Winter's Bone screen shot

Schedule

This schedule may be altered at any point in the term at the instructor’s discretion. Students must complete required readings and film screenings by the time class meets on the dates indicated. “ER” indicates a reading from the online course packet.


Week One

  • 3/26
    Topic: Course introduction
  • 3/27
    Topic: Screening: Screening: Shadows (Cassavetes, 1959, 81 min.)
    Read: Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 2, “The Significance of Film Form” (56-77)
    Due: Complete online course survey by noon
  • 3/29
    Topic: Discuss Shadows and history of U.S. independent film; presentation assignment introduced
    Read: Carney, “Selves in the Making: Shadows” (ER) Due: Response to Shadows due by noon
  • 3/30-4/1
    Due: Screen Easy Rider (Hopper, 1969, 95 min.) on own or attend 3/30 screening at 12:30 p.m. in Mary Gates 082

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Week Two

  • 4/2
    Screening: Faces (Cassavetes, 1968, 130 min.)
    Read: Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 3, “Narrative as a Formal System” (78-116)
  • 4/3
    Topic: Discuss Faces and 1960s and 1970s independent film
    Read: Carney, “Noncontemplative Art: Faces” (ER)
  • 4/5
    Topic: Discuss Easy Rider and the New Hollywood; student presentation
    Read: Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 4, “The Shot: Mise-en-Scene” (118-166); Berra, “Ancestry of Independence” (ER)
    Due: Response to Easy Rider due by noon
  • 4/6-4/8
    Due: Screen Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994, 154 min.) on own or attend 4/6 screening in Mary Gates 082 at 12:30 p.m.

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Week Three

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Week Four

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Week Five

  • 4/23
    Screening: Screening: Do the Right Thing (Lee, 1989, 120 min.)
    Read: Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 7, “Sound in the Cinema” (269-311)
  • 4/24
    Topic: Discuss Do the Right Thing; student presentation; Essay 1 assignment introduced
    Read: Bordwell and Thompson, “Sample Analysis: Do The Right Thing” (404-408); Johnson, “Polyphony and Cultural Expression” (ER)
    Due: Response to Do the Right Thing due by noon
  • 4/26
    Topic: Discuss Do the Right Thing; ideology and American independent film
    Read: Nichols, "Ideology and the Cinema" (ER)
  • 4/27-4/29
    Due: Screen Mysterious Skin (Araki, 2004, 105 min.) on own or attend 4/27 screening in MGH 082 at 12:30 p.m.

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Week Six

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Week Seven

  • 5/7
    Screening: My Own Private Idaho (van Sant, 1991, 104 min.)
    Read: Bordwell and Thompson, Chapter 8, “Style as a Formal System” (312-326)
  • 5/8
    Topic: Discuss My Own Private Idaho; student presentation
    Read: Lang, “My Own Private Idaho and the New Queer Road Movies” (ER))
    Due: Response to My Own Private Idaho due by noon
  • 5/10
    Topic: Optional Essay 1 draft workshop
    Due: Two hard copies of Essay 1 draft or ideas-in-progress (optional for those participating in the workshop)
  • 5/11
    Due: Essay 1 due by noon via Canvas
  • 5/11-5/13
    Due: Screen Winter’s Bone (Granik, 2010, 100 min.) on own or attend 5/11 screening in MGH 082 at 12:30 p.m.

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Week Eight

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Week Nine

  • 5/21
    Screening: The Puffy Chair (Duplass Brothers, 2005, 85 min.) and Humpday (Shelton, 2009, 94 min.)
  • 5/22
    Topic: Discuss The Puffy Chair; student presentation
    Read: Lim, "A Generation Finds Its Mumble," Taubin, “All Talk?”
    Due: Response to The Puffy Chair or Humpday due by noon
  • 5/24
    Topic: Discuss Humpday; student presentation
    Read: Shelton interview, "That's What Friends Are For"

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Week Ten

  • 5/28
    Memorial Day
  • 5/29
    Topic: Course evaluation; discuss SIFF films
    Due: Response to selected SIFF film due by noon
  • 5/31
    Topic: Discuss SIFF films; optional Essay 2 workshop
    Due: Two hard copies of Essay 2 draft or ideas-in-progress (optional for those participating in the workshop)

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Finals Week

  • 6/5
    Due: Essay 2 due by noon via Canvas

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