Undergraduate Film Courses 2022/23

Author Robert Coover has written, “The narrative impulse is always with us; we couldn't imagine ourselves through a day without it.” How does narrative work in cinema? How do films tell stories? This course considers how the four basic elements of film style––mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, and sound––provide information about various aspects of narrative, including plot structure, characterization, and narration. After examining narrative in films considered to be conventional and/or “classical,” we’ll explore some important alternative modes of storytelling, including those of the art cinema, documentary cinema, Indigenous filmmaking, and digital filmmaking. In each case, we'll question how filmmakers from various countries and historical periods have modified, subverted, and rejected the norms of classical narrative and narration. In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings and discussion sessions (“tutorials”). Assigned films are likely to include Singin’ in the Rain, Do the Right Thing, M, Cleo from 5 to 7, Sherlock Jr., Rear Window, Citizen Kane, Senna, Before Tomorrow, and Tangerine.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend a screening and a tutorial. Note that tutorials begin in Week 2.

This course introduces students to the first half-century of world cinema history. We will explore the events, causes, and consequences of the major phases of film history, including German Expressionism, the French avant-garde, Soviet Montage, silent Japanese cinema, classical Hollywood cinema, and documentary cinema between the World Wars, in each case emphasizing the relationship between films and historical contexts: industrial, economic, technological, sociocultural, and aesthetic. Along the way, students will explore such important questions as: What is film history? What do film historians do? How do we write film history? In addition to weekly lecture and discussion sessions, students are required to watch at least one film each week. Assigned films are likely to include The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Battleship Potemkin, The General, Le Million, Trouble in Paradise, I Was Born, But…, and The Grand Illusion. Note: this is a required course for FS majors.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

A study of the documentary film as art, as propaganda, as social document, as instrument for social change.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

A study of major works (with English subtitles) of the German cinema, from the silent period to the present.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Exclusion: GM246

A study of the war film as a genre from silent film to the present exploring historical, formal, and thematic innovations in the representation of war. Course topics may include combat, the home front, homecomings, prisoners-of-war, gender, race, realism, violence, sentimentalism and satire.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

An introduction to the major theoretical debates around film and the analysis of film texts that have emerged since 1968. Topics to be studied include semiotics and structuralism, Marxist theory, ideology and apparatus theory, psychoanalytic theory, feminist theory, poststructuralism, and post-classical cinema.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Pre-requisites: 1.0 credit from 100- and/or 200-level FS courses.

A study of popular American film, with attention to its social, political and other cultural contexts.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Pre-requisites: 1.0 credit from 100- and/or 200-level FS courses.

Since the earliest days of cinema, film critics have asked: is film an art form or a commercial product? Is it a revolutionary aesthetic expression? A means of active identity-building among audiences? Or is it part of a mass media industry that operates through ideological manipulation? This course will provide you with a solid theoretical basis for addressing and perhaps going beyond such divisive questions about “film art” and “mass media.” It addresses theories of film itself as a mass medium, as well as film’s intersections with other kinds of visual culture such as television, music videos, advertising, and online social networking. To make learning easier, the course is divided into three sections: the first on media production and forms, the second on media distribution through different technologies, and the third on media reception and audiences.

Prerequisites: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses.

Actor Robert Duvall famously said, “I say, let the English have…Shakespeare; the French, Moliere; the Russians, you know, Chekov… But the Western is ours, really.” Although the historical period of ‘The West’ lasted only approximately 30 years in the nineteenth century, its myth has pervaded American culture. This course explores how the western genre has evolved through distinct cycles, each representing a shift in the overarching themes of expansionism and nationhood. In addition, this course also investigates how social, historical, and economic contexts shape the evolution of the western genre. For example, while the epic westerns of the 1920s (e.g., The Big Trail) offered a visualization of the hardships of pioneering Americans, those of the late 1940s offered psychologically troubled heroes in reaction to the realities of World War II (e.g., Winchester ’73). In the 1960s, European-made ‘spaghetti western’ (e.g., A Fistful of Dollars) offered a new aesthetic and set of themes that influenced Hollywood filmmakers at the same time as industry shifts allowed for new representations of sexuality and violence. Changes within the film industry and American social attitudes since the 1960s aw the revision of the myths of violence (e.g., The Wild Bunch), gender (e.g., Ballad of Little Jo), and race (e.g., Dances with Wolves) that classical westerns established. This course offers students an exploration of the Hollywood western (and some international alternatives) from the silent era to the contemporary.

Exclusion: FS257

Pre-requisites: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses.

An exploration of the production of personal and social identities within the subjective and objective spaces of the postmodern city as represented in film.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Pre-requisites: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses.

A study of the principles and techniques of digital non-linear video editing, including video capture, raw footage management, working with audio, and the compilation of clips into films for export and distribution.

Prerequisites: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses.

Exclusions: FS309b and FS343d

This course examines the four elements of audio for film (dialogue, effects, soundscapes and music) and how they work together to support and enhance the visual elements of film. Students will engage in the hands-on construction of a short film soundtrack both by recording audio live and by sourcing audio from sound libraries. They will use both audio and video software and technology to manipulate the audio elements in order to create a cohesive, foundational-level soundtrack for a short film.

Important notes: This is a Conestoga College course that is being offered on Laurier’s Waterloo Campus. Registration opens on the Conestoga College website in July (once we have a specific date, this information will be updated), at which point you can enter the course code ARTS1790 into the search box and register. At the same time, students must complete a WLU Letter of Permission form and submit it to our Registrar’s Office; upon completion of the course, students must submit a transcript request through Conestoga College so final grades can be sent to WLU.  For more details, please contact Dr. Sandra Annett, Film Studies Advisor.

A focused study of the variety of ways that American film responded to Asian immigration—from social issues (e.g., racism) and problems (e.g., drug trafficking and prostitution), as well as the impact of the Production Code (Hollywood’s system of self-censorship) and other industry factors (e.g., the star system and B-film production) on the treatment of those subjects. The influx of Chinese immigrants to build North America’s cross-continental railroads in the late nineteenth century incited a social panic in the face of the perceived “yellow peril.” Along with, and arguably inciting, that social panic came American films with depictions of Chinese people as immoral and their culture as a disease. This course will examine the range of cinematic responses from the “Oriental villain” Dr. Fu Manchu to the “model minority” Charlie Chan, but also industry practices such as the star system and “yellowface” that reveal systemic racism within Hollywood. In contrast, the course also explores how the presence of Asian American actors can offer moments of self-determination and how a few achieved stardom, from Sessue Hayakawa in the silent era to Anna May Wong in classical Hollywood, from 1970s’ martial artist Bruce Lee to Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan. In addition, the course considers the rise of Asian American filmmakers and the inroads made by some into the mainstream film industry. Students will screen films across a range of genres (e.g., melodramas, crime films, musicals, and documentaries) and will learn about the variety of critical approaches to studying race in film.

This course examines the representation of the Holocaust in film, literature, and other media, both fiction and non-fiction, from the immediate postwar period to the present. The aim is to gain a solid understanding of the cultural-historical significance of the Holocaust while acknowledging the freedom of the author or filmmaker to approach this subject from a variety of different perspectives, set alongside ongoing debates (since Adorno) about the Holocaust’s relative ‘representability.’ At the same time, we will balance the moral-ethical status of the Holocaust’s artistic mediation against the costs of historical amnesia or collective forgetting. The student should come away from the course with an enhanced understanding of this event, alongside a recognition of the transformations in its representation over the passing decades, as the Holocaust moves from the embrace of living memory, ostensibly grounded in authentic recollection, into the larger realm of collective cultural memory. In the 21st century, cultural producers with no direct or lived connection to the Holocaust continue to attend to the genocide of Europe’s Jews that began with the Nazi’s seizure of power in Germany in 1933, became official policy with the conception of the ‘Final Solution’ in 1942, and ended (in principle) with the war in 1945. The latter part of the course will consider the lingering aftereffects of the Holocaust and renewed antisemitism in Europe and elsewhere, as filtered through the artistic sensibilities of the 2nd and now 3rd post-Holocaust generations. Topics of focus include: collective memory, traumatic memory, multidirectional memory, the relative (un-) representability of atrocity, the role of humour and irony, different media forms and the representation of the Holocaust (trans-/intermediality), the Holocaust and other histories of persecution.

An introductory study of film through film genre. Along with general elements of filmmaking (cinematography, mise-en-scène, editing, sound) and analysis (narrative, themes, characters), this course explores the question “what is film genre?” Films are assumed to belong to a genre if they have similar characters, iconography, and conventions (e.g., westerns have cowboys, guns, and horses). While audiences often like to see the same kind of film, they do not want to see the same film—and innovation and change are as much a part of genre film as familiar conventions. Genre hybridity (blending conventions) and parody (sending up conventions) have become standard practice to rejuvenate genres. The course also explores the social, historical, and economic contexts that determine shifts and trends in genres (e.g., 1950s sci-fi as Red Scare allegories). While this course explores Hollywood genres (screwball, musical, noir), it also considers some international re-imaginings of those genres (samurai films as Japanese westerns). Laurier’s first-year FS courses are an excellent introduction for majors and non-majors alike, with an emphasis on critical film analysis, effective reading, and academic writing and argumentation. These key skills are highly valued in many academic disciplines and in a wide variety of professions. FS courses provide students with a platform for success by helping them to become strong and attentive film critics, more compelling and adaptable writers, and more confident in addressing such essential questions as: What is cinema? What does it mean to be a spectator or critic at different moments in history? How do film narratives influence our lives, personally and collectively? Students are introduced to a variety of genres, national cinemas, and directors, and are sure to find something of personal interest along with new favorites.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend a screening and a tutorial. Note that tutorials begin in Week 2.

This course surveys the history of narrative film since 1950. We will explore various national movements and their transnational repercussions within industrial, technological, aesthetic, political and socio-cultural contexts. Filmic traditions, trends and genres to be examined include Italian Art Film, French New Wave, New Hollywood, and so on. We will also explore such important questions as: What is film history? What do film historians do? And how do we read, write and appreciate film history?

Pre-requisite: one of FS101, FS102, or FS103

Exclusion: FS247

This course explores the tradition of noir in film—from classic to retro and neo. We will consider how the original film movement (classic noir) appeared as a result of a convergence of influences—from the fiction of American authors such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler to the films of German Expressionist filmmakers such as Fritz Lang—and how noir films construct and present a critique of American society in the light of the impact of the Depression and World War II. Topics and themes explored will include gender, race, and class and also how the genre can be regarded as a challenge to the Classical Hollywood style through its emphasis on anti-heroes, femmes fatales, and formal stylization. Scholars argue that classic noir officially disappeared in the 1950s and that the resurrection of its style, plots, and characters as retro- and neo-noir in the 1970s detached its conventions from noir’s original themes and socio-historical moment, exploring instead contemporaneous issues beginning with the impact of the Vietnam conflict. In doing so, neo-noir transformed the classical-era film movement into a genre. The course also explores the evolution of noir to address issues of gender/sexuality and criminality, humanity vs. technology, as well as historical revisionism. Films screened on the course include The Maltese Falcon (1941), Chinatown (1974), Blade Runner (1982), and Devil in a Blue Dress (1995).

Exclusion: FS352

A study of the film musical as a genre of contesting themes, such as utopianism, technology, and domesticity. Related topics might include adaptations of stage musicals and the influence of music and music videos on film.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Exclusion: FS350

Film historian Donald Crafton argues that animation since its beginnings has been characterized by its tendency towards “self-figuration”: its depictions of the materials and processes of animation itself. This course surveys the history of world animation by presenting works that reflexively depict the animation or “bringing to life” of characters, animators, audiences, and technologies. Students will learn how animation has been produced in various historical periods and places, and how audiences engage with it through changing media. Works to be screened typically include popular short and feature-length theatrical films from Pinocchio (1940) to Paprika (2006), episodes from classic television series such as The Jetsons (1962), and works in the emerging field of Flash animation such as Sita Sings the Blues (2008). But be aware: studying animation, while fun, is not always easy! Students will be expected to complete a major research paper for this course involving independent reading of academic sources, along with exams and smaller assignments.

A study of the business environment in which films and other media productions are financed, developed, produced and distributed.

Exclusion: FS209a

Themes and trends of major European cinemas since 1969, with emphasis on the question of European cinematic identities. 

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Pre-requisite: 1.0 credit from 100- and/or 200-level FS courses.

Exclusions: FS300

In the past two decades, superhero films adapted from comics and graphic novels have become one of the most prominent genres in popular Hollywood cinema. This course will explore the evolution of superhero films, from early 20th-century adaptations of superhero comics to the contemporary special-effects driven blockbusters of the Marvel and DC cinematic “universes.” Topics may include adaptation theory, popular culture/reception theory, and the aesthetics of superhero films. Consideration may also be given to superhero narratives from outside the Hollywood film industry, as well as to parodies, genre mixing, and independent films that make allegorical use of superheroes. NOTE: screenings are run outside of class time.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses.

This course examines the major theories of the nature and functions of film that emerged during the early- and mid-20th Century. We will focus on the writings of Siegfried Kracauer, Hugo Münsterberg, Rudolf Arnheim, Sergei Eisenstein, and André Bazin, as well as the broader ideas that characterized the schools of Formalism and Realism prior to the climactic political and social uprisings around the world in 1968. In addition to weekly lecture and discussion sessions, students are expected to watch at least one film each week. Assigned films may include Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, Kon-Tiki, Umberto D, The Little Foxes, Man With a Movie Camera, Strike, October, Ivan the Terrible, Part I and Part II, and Modern Times. Note: This is a required course for FS majors.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from 100 and/or 200 level FS courses.

A study of international indigenous films exploring the construction of diverse representations, socio-cultural images, identities and experiences in these films, focusing on race, ethnicity, class, as well as gender and sexuality.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

Pre-requisite: 1.0 credit from 100- and/or 200-level FS courses.

An advanced study of the principles and techniques of video pre-production, production, and post-production, specifically digital non-linear video editing.

Pre-requisites: FS370 or FS309b

Exclusion: FS309c

This seminar considers documentary cinema as an agent of social change in various historical and geographical contexts. Through weekly screenings and reading assignments, students will examine documentary films whose form, style, and thematic content have effected changes to social structures and hierarchies of power. Topics may include theories of documentary cinema in relation to audience reception and social development; propaganda cinema as a function of Marxism and Fascism in the first half of the 20th Century; and the role of cinema in human rights movements, including civil rights, feminism, gay liberation, Indigenous rights, and environmentalism.

In addition to the lecture, students are required to attend weekly screenings.

“Film is technology,” Janet Wasko and others have asserted, but the extent to which technology
might be credited with shaping the nature and experience of Hollywood cinema remains an
enduring subject of historical and theoretical inquiry. This advanced seminar examines theories of technological change (e.g., materialist and idealist theories) and the influence of technical innovations on the form and style of mostly mainstream films produced by American companies (“Hollywood”) from the late 1890s through to today, with emphasis on the historical contexts of major developments in sound, colour, widescreen, and digital cinema. Along the way, we will question the canonization of certain technologies in film history and the assumption that any single technology has transformed the medium in fundamental ways. Students are expected to view at least one assigned film per week and, this being a seminar class, to participate actively in discussions based on all assigned material.