History, Development and Characteristic of Genres
| Code | Completion | Credits | Range | Language Instruction | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 311HDCG | exam | 3 | 2 hours (45 min) of instruction per week, 57 to 72 hours of self-study | English | winter |
Subject guarantor
Name of lecturer(s)
Department
Předmět zajišťuje FAMU International
Contents
The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the characteristic of certain genres, namely melodrama, western, horror, science fiction, gangster, war film, musical, road movie and parody. One lesson will be devoted to film noir, which is sometimes wrongly understood as a genre. After an introduction to the genre, each lesson will focus on one of the genres (with a particular focus on the US cinema), and students will have the opportunity to watch a number of excerpts from films, and will also watch 10 feature films on their own. The emphasis will be on the narrative, the „iconography“ of different genres, and the use of the spoken word.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will understand the specifics of each genre as well as a term „genre“ on itself. They will be able to define each genre and outline its development. As such, the course does not teach students to write scripts for genre films, but it should help them to do so significantly.
Prerequisites and other requirements
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Literature
Altman, Rick. “A Semantic/syntactic Approach to Film Genre.” Cinema Journal 24, no. 3 (Spring 1984), p. 6–18.
Belton, John. American Cinema/American Culture. Rutgers University, 2012. p. 195–219.
Carroll, Noel. “The Nature of Horror.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 46, no. 1 (Autumn 1987), p. 51–59.
Creekmur, Corey K. “On the Run and on the Road: Fame and the outlaw couple in American cinema.” In: The Road Movie Book, ed. by Steven Cohan and Ina Rae Hark. Taylor and Francis ,1997, p. 90–109.
Elsaesser, Thomas. „Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Melodrama.“ In: Gledhill, Christine (ed.): Home is Where the Heart is. London : BFI, 1994. p. 43–69.
Kozloff, Sarah. Overhearing Film Dialogue. Berkeley, Los Angeles : University of California Press, 2000.
Langford, Barry. Film Genre: Hollywood and Beyond. Edinburgh University Press, 2005.
Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey. “Minnelli and Melodrama.” In: Nichols, Bill (ed.): Home is Where the Heart is. London : BFI, 1994. p. 190–194.
Place, Janey, and Lowell Peterson. “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir.” In: Movies and Methods (vol. 1), ed. by Bill Nichols. University of California Press, Los Angeles 1976, p. 325–338.
Schrader, Paul. „Notes on Film Noir.“ In: Film Noir Reader, ed. by Silver, Alain, and James Ursini. Limelight Editions, New York 2001, p. 53–64. Also available here: http://i.mtime.com/Noir/blog/1433838/
Sontag, Susan. “The Imagination of Disaster.” Available at: https://www.commentary.org/articles/susan-sontag/the-imagination-of-disaster/
Evaluation methods and criteria
The final grade will be calculated as follows: Class Attendance and Participation (25%); presentation (25%); midterm essay (25%); colloquium (25%)
Course web page
https://classroom.google.com/c/Mzk3NTc1NjE4NjUw?cjc=s2c62jw
Note
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Further information
This course is an elective for all students of this school
Schedule for winter semester 2024/2025:
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06:00–08:0008:00–10:0010:00–12:0012:00–14:0014:00–16:0016:00–18:0018:00–20:0020:00–22:0022:00–24:00
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| Date | Day | Time | Tutor | Location | Notes | No. of paralel |
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| Mon | 14:50–16:25 | Petra DOMINKOVÁ | Room No. 1 Lažanský palác |
lecture parallel1 |
Schedule for summer semester 2024/2025:
The schedule has not yet been prepared
The subject is a part of the following study plans
- Cinema and Digital Media - Directing (Required elective subjects)