Independent American Cinema - JMM630
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Poslední úprava: NOWELL (19.02.2019)
This course offers a new perspective on American Independent Cinema, by inviting students to think about "indie" as a cluster of ideas activated in and around certain movies by stakeholders. The course employs these ideas to consider four culturally significant developments in American audiovisual culture which require us to expand the terms under which we imagine indie cinema. First, we consider how the key ideas central to indie were key tenets of non-theatrical media of the 1990s, focusing on the example of skateboard videos. From there, the notion that genres - supposedly the antithesis of indie - boast "indie wings" will be explored with reference to the "Progressive Auteur Horror Cinema" of the 1970s and 80s, especially that of writer-director Wes Craven. We then shift our focus to a cultural current that tends not to be included in discussions of indie, even though it is underwritten by the cornerstones of indie: "paracinema" ( movies deemed so bad they are good). Lastly, we consider how the "Midnight Movie Phenomenon" of the 1970s indicates that indie surfaced, albeit under a different name, long before its supposed 1990s emergence. In so doing, this course encourages students to rethink this important aspect of US culture, by recognizing that is - and has been - more than just a series of hip movies made outside the commercial mainstream of Hollywood and released in theaters in the 1990s and 2000s. |
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Poslední úprava: NOWELL (25.01.2019)
This primary goal of this course is to enrich students’ understandings of the changing face of independent cinema in American audiovisual culture, from the 1970s to the present. The course invites students to consider how indie has been conceptualized inside and outside of the academy as an amorphous idea born of industrial, aesthetic, rhetorical, promotional and consumptive practices. By the end of this course, students will be expected to posses the critical abilities to produce insightful analyses of film and film-related texts within the context of issues related to American independent cinema, to synthesize original ideas in a lucid and coherent manner, and to demonstrate a solid understanding of the complex cultural, historical, and industrial dimensions of American independent cinema. |
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Poslední úprava: NOWELL (25.01.2019)
Students are required to submit three circa 1500-word essays for this course. Failure to submit any of these papers will result in the award of a 0 and the student failing the course. The overall grade for this course is derived from the average score of the three papers, with each paper weighted equally. A student may pass this course if s/he narrowly fails to score a passing grade for one or even two papers but nevertheless scores a higher grade on another paper. |
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Poslední úprava: NOWELL (30.04.2019)
Students are expected actively to contribute to seminar discussions, which will center on the mandatory film screenings, the mandatory readings, and critical analyses thereof. Accordingly, students are required to study all of the relevant set readings before each class. All of the readings are available in PDF form to download from the SIS course website. Students are advised to bring to class hard copies of the relevant readings as use of electronic devices will not be permitted during seminars. Students are also required to view a topic-relevant film at home as part of their preparations for each session; these films will provide a useful reference point when students study the preparatory readings and will usually also be discussed in class.
Readings Gallagher, Mark. "Discerning Independents: Steven Soderbergh and Transhistorical Taste Cultures", in Geoff King, Claire Molloy & Yannis Tzioumakis (eds), American Independent Cinema: Indie, Indiewood and Beyond, (New York: Routledge, 2013), pp. 83-95. Hoberman J, and Jonathan Rosenbaum, "Rethinking Midnight Movies: A Dialogue" and "Afterword", both in Midnight Movies (New York: De Capo Press, 1983), pp. 301-319 and pp. 321-330. Newman, Michael Z. "Indie Culture: In Pursuit of the Authentic Autonomous Alternative", Cinema Journal, vol. 48, no. 3 (2009): pp. 16-34. Sconce, Jeffrey. "‘Trashing’ the Academy: Taste, Excess, and an Emerging Politics of Cinematic Style", Screen, vol. 36, no. 4 (1995), pp. 371-393. Sexton, Jamie. "Prisoner of Cool: Chloë Sevigny, Alternative Stardom and Image Management", in Kate Egan and Sarah Thomas (eds) Cult Film Stardom: Offbeat Attractions and Processes of Cultification (London: Palgrave, 2012), pp. 73-89. Tzioumakis, Yannis. "Introduction: Problems of Definition and the Discourse of American Independent Cinema", in American Independent Cinema (Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, 2006), pp. 1-15. Williams, Tony. "Wes Craven: An Interview", Journal of Popular Film and Television, vol. 8, no. 3 (Fall 1980), pp. 10-14. Wood, Robin. "The American Nightmare: Horror in the 1970s", in Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan … and Beyond: Expanded and Revised Edition (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003), pp. 63-85. Yochim, Emily Chivers. “It’s just what’s possible”: Imagining Alternative Masculinities and Performing White Male Dominance in Niche Skateboarding Videos", in Skate Life: Re-imagining White Masculinity (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2009), pp. 139-171.
Audiovisual Big Brother Skate Video: Number Two (1998) Donnie Darko (2001) Eraserhead (1977) Girl: Mouse (1996) Hills Have Eyes, The (1977) Howard the Duck (1986) Nightmare on Elm Street, A (1984) Rocky Horror Picture Show, The (1975) Room, The (2003) Skate & Destroy (1996)
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Poslední úprava: NOWELL (25.01.2019)
Independent American Cinema is based around a series of double sessions comprising a film screnning, lecture/seminar, and sometimes exercises. Students are expected to come to each session having both viewed a home screening and studied the supplied readings, both in relation to preparatory questions provided in advance (see syllabus). In addition to micro-lectures integrated into each session, students are encouraged actively to participate by contributing their insights on the readings, example films, and general topics. Such an approach is intended to place an accent on student-centered learning, and facilitate independent evaluation and application of the various concepts, historiography, and analytical positions introduced in each session - something which will be formally assessed by the three essays set for this course. Generally speaking, the course encourages students to think critically about how sub-cultural politics of distinction, authentication, and elevation has been invoked in an effort to frame different types of American cinema as rarefied culture. |
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Poslední úprava: NOWELL (25.01.2019)
Paper I Length: Cira 1500 words Value: One Third of Final Grade Deadline: 12:00 Midday CET 15 March 2019
Paper II Length: 1500 words Value: One Third of Final Grade Deadline: 12:00 Midday CET 12 April 2019
Paper III Length: 1500 words Value: One Third of Final Grade Deadline: 12:00 Midday CET 10 May 2019
Essays are to be submitted in PDF or word format to richard_nowell@hotmail.com. Confirmation of receipt will always be sent shortly one essay has been received; if this has not been received within 12 hours, students should assume that an essay has not been received and are advised to either resend the essay or contact me to see if there is another reason why no receipt has been issued.
Penalties for Late Submission of Work Up to 24 hours after the due date - 5 marks out of 100 deducted Between 24 and 48 after the due to date - 10 marks out of 100 deducted Between 48 and 72 hours after the due date - 15 marks out of 100 deducted Between 72 and 96 hours after the due date - 20 marks out of 100 deducted More than 96 hours after due date - all marks deducted
Tutorials All students are welcome to arrange one-on-one tutorials to discuss assignments and/or any issues arising from the course. Meetings can be arranged by email and can take place at a location and time of mutual convenience.
Feedback Each student will be emailed individually with detailed personal feedback on his or her mid-term paper and final paper. This feedback is designed to be constructive so will spotlight strengths and any possible shortcomings.
Plagiarism Information It is the duty of every student to ensure that s/he has familiarized him- or herself with the following details pertaining to plagiarism. They are included in English and Czech. (A) Any use of quoted texts in seminar papers and theses must be acknowledged. Such use must meet the following conditions: (1) the beginning and end of the quoted passage must be shown with quotation marks; (2) when quoting from periodicals or books, the name(s) of author(s), book or article titles, the year of publication, and page from which the passage is quoted must all be stated in footnotes or endnotes; (3) internet sourcing must include a full web address where the text can be found as well as the date the web page was visited by the author. (B) In case the use of any texts other than those written by the author is established without proper acknowledgement as defined in (A), the paper or thesis will be deemed plagiarized and handed over to the Disciplinary Commission of the Faculty of Social Sciences. (A) Použití vešker.ch citovan.ch textů v seminárních a kvalifikačních pracích musí splňovat tyto podmínky: (1) začátek a konec citované pasáže musí b.t opatřeny uvozovkami; (2) citujeme-li z periodik či knih, je nutno uvést - zpravidla v poznámce pod čarou nebo vysvětlivce - autora, název díla, rok vydání a stránku, z níž je citováno; (3) v případě citací z internetov.ch zdrojů je nutno uvést full internetovou adresu, na níž lze citovan. text dohledat, a datum návštěvy internetové stránky. (B) Pokud budou v uveden.ch pracích zjištěny přejaté texty bez v.še uveden.ch náležitostí, bude práce považována za plagiát a předána Disciplinární komisi FSV UK.
Grading and Evaluation:
Grades from A-F will be awarded to all studetnts registered in tge faculty of social-sciences, based on the following criteria:
Students registered with faculties still using the Czech 1-4 grading system, will be awarded grades using this system, based on the following criteria.
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