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Unit Summary
Unit type
UG Coursework Unit
Credit points
12
AQF level
Level of learning
Intermediate
Former School/College
Unit aim
Addresses film as a major communication medium in terms of its form, history and its social, cultural, economic and political contexts. By examining the production and reception of film texts in their cultural contexts students are given an understanding of the place of film in everyday life - its passion, politics and pleasures. Films are not just made in Hollywood and so different styles, traditions and aesthetic concerns from around the globe shall be considered.
Unit content
Section 1 Film Narrative And Form
Topic 1: Cinema, culture, context
Topic 2: Celluloid storytelling
Topic 3: The truth is out there: Documenting culture
Section 2 Elements of Film
Topic 4: Writing in light: Cinematography
Topic 5: Manipulating time and space: Editing
Topic 6: Sounding out the image
Section 3 Approaching Film Texts
Topic 7: Vision, style and politics: Auteur theory
Topic 8: Familiar pleasures: Genre and film
Topic 9: Projecting desires: Stars and fan-tales
Topic 10: Beyond the frame: De-fragmenting cultural identity
Section 4 National Cinemas/ Transnational Audiences
Topic 11: Chinese cinema: Allegories of gender and nation
Topic 12: Indian visions: The Other Hollywood
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | analyse and discuss a variety of films from across the globe in their historical, cultural and cross-cultural contexts | |||||||
| 2 | engage with, apply and acknowledge the value of theory and criticism in film studies | |||||||
| 3 | identify the basic elements and principles of film form and narrative structures | |||||||
| 4 | interrogate categories of difference (ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, class etc.) as they are represented in film texts | |||||||
| 5 | demonstrate an understanding of the significance of cinema as a form of cultural expression, and a deeper analysis of the production and interpretation of film texts | |||||||
| 6 | exchange ideas, experiences and opinions about films with each other | |||||||
| 7 | research and study independently. | |||||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
-
analyse and discuss a variety of films from across the globe in their historical, cultural and cross-cultural contexts
- GA4:
- GA7:
-
engage with, apply and acknowledge the value of theory and criticism in film studies
- GA4:
- GA7:
-
identify the basic elements and principles of film form and narrative structures
- GA4:
-
interrogate categories of difference (ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, class etc.) as they are represented in film texts
- GA4:
- GA7:
-
demonstrate an understanding of the significance of cinema as a form of cultural expression, and a deeper analysis of the production and interpretation of film texts
- GA4:
- GA7:
-
exchange ideas, experiences and opinions about films with each other
- GA4:
- GA6:
- GA7:
-
research and study independently.
- GA4:
- GA7:
Prescribed texts
- A compiled Book of Readings available through myReadings is the prescribed reading material for this unit: Jones, A (ed.), 2017, Book of Readings: Film Studies: Cinema, Culture, Context (COM10082), 3rd edn, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW.