Unit name | The Film Musical |
---|---|
Unit code | MUSI20144 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Heldt |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Music |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The film musical is one of the core genres of film history: the breakthrough of sound film was brought about by a musical, The Jazz Singer in 1927, and in the 1930s musicals were at the forefront of the technological and aesthetic development of sound cinema in many countries. The musical was to remain a crucial genre of popular cinema until the mid-1960s, especially, but not only in Hollywood, and though its career has been more chequered since then, it is in better health than other genres associated with the Hollywood tradition (such as the Western). Since the late 1990s it has even experienced a mini-revival with films most of which do not try to re-create the original magic but look back upon it with varying degrees of nostalgia or irony (or both), a trend that has taken place not only in the cinema, but in television as well.
The unit will look at a range of historical and structural aspects of film musicals:
The unit will be taught as a combination of lecture and seminar elements: five 2-hour lectures for the entire cohort of students, and five 2-hour seminar sessions in smaller groups. Lectures will introduce ideas and approaches, while seminars will provide the opportunity to ask questions, watch and discuss examples and pursue ideas in greater detail. The general aims of the unit are:
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1) explore and gain deeper understanding of film musicals from different disciplinary perspectives;
2) describe with confidence the filmic and musical techniques and procedures employed in the film genre discussed;
3) demonstrate a clear and detailed understanding of the historical contexts in which this genre developed;
4) assess how political, economic and social situations have influenced various approaches to creating film musicals;
5) write critically and perceptively about film musicals in different formats and for different audiences;
6) construct a coherent argument in audiovisual form.
6 x 2-hour lectures; 5x 2-hour seminars
1) Film review (750 words, aimed at a general film audience) (15%) (ILOs 1-5)
2) Audiovisual essay (5 minutes) (25%) (ILOs 1-6)
3) Coursework essay (3,000 words) (60%) (ILOs 1-6)