Movements in World Cinema

VM402-10-FA24
Movements in World Cinema
4 credits
Department of Visual & Media Arts
Emerson College
Fall Semester 2024
Tues/Thur 4 September-17 December
4:00-5:45 p.m.
Walker Building 528
Dr. Martin Roberts

Overview

This course examines the historical development of so-called “art” cinemas from the 1950s to the present, focusing on the work of filmmakers from Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Key topics include the filmmaker as auteur, the historical relationship between Hollywood and other national film industries, the impact of international arthouse cinema on U.S. film culture after the break-up of the studio system, and the role of contemporary film festivals and film critics in the circulation of a canon of international auteurs and national cinemas. Particular emphasis is given to the historical impact of processes of globalization on cinema and the emergence of an increasingly cosmopolitan film culture.

Format

This is primarily a critical-thinking course, although it includes a practical and production component. This means that it encourages you to think reflexively and analytically about the digitally-mediated cultural practices that the course considers, as well as to participate in them; for example, you will be invited to experiment with image-synthesis and text-generating software and analyze the results using key concepts and theoretical frameworks.

Course Texts

Paul Schrader, Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer. Oakland: University of California Press, 2018.

Andrei Tarkovsky, Sculpting in Time. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989.

Other course readings will mostly be distributed as PDFs via Canvas or online.

Online Resources

Unseen Cinema, by Benoît Rouilly, about what he calls Contemporary Contemplative Cinema (CCC)
CinemaWaves, a current attemtpt to document global film movements of the past century.
See also Rouilly’s second blog, SCREENVILLE

Please add these sites to the Bookmarks toolbar of your browser, as you will be referencing them regularly.

Evaluation

Research paper/project (10-12 pages): 25%

Research paper/project presentation: 15%

Film Movements: in-class presentation: 10%

Film Movements: short paper: 15%

Participation (includes attendance, punctuality, active participation in class discussion): 10%

Assignments

Film Movements (50%)

Select any film movement from the CinemaWaves list Present this with relevant clips in a 20-30 minute class presentation.

Research Paper/Project (25% + 15% presentation)

Write a 10-12 page paper, including bibliography, on a topic of your choice relevant to the course. This could be a study of a set of films by one filmmaker or an analysis of a topic or theme. This project will be presented in class, with clips, during the last two classes of the semester.

You may also present your project in Video Essay format (max. 10 minutes), but are responsible for all production aspects of the project. Pair work is possible, but each student will receive the same final grade.

Schedule

Week 1

09/05 Introduction: Global Film Culture

In-class: Perfect Days (Wim Wenders, 2023)

Week 2

09/10 Transcendental Cinema: Neorealism

Schrader, “Rethinking Transcendental Style” (Transcendental Style in Film)

In-class: Umberto D (De Sica, 1952)

09/12

Bazin, “A Note on Umberto D”; ”Umberto D: A Great Film” (What Is Cinema? Vol. II)

Deleuze, “Beyond the Movement Image” (Cinema 2: The Time-Image, ch. 1)

In-class: Kogonada, What Is Neorealism?

Week 3

09/17 Contemplative Cinema I: Yasujiro Ozu

Schrader, “Ozu” (Transcendental Cinema)

Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)

Tokyo-ga (Wim Wenders, 1985)

Five (Abbas Kiarostami, 2003)

09/19 CinemaWaves 1

Week 4

09/24 Contemplative Cinema II: Robert Bresson

Schrader, “Bresson” (Transcendental Cinema)

09/26 CinemaWaves 2

Week 5

10/01 Boredom I: Michelangelo Antonioni

Quaranta, “A Cinema of Boredom: Heidegger, Cinematic Time and Spectatorship” (Film-Philosophy, 24.1 (2020): 1-21)

L’Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)

10/03 CinemaWaves 3

Week 6

10/08 Boredom II: Chantal Akerman

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)

10/10 CinemaWaves 4

Week 7

10/15 NO CLASS

10/17 CinemaWaves 5

Week 8

10/22 Time Itself: Andrei Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr

Tarkovsky, selected chs. from Sculpting in Time

Nostalghia (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1983)

Sátántangó (Béla Tarr, 1982)

10/24 CinemaWaves 6

Week 9

10/29 Slow Cinema I: Tsai Ming-Liang and Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Lim, “Going Slow” (Tsai Ming-Liang and a Cinema of Slowness)

What Time Is It There? (Tsai Ming-Liang, 2001)

Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2021)

10/31 CinemaWaves 7

DEADLINE: Research Project proposal (1-2 pages)

Week 10

11/05 Slow Cinema II: Lucrecia Martel and Carlos Reygadas

de Luca, “Carnal Spirituality: The Films of Carlos Reygadas” (Senses of Cinema 55 (July 2010)

La Ciénaga (Lucrecia Martel, 2001)

Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas, 2007)

11/07 CinemaWaves 8

Week 11

11/12 Slow Cinema III: Naomi Kawase and Naoko Ogigami

The Mourning Forest (Naomi Kawase, 2007)

Rent-a-Neko (Naoko Ogigami, 2012)

11/14 CinemaWaves 9

Week 12

11/19 Slow Cinema IV: Hirozaku Kore-eda and Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Like Father, Like Son (Hirozaku Kore-eda, 2013)

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2021)

11/21 CinemaWaves 10

Week 13

11/26 Passages I: Brazilian Cinema 1990-present

Passages (Lúcia Nagib, 2019)

O Som au Redor (Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2012)

In-class: Retratos Fantasmas (Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2023)

11/28 NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)

Week 14

12/03 Research Project Presentations

12/05 Research Project Presentations

Week 15

12/10 Research Project Presentations

12/12 Research Project Presentations

Week 16

12/17 Research Project Presentations

(Last day of classes)

Policies

Academic Honesty

It is the responsibility of all Emerson students to know and adhere to the College’s policy on plagiarism, which can be found at emerson.edu/policies/plagiarism. If you have any question concerning the Emerson plagiarism policy or about documentation of sources in work you produce in this course, speak to your instructor.

Diversity

Every student in this class will be honored and respected as an individual with distinct experiences, talents, and backgrounds. Issues of diversity may be a part of class discussion, assigned material, and projects. The instructor will make every effort to ensure that an inclusive environment exists for all students. If you have any concerns or suggestions for improving the classroom climate, please do not hesitate to speak with the course instructor or to contact the Social Justice Center at 617-824-8528 or by email at sjc@emerson.edu.

Discrimination, Harassment, or Sexual Violence

If you have been impacted by discrimination, harassment, or sexual violence, I am available to support you, and help direct you to available resources on and off campus. Additionally, the Office of Equal Opportunity (oeo@emerson.edu; 617-824-8999) is available to meet with you and discuss options to address concerns and to provide you with support resources. Please note that I because I am an Emerson employee, any information shared with me related to discrimination, harassment, or sexual violence will also be shared with the Office of Equal Opportunity. If you would like to speak with someone confidentially, please contact the Healing & Advocacy Collective, the Emerson Wellness Center, or the Center for Spiritual Life.

Accessibility

Emerson is committed to providing equal access and support to all students who qualify through the provision of reasonable accommodations, so that each student may fully participate in the Emerson experience. If you have a disability that may require accommodations, please contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at SAS@emerson.edu or 617-824-8592 to make an appointment with an SAS staff member.

Students are encouraged to contact SAS early in the semester. Please be aware that accommodations are not applied retroactively.

Writing & Academic Resource Center

Students are encouraged to visit and utilize the staff and resources of Emerson’s Writing Center, particularly if they are struggling with written assignments. The Writing Center is located at 216 Tremont Street on the 5th floor (tel. 617-824-7874).

In-Class Recording

Regardless of modality or whether this course is being recorded by the College with the permission of the students for classroom purposes, this class is considered a private environment and it is a setting in which copyrighted materials, creative works and educational records may be displayed. Audio or video recording, filming, photographing, viewing, transmitting, producing or publishing the image or voice of another person or that person’s materials, creative works or educational records without the person’s knowledge and expressed consent is strictly prohibited.