Cultures and Film
ANTH 3309, Spring 2017
Professor: Richard L. Warms, PhD
Class Meets: MW 12:30-1:50
Office: LA 260
Office Hours: I am usually in my office 9-11 every day, and often other hours as well. Feel free to stop by any time. If you'd like to make an appointment to see me, you may do so by email. However, if you make an appointment you MUST show or cancel with 12 hours notice. If you fail to do so, I'll count it the same as missing a class.
Tel: 245-8272 (main office)
E-mail: r.warms@txstate.edu I respond rapidly to all email. If you have emailed me and not received a response within 36 hours, please send the same email again with the word "reminder" in the subject line.
All web-based material for this course is available at culturesandfilm.net or on TRACS.
This class explores the relationship of culture and movies from the origins of moving pictures in the last decade of the 19th century to the mid-20th century. In this era, largely before the advent of television, movies were a uniquely powerful social force. Movies both reflected the values and critical issues of the cultures of their audiences and makers and played an important role in shaping those values and issues. In this class we view and analyze a series of films made in the United States, Europe, and Japan between the 1890s and the mid 1960s. In each case we explore the ways in which the films give shape to issues, anxieties, and assumptions underlying the cultures and eras from which they emerged as well as the way they contributed to cultural and political debates of their societies and eras. Please note that this class is neither a thorough history of the cinema nor is it an attempt to teach critical anthropological concepts through the use of examples in film. It is closer to an anthropological critique of film. By the end of this class, you should be understand basic concepts in film-making, understand some of the history of the the movies, but most importantly, be able to apply an anthropological critical style to current day media.
READING: No textbook is required for this class. However, please note that there are numerous web pages and films that you are required to see at home.
HOME ASSIGNMENTS: are clearly marked below. All home assignments are accessible through the class web pages or through the Lessons tab on TRACS.
MUSIC: Music is an important aspect of film. We don't get to discuss it much directly in the class but the music played before class every day is important and you're required to know about it. All of the music and information about it can be found by following this link. The same page is also available from TRACS and from the opening page for this class. You're encouraged to listen to the music for each day (whether you show up early enough to hear it in class or not). You are responsible for the information about the artists on the music page. You can expect 1-3 questions on each exam about the music played in the portion of the class covered by the exam.
EXAMS: There will be three exams including the final. Exams are primarily multiple choice. Exam questions will come from lectures, and films, and web pages marked REQUIRED. Although the exams WILL NOT be cumulative, they will contain general questions from earlier portions of the course. The first exam will count for 25% of your grade, the second for 35% and the final for 40%. Please note that students are required to know the following basic information for each film viewed in class: the title, the name of the director, the names of the principal stars (if any), the exact year in which the film was released, country in which the film was made. Most exam questions will concern the social and cultural backgrounds of the films, conditions under which they were made, cinematographic techniques used, cultural and social content of the films, and the social and cultural impact/importance of the films.
Some technical information about exams: After students take each exam, all exam questions are analyzed using a point biserial methodology that is designed to uncover questions that students found confusing or misleading or that students believed had multiple answers. Questions that fail to achieve certain biserial cut-off points are eliminated from the grading. Thus students may only be graded on 40-45 questions on a 50 question exam. It is impossible to tell which questions will be eliminated before the exam is graded. Please note that in a large class, each exam question will have someone who considers it confusing. The biserial method looks at the entire class, not at the individual student. If you would like additional information on this grading methodology, please come by and I'll explain it in greater detail (than you probably want).
IMPORTANT POLICIES CONCERNING EXAMS: 1) You may not begin an exam after the first person to complete the exam has left the room. If you arrive later than this, you will have to take a make up exam. 2) I will be pleased to provide make-up exams for any legitimate reason. HOWEVER, all make up exams, regardless of the reason for the missed exam, will be given immediately following the final exam in the final exam period. No exceptions will be made.
RECEIVING YOUR EXAM AND COURSE GRADES: All grades for exams and papers will be posted to TRACS. Please be aware that although grades will be visible using TRACS, grades are calculated using Excel. This means that the only thing on TRACS that is valuable to you is the actual number or letter grade. Please ignore any other information you see on the TRACS grade report.
ATTENDANCE: The attendance policy is designed to reward those who attend regularly but allow students considerable freedom in choosing their own attendance. Please read the attendance policy carefully. I DO NOT grant wavers or exceptions to this policy. I understand that many students have complicated lives involving work, family, and health issues. However, no one at this university is required to take this class. If you object to these attendance policies, please do not take this class.
Attendance will be taken starting Wednesday, Jan 25
Students who miss one week of class or less (two or fewer classes) will have five points added to their third (final) exam grade.
Students who miss two to three weeks of class (three to six classes) will have no penalty.
Students who miss between three and four weeks of class (seven or eight classes) will have five points subtracted from their third (final) exam grade.
Students who miss more than four weeks of class (nine or more classes) will have ten points subtracted from their third (final) exam grade.
EXCUSED ABSENCES: Since the attendance policy allows you to miss up to six classes without penalty, there are no excused absences. However, if medical or family issues cause you to miss at least two consecutive classes and you miss all of your classes on those days, I will make an exception to this policy. To receive this exception, I must receive documentation from the Dean of Students Office. You may apply for such documentation by bringing medical notices, obituaries, or other materials to the Dean of Students Office, LBJ Student Center, fifth floor, room 9.1. The Dean of Students Office will then send me an email that documents your absences and requests that they be excused. I will honor all such requests if they conform to the rule in this section. Please do not send me any notes or other forms of documentation yourself.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ATTENDANCE: Attendance for this class is taken by sign in sheet. The sign in sheet is the sole record of attendance. To be counted as present, you MUST sign the sign in sheet before leaving the classroom. Once the sign-in sheet has left the classroom, attendance for that day is official and I will make no changes. Please do not ask.
GRADING: This class will be graded on the following scale:
90-100 = "A," 80-89 = "B," 70-79 = "C,"
60-69 =
"D," Below 60 = "F."
CURVE: If the actual average falls below 78, a "curve" equal to the difference between the actual average and 78 will be added to all grades.
EXTRA CREDIT: Students with good attendance records may receive up to ten points of extra credit, to be added to their lowest test grade, for watching and reviewing two films (five points each). One of these must be a foreign film in a language other than English. The other must be a feature length film, foreign or domestic, made before 1965. All Disney films are specifically excluded as are films any part of which has been shown in class. You may not submit extra credit if you have missed more than six classes. If you are not sure how many classes you have missed, you can check your attendance record on TRACS under PostEm. Please keep in mind that on the chart you will find there 0 = a class you attended, 1= a class you missed.
Of course, I cannot know which films you have not seen. However, the intent of this assignment is for you to see films you have not seen before. Please stay true to the assignment's intent. Please do not ask me which films you should see. There are simply too many outstanding films for me to recommend. The American Film Institute (AFI) is a good source for recommendations. You can find their best picture lists in numerous categories at: www.afi.com/100years/.
All reviews must be submitted through TRACS. You will find forms for submitting the reviews under Assessments. Please note that the forms ask you to write a specific number of words for each section. If you are under the minimum or over the maximum word count, your review will not count.
COURTESIES: Please observe the following simple courtesies. Please do not read or study for a class during lectures or films. Please do not text or make other use of cell phones in class. Please try to arrive on time. If you must leave early, please let me know before hand. Thank you.
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: Students with special needs (as documented by the Office of Disability Services) should identify themselves at the beginning of the term. The Department of Anthropology is dedicated to providing these students with necessary academic adjustments and auxiliary aids to facilitate their participation and performance in the classroom.
All syllabi are subject to change.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Exam 1: Feb 20
Exam 2: April 3
Final Exam: Wednesday May 10
All extra credit is due by 11:59 pm, May 1.
Films and Lectures
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| Class 2, Jan 23 | From Muybridge to Méliès and Le Voyage dans la Lune |
| Class 3, Jan 25 | Edwin S Porter and The Great Train Robbery |
| Home Assignment | Watch: Love, Loot, and Crash (Frank Griffin [Keystone], 1915, 11 min) available through link on web page or at bit.ly/13y9UrU |
| Class 4, Jan 30 | From E.S. Porter to D. W. Griffith (no film shown) |
| Class 5, Feb 1 | Birth of a Nation Culture, film, and race. Later Griffith. |
| Class 6, Feb 6 | Critical aspects of making a movie and movie jobs, auteur theory |
| Home Assignment | Make sure that you understand the cinematography and editing terms on the webpage (bit.ly/17TPJIa ). The terms are defined and examples are given at web pages bit.ly/1fVcCNX and bit.ly/1edaFB1 |
| Class 7, Feb 8 | Beauty Knows No Pain. (Elliott Erwitt, 1971, 26 minutes) |
| Class 8, Feb 13 | The Weimar film industry, Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau, 1922, 94 min). |
| Class 9, Feb 15 | Nosferatu continued & discussion. |
| Class 10, Feb 20 | First Exam |
| Class 11, Feb 22 | The Studio System, the effects of The Depression, the beginning of sound. |
| Class 12, Feb 27 | Charlie Chaplin and City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931, 83 min) |
| Class 13, March 1 | City Lights continued & discussion |
| Home Assignment | Watch Un Chien Andalou (an Andalusian Dog) (Luis Bunel, 1929, 16 min) available through link on web page or vimeo.com/18540575 |
| Class 14, March 6 | France between the wars: Jean Renoir and The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939, 106 min). |
| Class 15, March 8 | The Rules of the Game continued & discussion |
| Class 16, March 20 | Postwar Italian Realism, Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1945, 103 min) |
| Class 17, March 22 | Rome, Open City continued & discussion |
| Class 18, March 27 | Film Noir in the US, Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950, 110 min) |
| Class 19, March 29 | Sunset Boulevard continued & discussion |
| Home Assignment | Watch Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 112 min) |
| Class 20, April 3 | Second Exam |
| Class 21, April 5 | Depression era shorts and the effect of television. |
| Home Assignment | Watch: Pete Smith Specialties "Quicker'n a Wink" (George Sidney, 1940, 10 min) available a http://sanmartians.net/film/shorts5.html |
| Class 22, April 10 | French New Wave, Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960, 90 min) |
| Class 23, April 12 | Breathless continued & discussion |
| Class 24, April 17 | Post War Japanese Film, Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 1961, 110 min) |
| Home Assignment | Watch A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone 1964, 99 min) |
| Class 25, April 19 | Yojimbo continued and discussion |
| Class 26, April 24 | Czechoslovakia and Eastern Europe, The Loves of a Blonde (Milos Forman 1965, 88 min) |
| Class 27, April 26 | Loves of a Blonde continued and discussion. |
| Class 28, May 1 | American film musicals. |
| Final Exam, May 10 | 11-1:30 same room as class. |