Department of Film Studies

Second year modules

Modules on offer 2011-2012: Semester 2

FM2002: Film Culture, Theory, Entertainment

Module Convener: Professor Robert Burgoyne

Lectures: Tuesdays and Fridays, 3-4pm in School III.

Screenings: Wednesdays, 7-10pm in the Buchanan Lecture Theatre.

Seminars: Weekly (various times, in the Film Studies Boardroom, 99 North Street).

FM2001 | FM2002

20 credits

This module continues the exploration of issues of film history and historiography which began in FM1002. It introduces students to the most important cinematic developments of the second part of the twentieth century (such as, among others, Nouvelle Vague, New German cinema, Brazilian Cinema Novo, New Hollywood, American Indies, Chinese and African cinemas, New Iranian cinema) and provides exposure to the work of some of the most important filmmakers of the world. The exploration of film history is put in the context of the forces that shape its transnational networks of production and distribution. The module aims to provide proper understanding of the complex topo-temporal dynamics of world cinemas in a global context.

20 credits

This module introduces a range of approaches to cinema, their relationship to culture and the politics of entertainment. The changing historical attitudes towards cinema are examined against the background of influential popular cinematic texts. The first group of lectures examines the early answers to the question "what is cinema?" and investigates those attempts at theorizing cinema that preceded the emergence of film studies as a canonized subject. In the second part of the module, the focus is on the consolidation of the field in the 1970s, revealing how newly emerged cultural concerns and issues of class, race, gender, and nationality influenced the new interpretation of cinema. The module concludes by examining how 'Screen theory' both rejuvenated the field and necessitated its future rethinking.