ENG 2170: Introduction to Film
Tuesdays and Thursdays
3:30-4:45 PM
Sanford Hall 110
From its humble origins as a sideshow spectacle, film quickly matured into the dominant medium of the 20th century, and remains a towering cultural and artistic form to this day. However, while we are immersed in film culture, how many of us have the interpretative tools necessary to decode cinema, to “read” them as unique and meaningful visual texts? This course aims to foster those skills. Through the course of our discussions, students will become familiar with the terminology, techniques, and historical context necessary for analyzing and writing about film from a textual studies perspective. Along the way, students will be exposed to multiple films from across the history of cinema in order to apply and practice their analytical skills, from the early days of proto-cinematic technologies to the post-celluloid films of the digital era. This course will touch on topics such as: formalist concepts of film; narrative traditions in Hollywood cinema; counter traditions in avant-garde works; discussions of genre; and the influence of marginalized voices in cinema.