FALL 2004

FILM OFFERINGS

(the prerequisite for all of these courses is Engl 2110 unless otherwise noted)

Film 3107/01

F 11:00am-1:45pm

WB 103

Miller

WRITING SHORT FILMS.  This course will introduce students to the basics of screenwriting in the context of developing several short film scripts.  Discussions will concern dramatic narrative, character and thematic development, script format, and submission of short film projects.  Student scripts will be workshopped by peers and professor.  Each student will be required to submit at least one of his or her projects to a short film script contest. 

Film 3200/01

W 12:30pm-1:45pm

WB103

Miller

FILM HISTORY AND THEORY.  This course serves as the foundation for the English Department' new Minor in Film Studies and provides a survey of the major developments, movements, and critical approaches within the first one hundred years of American and international cinema.  The course emphasizes an understanding of the historical, cultural, commercial, and aesthetic contexts that influence film, but also develops the student's understanding of a film's narrative and visual structure and its place within established theoretical traditions.

Film 3220/01

T  2:00pm-4:45pm

WB103

Graham

FILMS OF THE COEN BROTHERS.  We all go to the movies, but how much do we really understand about what we see there?  Today the Hollywood film has had to make way for strong, independent films by young directors.  Joel and Ethan Coen have created an impressive series of films.  From murder to writer's block to a parody of the Odyssey, the Coen's expand the traditional genres -- the gangster film, film noir, screwball comedy and more.

Film 3220/02

W  6:30pm-9:15pm

WB103

R. Hill

FILMS OF FRANCE.  In conjunction with the KSU Year of France, we shall discuss and write about a dozen or so films, including their cinematic techniques, their aesthetic effects, and their intersections with American culture.  

Film 4200/01

M  6:30pm-9:15pm

WB103

King

ADVANCED FILM STUDIES.  THE SOUTH AND SOUTHERN LITERATURE IN AMERICAN FILM.  Almost a genre in its own right, the Hollywood "Southern" has shaped and often distorted Americans' attitudes about the South and Southerners.  From the controversial work of D.W. Griffith and the spectacle of Gone With the Wind to the slick adaptations of Tennessee Williams' plays and Faulkner's short stories; from the moonshine films of Robert Mitchum to the perceptive character studies of Robert Duvall and Billy Bob Thornton, the South has always been a favorite subject of American filmmakers.  Though these films often further long established stereotypes, they have also at times dealt effectively with issues of race, separatism, and religion that define the region.  This course in advanced film studies considers the best Southern films as those that demonstrate a deep and sympathetic understanding of the South's unique and diverse culture.  And because so many Southern films are based on literary works, the course also considers the problems inherent in adapting literature to the screen.  Among the films to be studied in depth are To Kill a Mockingbird, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, In the Heat of the Night, The Member of the Wedding, Wise Blood, Deliverance, The Color Purple, and Sling Blade.  Prerequisite:  Engl 3220 or permission of the instructor.

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