Introductory Topics in Cinematic Expression

"The childish fascination with the everyday miracle is a
very good place to start when you make a film [. . .]"
Lars von Trier, interview with Lars Schwander (1983)

the basics / diversity / content & communication / course goals / materials /
grades / path 1 / path 2 /miscellany

THE BASICS

English 272: Introductory Topics in Cinematic Expression
class time & location: 9:40-11:00 a.m. / building 33, room 286 (lecture hall)
instructor: Dr. Paul Marchbanks
e-mail: pmarchba@calpoly.edu
office: 805-756-2159 / building 47 (the "maze"), hallway 35, office A / 12-2 p.m. TR & by appointment


The United States entertainment industry has begun a much-needed transition, altering the kinds of folk hired to stand both in front of and behind the camera. An industry long-dominated by white men has begun hiring a greater assortment of actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and directors to better reflect the complexity of diverse audience experiences.

These welcome pressures have also begun to revolutionize issues of representation. Once upon a time, an actor demonstrated her artistic prowess by performing an embodied or cultural difference not her own. Today, a sensitive and empowered audience immediately problematizes such performances, questing for more authentic alternatives. What creative license should we accord actors and filmmakers in the twenty-first century? Should there be strictures in place that discourage certain creative endeavors from getting off the ground, or are we comfortable allowing creative types the freedom to generate whatever content they wish? This course will consider such pivotal questions as we examine the history of screen performance both within and outside the United States.

This course will require students to process films in a multi-staged way intended to enrich the viewing process:

1. Watch my introductory video for each film at my free, non-monetized channel Digging in the Dirt. These short reflections do not provide plot summaries, nor are they traditional film reviews. Instead, they set up a particular topic or theme I encourage viewers to consider when they watch a given film.
2. Look through the study questions, linked from the Path 1 calendar, that I have created for each film. Consider these "Points for Reflection before watching the film.
3. Attend to my pre-screening comments at the Palm Theater, as I will provide additional variables to consider when watching.
4. Watch the film closely
5. Reexamine the study questions immediately following the screening. Consider discussing each title with others.

DIVERSITY, ACCOMODATION, & ACCESSIBILITY

• This course will present an array of challenging ideas for discussion purposes, some of which you may instinctively applaud, and others which you might find repelling (thematically, stylistically, or ideologically). I encourage you to articulate your own sensibility and perspective while respecting dissenting positions.
• Convinced that the classroom environment should enable instead of disabling each student learner, whatever their background and abilities, I have adopted various Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. All my course websites, for instance, have been designed to facilitate the use of e-readers for those with vision impairments. If your own circumstances require additional consideration, please let me know.
• This course uses PDFs of open educational resources and other documents instead of an expensive film textbook. Print these out and bring to class, or bring them on a flat tablet on which you can make marginal, handwritten comments. I will ask you to discontinue tablet use if you use it for any other purposes in the classroom. Do not use a laptop unless you have a DRC accommodation. No cell phones.)

CONTENT & COMMUNICATION

The films and literature I teach run the gamut of human experience, from the ecstatic and joyful to the degrading and sordid.  Many visual and literary artists regularly exercise this kind of topical license, operating under the assumption that representing even the most difficult material can serve a beneficial purpose.  One viewer or reader might actually become sensitized to social problems they had hitherto ignored when they encounter such problems dramatized in art.  Another might find in a tale’s situations and dialogue helpful analogues for painful things they have themselves experienced: the story, that is, might provide them a voice—useful words and strategies for expressing their own grief and suffering.

Others, however, might be re-traumatized by watching something that hits too close to home because they’re not yet ready to re-experience their pain—even through the medium of fictional art.  Or, they might fundamentally disagree with the creators’ representation of challenging subject matter, might be offended by the representation and quickly point to other, more politic and sensitive portrayals of such difficult material.  They might even hold that the creator has no right to represent what they have placed in their art because that creator’s own identity factors do not closely enough mirror the elements they have chosen to represent.

Recognizing that even detailed content warnings have limited value, I’d like to supplement them with an open invitation to exercise your freedom to disagree with the perspective of others (incl. myself), and to approach me during office hours or via email with any concerns.


COURSE GOALS

• English dept. learning objectives
• to hone critical thinking and argumentation skills
• to improve students' writing ability and visual literacy
• to deepen students' comfort with expressing themselves orally and in writing
• to familiarize students with effective interdisciplinary approaches to argumentation
  
  

• A Rhetoric of Film, a free OER (open educational resource) text. Download PDFs of chapters here: one, two, three, four, five.
• Subscribe to my free, non-monetized site Digging in the Dirt so you're instantly aware of new course-related content when it drops. (The site exists to encourage visitors to delve deeply into challenging literature and films; I don't earn a cent from this.)
• $90 to pay for nine films at The Palm Theater in SLO. This ticketing will happen online, once, for the entire quarter. Pay here by the end of Week Two.
• Three 100-question scantron forms (the green forms): one for each exam

GRADES [107 pts possible]

• Class Attendance (19 pts possible): one point per class session attended in its entirety
• Film Screening Attendance (18 pts possible): two points per attended film screening
• Participation (10 pts possible): 0-5 pts possible every five weeks; send me your photo and participate regularly if you want to earn some participation credit. I cannot note your participation if I do not know your name. You can opt not to do this: your choice.
• Exams (60 pts total): 20 pts for each of three exams which privilege films not on previous exams, though exams #2 & #3 will each have 10 questions covering earlier films. Bring green (not blue), 100-question scantrons to each exam. The first three, 70-question exams cover:
  • any terms from film terminology handout, and terms from whatever Rhetoric of Film chps. we have covered thus far [15-25 qstns per exam]
  • study questions ("points for reflection"), in-class lectures, & discussion [10-15 qstns per relevant film]
  • intro. videos at Digging in the Dirt [2-4 qstns per relevant film]
  • Dr. M's pre-screening comments [1-2 qstns per relevant film]
• Final Exam (optional): 100-qstn comprehensive exam (8-10 qstns per film, 20-40 qstns concerning film terms)
  • students can decide after taking the final exam--before it is scored--whether they want it to count
  • if a student counts the final exam, it and the prior three exams will each be worth 15 pts for a total of 60 pts

MISCELLANY

Grading: go here for an elaboration of terms used below

Contact
Take advantage of my office hours. Go here to find an open slot, then email me to reserve that time for an office visit. The fastest way to contact me if you have a quick question is via email. You can also reach me in my office at 805-756-2159, or in the evening (before 10 p.m.) at 593-0192.

Writing Lab Center
Experienced writers at the Writing and Learning Center (in Kennedy Library, Room 111-C) offer free assistance with writing assignments for any course. Using this service will improve even the best writer’s output. If writing remains a challenge for you, you might consider enrolling in ENGL 150, a one-credit writing support course.

Plagiarism and the Honor Code
I encourage you to improve your writing with the help of peers, instructors, and myself. Remember, however, that all work you submit must be your own. (I will occasionally vet student work to verify authorship.) Any paper containing borrowed but undocumented thoughts or words will receive a failing grade (this includes material created by generative A.I.), and I am obligated to report all instances of plagiarism to the Vice President of Student Affairs. Let me know if you have further questions concerning this important issue.

Christina's World (1948)
Andrew Wyeth

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu