FILM AND MEDIA
American Cinema
AUTUMN FN102
Thursday
Tutor: Eric Egan
The French filmmaker Francois Truffaut stated that “we loved the American cinema because the films all resembled each other.” Can this be the reason why a carnival side show novelty became the dominant cultural force of the twentieth century and would go on to dominate and bring American glitz, glamour and values to the world’s cinema screens? This course sets out to answer that question but attempts to go further in presenting a more nuanced and complex picture of an American cinema often disparaged as throw away entertainment.
Taking an historical overview we begin with the Silent Era when the Hollywood factory was beginning to conjure its magic and follow its development up to the present day. Along the way we seek to locate American cinema in a wider social, political and cultural context and show how it has been wrought from, and responded to, the events of different eras eg. The Cold War paranoia of Film Noir, Back to the Future as Reaganite Dream.
In a bid to present as broad a picture of film culture as possible, and to illustrate that American Film does not simply mean Hollywood, the course will also examine the weird, wonderful and rarely seen world of B movies and underground works that are challenging and mind bending. So strap in for excursions to planets far far away, visions unseen and new takes on venerable classics as we attempt to explain the origins, pleasures and warped visions of American cinema.
| BELFIELD | ||
| 10 Thursdays |
Sep 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 |
7.30pm - 9.30pm |
|
FEE €190 |
Print Open Learning Application Form 2012.13 or ring (01) 716-7123 for Laser/credit card payment |
Tutor Details:
Dr Eric Egan has taught a variety of film courses both in England and Ireland and has written extensively on the subject of cinema. In addition to numerous articles in journals and magazines he is the author of The Films Of Makhmalbaf Cinema, Politics and Culture in Iran and a contributor to the well received collection Film in the Middle East and North Africa.
Provisional list of key topics to be covered:
- Hollywood Finds Its Voice - The Silent Cinema.
- The Golden Age Of Classical Hollywood Cinema.
- Gangsters, Cowboys And Monsters – The Pleasures Of Genre Cinema.
- Tough Guys And Sex Bombs – The Star System.
- The Good, The Bad And The Weird - Avant Garde, Underground And Experimental Cinema.
- Motorcycles, Madmen and Meglomania - New Hollywood Cinema.
- Politics and War – Hollywood’s Vietnam.
- Dumb Movies For Dumb People? – The Blockbuster Phenomenon.
- Sex, Lies And Videotape – Independent Cinema.
- The American Documentary Film.
Who is the course for?
The course is designed for anyone (novice and film buff alike) with an interest in American cinema and popular culture.
Reading List:
The following is a selection of recommended texts for those interested in reading further around the course content. We advise that you do not buy books in advance of the course as your tutor will discuss the list and suggest the most relevant reading for particular interests.
Monaco, J. (2009) How to Read a Film: Movies Media and Beyond, (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Bordwell, D., Staiger, J. & Thompson, K. (1991) The Classical Hollywood Cinema, (London: Routledge).
Carney, R (1994) The Films of John Cassavetes: Pragmatism, Modernism and the Movies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Kolker, R. (2000) A Cinema of Loneliness (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Biskind, Peter. (1998) Easy Riders and Raging Bulls, (London: Bloomsbury).
Tasker, Y. (ed) (2004) Action and Adventure Cinema (London; Routledge).
King, G (2005) American Independent Cinema (London: IB Tauris).
Williams, L.R. & Hammond, M. (eds) (2006) Contemporary American Cinema (London: OUP).
Neale, S. & Smith, M (eds) (1998) Contemporary Hollywood Cinema (London: Routledge)
