FM4130 Cinema and Neoliberalism

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

30 credit module designed for Honours students in Film Studies. Students in other Honours degrees courses can apply to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Student numbers will be capped.

Module coordinator

Dr V M Saglier

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Viviane Saglier

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

Neoliberalism is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It is a doctrine of political economy that has successfully re-organized the world around imperatives of individualistic freedom, private property, and free trade. As an all-encompassing term, neoliberalism is often difficult to grasp; yet it provides a crucial analytical lens to understand the shaping of global cinema since the late 1970s. The module is guided by a twofold question: how has neoliberalism informed film aesthetics and global conditions of film production? Conversely, how does cinema make neoliberalism visible and tangible? The module offers an overview of key concepts and approaches that help us understand cinema in the neoliberal age. It encourages students to investigate the relationship between aesthetics, affects, and material conditions of film production. We will explore a variety of global films and media, from reality TV, militant films, blockbusters and archival films to art cinema and documentary.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS FM2002 AND PASS FM2003

Assessment pattern

Coursework - 100%

Re-assessment

Coursework - 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 2-hour seminar (x 11) and 1 2-hour screening (x11).

Scheduled learning hours

44

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

360

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • identify the basic issues related to global cinema under neoliberalism.
  • develop a multi-layered and dynamic understanding of cinema that combines representation, aesthetics, and conditions of film production from a global perspective.
  • engage creatively and critically with a variety of primary sources, promotional material, and writing genres that underpin contemporary global film economies.
  • critically articulate their own positionality and labour practices vis-à-vis cinema in the neoliberal age.
  • develop research, critical, and practical writing and oral skills that are necessary for academic research, and which are transferrable to industry, administrative, and non-profit jobs.