AMS-30037: Film Noir: The Dark Side of America

School of Humanities

AMS-30037

Film Noir: The Dark Side of America

Co-ordinator:

Prof Oliver Harris Room: CBB1.053, Tel:33016

Teaching Team:

Mrs Jayne Braddick, Mrs Amanda Porritt, Dr James Peacock, Miss Jo-Anne Watts, Jo Gill

Lecture Time:

See Timetable...

Level:

Credits:

Study Hours:

150

School Office:

Tel: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for

American Studies Dual Honours (Level 3)
American Studies Single Honours (Level 3)
English and American Literatures Single Honours (Level 3)
English Dual Honours (Level 3)
English Major (Level 3)
English Minor (Level 3)

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Barred Combinations

None

Prerequisites

None

Description

This module assumes and builds upon knowledge of Hollywood as an institution and on a grasp of skills in film analysis, and so is suitable for those who have already taken a film module in Y1 or Y2.

It seeks to develop a more advanced approach to the conditions of film production and to such features as genre conventions and the star system, and fosters skills in psychoanalytical screen theory and mise-en-scene analysis, in order to historically contextualise the study of key works of the classic film noir period.

The selection of films is intended to suggest networks of relations between directors, actors, cinematic techniques, and studios, as well as themes and settings. The main topics studied will include gender, masculinity, sexuality, censorship, World War II, and the relation between cinematic form and historical knowledge in order to map noir's dark representation of America during the war and immediate postwar years.

Aims

To engage with a series of topics, including gender and sexuality, related to wartime and postwar American society and culture through the study of a major Hollywood film genre
To develop students' film-analytical skills and and film-theory knowledge to an advanced level
To enable students to relate filmic formal features to issues of historical knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes

apply advanced skills in close textual analysis of film (mise-en-scene analysis) will be achieved by assessments: 1, 2, 3
analyse formal features of films to an advanced level will be achieved by assessments: 1,2,3
relate formal features of films to issues in wartime and postwar American society will be achieved by assessments: 2, 3
demonstrate skills in referencing and bibliography will be achieved by assessments: 2

Study hours

11 x 2-hour seminars + 8 x .5-hour lecture/workshops (preceding each film screening); 16 hours film screenings; 40 hours seminar preparation; 20 hours Short Paper preparation; 48 hours exam preparation.

Description of Module Assessment

01: Group Presentation weighted 10%

Working in small groups, students present mise-en-scene analysis of a scene in a specific film
Students bring individual notes to the workshop in week 2, watch together the scene to be analysed, then present findings in small groups; tutor gives oral feedback to each group, which in turn supports work on their individual short paper assignment.

02: Short Paper weighted 20%

Mise-en-scene analysis based on students' choice of a different scene to that used in the Group Presentation
1,200-word exercise in mise-en-scene analysis, building on individual notes/group presentation in week 2 workshop but applied to a different scene in the film, written up in essay format to include references and a bibliography.

03: 2 Hour Exam weighted 60%

End of module 2-hour examination
Unseen 2-hour end of semester exam in which students are required to answer two questions from a choice of ca. 10

04: Class Participation weighted 10%

Seminar participation including contribution to small-group work
Participation is assessed according to effort as well as academic ability; i.e., evidence of preparation in response to set seminar topics, readiness to apply the preparation positively in class discussion, and quality of contributions. Tutor will keep a weekly record to support marks awarded. Encourages development of both individual oral presentation and team-working skills in seminars and workshops.

Version: (1.06B) Updated: 02/Oct/2013

This document is the definitive current source of information about this module and supersedes any other information.