Unit information: Contemporary Hollywood Cinema in 2013/14

Unit name	Contemporary Hollywood Cinema
Unit code	DRAM33127
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Pete Falconer
Open unit status	Open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Film and Television
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will examine key trends, changes and aspects of Hollywood film over the past decade. This will include the exploration of contemporary genres and narrative forms, such as the comic book film and the mind-game film; the impact of new technologies and aesthetic approaches; and key elements of contemporary Hollywood, such as stardom and media convergence. This will be situated within wider contexts of Hollywood’s history (particularly the impact of New Hollywood in the 1970s and the rise of the blockbuster film) and Hollywood’s relation to world cinema. The unit will also explore broader theoretical ways of understanding contemporary cinema, such as its relation to modernity/postmodernity, globalization and the place of film in contemporary media culture.

Aims:

1. To examine trends and changes in the uses of genre, narrative and film aesthetics in contemporary Hollywood film;
2. To examine changing formations of cinema as a medium and popular form;
3. To explore the relationship between popular cinema and society and ideology;
4. To develop advanced skills at analysing genre, narrative and aesthetic form;
5. To deepen conceptual vocabularies and theoretical frameworks for the analysis of contemporary film;

Plus as appropriate to the mode of teaching, that is, the combination of seminar and practice-based workshop and/or presentations:

1. To investigate in a chosen practical and creative manner one or more alternative languages of cinematic expression.
2. To develop highly competent self-reflective analytical methods.
3. To develop confident production skills for film practice.
4. To develop higher-level group-work project skills.
5. To be able to reflect on individual work within a collaborative production context.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. To understand central and emerging trends in contemporary popular cinema;
2. To develop advanced approaches to understanding film narrative, genre and aesthetics;
3. To develop advanced skills in formal analysis and close reading;
4. To situate cinema within a wider field of contemporary media and society.
5. To demonstrate knowledge of, and use creatively, a wider range of secondary literature than at Level I
6. To apply with consistent competence a range of established critical and theoretical ideas
7. To present a clear and well-structured argument, supported by relevant critical and theoretical literature, that additionally develops independent lines of inquiry
8. To present work that is highly assured in its use of English and referencing
9. To be able to communicate verbally key ideas based on secondary reading and relevant primary texts and independent research/lines of enquiry
10. To demonstrate advanced skills of time management
11. To plan and execute a research project

Plus as appropriate to the mode of teaching, that is, the combination of seminar and practice-based workshop and/or presentations:

1. To be able to write a highly reflective account of practical work, making connections with an appropriate range of critical ideas
2. To be able to work effectively, constructively and creatively in a group-based workshop
3. To be able to work within the disciplines of production and project processes, working to deadlines and within production budgets
4. To work independently and reach individual/personal judgements within a collaborative context
5. To be able to reflect on individual work within a collaborative production context and with reference to an appropriate range of critical ideas

Teaching Information

Seminars, workshops, screenings, as appropriate

Optional units may be taught according one of three models, depending on student numbers choosing the option and resource matters. Unit convenors will decide on teaching mode in consultation with HoE and with students in advance of advertising option year-on-year. Contact hours and assessment details will be mapped to teaching mode, as detailed below.

Model A is a seminar-based unit

Model B combines seminars with workshops encompassing an average 30-hour production period

Model C is taught through workshops encompassing an intensive 60-hour production period

Assessment Information

Teachers will assign assessments according to the teaching mode employed.

Model A:

4,000-word essay (50%) + student presentation (25%) + 2,000-word write-up (25%), or equivalent.

OR

Model B:

Essay [3,000 words] (33%) +

Workfile (22%): containing evidence to demonstrate student contribution to workshops / practical exercises; contribution to seminars Presentation/performance (22%) Critical analysis [1,500 words] (22%)

OR

Model C:

Workfile (33%): containing evidence to demonstrate student contribution to workshops / practical exercises; contribution to seminars, preparation & execution of technical production role Presentation/performance (33%) Critical analysis [2,500 words] (33%)

Reading and References

• Bordwell, D. (2006) The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies, Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Buckland, W. (2009) Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in Contemporary Cinema, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Buktaman, S. (2003) Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century, Durham: Duke University Press.
• Jameson, F. (1991) Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Durham: Duke University Press.
• Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, New York: New York University Press.