Film Movements

Short Essay (50%)

Technical Requirements:
Length: 5 pages, double-spaced
Format: Times New Roman, 12-point font, 1- or 1¼-inch margins
Bibliography: Chicago Manual of Style (other formats are acceptable as long as students remain consistent)

These response papers are designed to give you the opportunity to work through your understanding of a particular movement in depth, and to refine your ability to perform film analysis.

Format:

In this short essay, you will select either a film screened in class or a film screened outside of class and define how it functions as an example of one of the film movements that we have covered in the course so far: the French New Wave, Third Cinema, and Documentary Reenactment. You may also choose two films and compare and contrast the different ways in which they illustrate the features of a film movement or a historical problem. In your definition of the film movement, you have the option to emphasize either the historical or theoretical dimensions of this particular film movement.
In the opening paragraph, you should immediately explain both how you intend to discuss the film movement and how your film works as a privileged example of this movement. For example, you may opt to analyze Truffaut’s Les quatre cent coups in light of Bazin’s theories of film realism and Truffaut’s own essay on “A Certain Tendency” in the French cinema. By contrast, you could consider how Varda’s Cléo de 5 à 7 reflects the New Wave’s unique encounter with modern France.
The first two pages of the essay should set the foundation for your analysis. You should define the film movement, either theoretically or historically, in its broad contours. The remaining two and a half pages should be devoted to a more detailed analysis of your chosen film. By studying the film’s overall narrative, as well particular scenes, you should come to a conclusion about how the film both exemplifies the film movement and also functions as a unique example within the movement.
Your primary reading materials will be the assigned texts for each week’s lecture, but I also expect you to cite two additional essays on your topic, and will provide a suggested reading list on blackboard. In total, you should cite around four to five sources.

A few technical notes:

•    Film titles should be underlined or placed in italics with the year of production in brackets the first time you mention the film: Vertigo (1958)
•    Essay titles should be placed in quotations: “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
•    Book titles should be underlined or placed in italics: Camera Lucida: Reflections of Photography
•    Never plagiarize! Always cite any source whose ideas or language informs your paper

Please cite all of your reference using an accepted academic format, such as MLA or Chicago Style.
See: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

A few formal notes:

•    Be sure to have an argument, and to state your argument  in the opening paragraph
•    In discussing the film, draw upon the formal language of cinema in your analysis: editing, mise en scène, shot-scale, etc
•    Your conclusion should offer a succinct account of your overall argument
•    If you choose to select film screened outside of class, it’s not a bad idea to contact me first to make sure the film is an example of one of the film movements discussed in class

Classes Screening: (Chose From the list)

–    Ladri di biciclette (Italy, De Sica, 1948)
–    Les quatre cent coups (France, Truffaut, 1959)
–    Le Mepris (France, Godard, 1963)
–    La Jetée (France, Marker, 1962)
–    Cléo de 5 à 7 (France, Varda, 1962)
–    Memories of underdevelopment (Cuba, Alea, Alea, 1968)
–    Clips of The Battle of Chile (Venezuela/France/Cuba, Guzman, 1975)
–    Handsworth Songs (UK, Akomfrah, 1987)
–    The Last Angel of History (UK/Germany, Akomfrah, 1996)

Define the term ‘film movement’ and discuss two example films from two film