandyRoberts,eds.Hollywood’sAmerica:

UnitedStatesThroughItsFilms.St.James,NewYork:

BrandywinePress,1993,76-78.

Fein,Seth.“CultureAcrossBordersintheAmericas.”HistoryCompass

Franklin,JohnHope.“SilentCinemaasHistoricalMythmaker.”InStevenMintzandRandyRoberts,eds.Hollywood’sAmerica:

UnitedStatesThroughItsFilms.St.James,NewYork:

BrandywinePress,1993,42-52.

Fraser,AlastairH.,AndrewRobertshawandSteveRoberts.GhostsontheSomme:

FilmingtheBattle,June-July1916.Barnsley,SouthYorkshire:

Pen&SwordMilitary,2009,1-14and163-174.

Friedan,Betty.TheFeminineMystique.NewYork:

DellBooks,1963,pp.11-27and33-68

GurleyBrown,Helen.SexandtheSingleGirl.NewYork:

PocketBooks,1962,Chapters4and7,pp.65-88and119-137

Hulfish,David.“AStore-FrontTheaterBuilding,”CyclopediaofMotion-PictureWork（1911）.InRichardAbel,TheRedRoosterScare:

MakingCinemaAmerican,1900-1910.Berkeley,LosAngeles,andLondon:

UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1999,77-79.

Kael,Pauline.“BonnieandClyde.”TheNewYorker（October21,1967）,147-171.

Litwack,LeonF.“TheBirthofaNation.”InMarkC.Carnes,ed.PastImperfect:

HistoryAccordingtotheMovies.NewYork:

AnOwlBook,HenryHoltandCompany,1996,136-141.

Maland,CharlesJ.“ThePopularFront,TheGreatDictator,andtheSecondFront,1936-1942.”InCharlesJ.Maland.ChaplinandAmericanCulture:

TheEvolutionofaStarImage.Princeton,NewJersey:

PrincetonUniversityPress,1989,159-186.

Matuszewski,Boleslas,LauraU.Marks,andDianeKoszarski.“ANewSourceofHistory.”FilmHistory7:

3（Autumn,1995）,322-324.

SelectionsfromPaulMcDonald,TheStarSystem:

Hollywood’sProductionofPopularIdentities（London:

Wallflower,2000）

Menand,Louis.“FindingItattheMovies.”TheNewYorkReviewofBooks（March23,1995）.

Menand,Louis.“GrossPoints:

IstheBlockbustertheEndofCinema?

”TheNewYorker（February7,2005）.

Menand,Louis.“MastersoftheMatrix:

Kennedy,Nixon,andtheCultureoftheImage.”TheNewYorker（January5,2004）.

Menand,Louis.“Paris,Texas:

HowHollywoodBroughttheCinemabackfromFrance.”TheNewYorker（February17,2003）,169-177.

NationalArchives.DescriptionofPhotographicUnitfromNationalArchives–ExperiencesinEuropeanTheaterofOperations

Ross,StevenJ.,ed.MoviesandAmericanSociety.Oxford,UK:

BlackwellPublishers,2002,14-37.

Scott,A.O.“TwoOutlaws,BlastingHolesintheScreen.”NewYorkTimes（August12,2007）.

Smither,Roger.“Introduction.”InImperialWarMuseum.TheBattleoftheSomme（DVDBooklet）.

Sontag,Susan.“TheDecayofCinema.”TheNewYorkTimes（February25,1996）.

Sorlin,Pierre.“HowtoLookatan‘Historical‘Film.”InMarciaLandy,ed.TheHistoricalFilm:

HistoryandMemoryinMedia.NewBrunswick,NewJersey:

RutgersUniversityPress,2000,25-49.

Wasson,Haidee.“StudyingMoviesattheMuseum:

TheMuseumofModernArtandCinema’sChangingObject.”InLeeGrievesonandHaideeWasson,eds.InventingFilmStudies.DurhamandLondon:

DukeUniversityPress,2008,121-148.

Wolfe,Charles.“ThePoeticsandPoliticsofNonfictionFilm:

DocumentaryFilm.”InTinoBalio,GrandDesign:

HollywoodasaModernBusinessEnterprise,1930-1939.Berkeley,LosAngelesandLondon:

UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1993,pp.351-386.

OutofClassFilmScreenings:

Whencallnumberisnotthere,itisbecausethelibraryiscurrentlypurchasingtheDVD.

GeorgeLoaneTucker,“TrafficinSouls”（1913）–fromGiorgioBertellini,Perilsofthenewland:

filmsoftheimmigrantexperience（1910-1915）-LVYDVD2524disc1;LVYDVD2524disc2

GeoffreyMalinsandJohnMcDowell,“TheBattleoftheSomme”-documentary（1916）

JacquesRichard,“HenriLanglois:

ThePhantomoftheCinémathèque”（2004）

CharlieChaplin,“TheGreatDictator”（1940）-LVYDVD786disc1;LVYDVD786disc2

MervynLeRoy,“Golddiggersof1933”（1933）

AlfredHitchcock,“ForeignCorrespondent”（1940）;alsoavailableonNetflixinstantwatching.

ChristianDelage,“Nuremberg:

TheNazisFacingtheirCrimes”（2006）-LVYDVD3728disc1;LVYDVD3728disc2

USDepartmentofDefense,“TheNaziConcentrationCamps”（1945）–ontheDelageDVD

WaltDisney’s“Fantasia”（1940）-LVYDVD294

StanleyDonen&GeneKelly,“It’sAlwaysFairWeather”（1955）

MichaelAnderson,“AroundtheWorldin80Days”（1956）

RichardLester,“AHardDay’sNight”（1964）-LVYDVD1026disc1;LVYDVD1026disc2

ArthurPenn,“BonnieandClyde”（1967）-LVYDVD196

HalAshby,“ComingHome”（1978）

PaulMazursky,“AnUnmarriedWoman”（1978）

StephenChow,“KungFuHustle”（2004）-LVYDVD1282

IMPORTANTDUEDATES

Wednesday,September15:

Firstshortpaper（3-5pages）;dueatthestartofclass