This is a course designed to expand and enrich our experience and enjoyment of an art form that most of us already know and love: the movies. We will begin the semester by re-examining basic concepts familiar from more traditional English classes, focusing on the special problems and opportunities presented by Characterization and Storytelling in film. Since film is primarily a visual medium, the large middle section of the course will be devoted to various technical aspects of visual storytelling. We will conclude the semester with a brief examination of the role of sound and music in film. We will screen a new movie in class roughly once a cycle, using these films as the basis of our exploration of important concepts together and of major assessments in which students analyze a film independently or in collaboration with a small group.

BACK