Issues in Film Studies 1B Week One Seminar

What is Film Studies? Seminar Structure Introductions Course Assessment Richard Dyer Reading Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Seminar Structure

Introductions

Course Assessment

Richard Dyer Reading

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Holly Chard MA DPhil Film Studies E-mail: h.chard@sussex.ac.uk Office Hour: Thursdays 4:00-5:00pm DPhil title: John Hughes and Popular Hollywood Comedy Main Research Interests: Cinema History US Popular Culture from the 1980s to present

Holly Chard MA DPhil Film Studies

E-mail: h.chard@sussex.ac.uk

Office Hour: Thursdays 4:00-5:00pm

DPhil title:

John Hughes and Popular Hollywood Comedy

Main Research Interests:

Cinema History

US Popular Culture from the 1980s to present

Introduce Yourselves Your Name Your Degree Programme Something you find interesting about cinema OR Your favourite film/star/director

Your Name

Your Degree Programme

Something you find interesting about cinema

OR

Your favourite film/star/director

Course Assessment Issues in Film Studies 1B ‘ End of Term Report’ (COR) based on: Your overall attendance Your performance in seminars 2000 word essay Due in Friday 11 th December (Week 10) Essay titles on p. 6 of the Course Handbook

Issues in Film Studies 1B

‘ End of Term Report’ (COR) based on:

Your overall attendance

Your performance in seminars

2000 word essay

Due in Friday 11 th December (Week 10)

Essay titles on p. 6 of the Course Handbook

Key Reading – Richard Dyer Why film studies matters as an academic discipline & how it is done Two categories Formal-aesthetic value Social-Ideological value

Why film studies matters as an academic discipline & how it is done

Two categories

Formal-aesthetic value

Social-Ideological value

Formal-Aesthetic Value “ Film matters for its artistic merits” (Dyer, 1998: 4) “ Film is worth studying because art itself is worth studying and film is art” (Dyer, 1998: 5) Realism – film’s relationship to reality Editing – temporal relationships between shots

“ Film matters for its artistic merits” (Dyer, 1998: 4)

“ Film is worth studying because art itself is worth studying and film is art” (Dyer, 1998: 5)

Realism – film’s relationship to reality

Editing – temporal relationships between shots

Social-Ideological Value Looking outside the boundaries of film as art Cultural studies: “Its central proposition is that...culture produces and reproduces and/or validates forms of thought and feeling in society and that the well-being of people in society is crucially affected by this” (Dyer, 1998: 8) Ideological textual analysis

Looking outside the boundaries of film as art

Cultural studies: “Its central proposition is that...culture produces and reproduces and/or validates forms of thought and feeling in society and that the well-being of people in society is crucially affected by this” (Dyer, 1998: 8)

Ideological textual analysis

Brokeback Mountain (2005)