3. Class begins on time. It is disruptive when people walk in late. If there is a good reason why you will be repeatedly late, please get my approval.

4. Final grades will be determined by 1) out of class work 2) in class work

and 3) class attendance and participation.

5. All out of class work must be typed or printed.

6. All in class work must be done in class. It cannot be made up.

7. All assignments are due at the beginning of class time. The grade will be

dropped one half letter for each 24 hour period it is late after that.

8. The ringing of cell phones and beepers is impolite and very disruptive.

Make sure these are turned off before class begins. You will be asked to leave the class if yours rings.

9. If you are having any type of problem or confusion which is preventing

you from completing your work, please come talk to me about it.

10. I support the honor system and reserve the right to fail any student who violates it. Plagiarism is easy now that so much information is available on the web. Remember that I also have access to the web and I will fail and report any student careless enough to get caught cheating.

From its humble beginnings as a novelty in a handful of cities, cinema has risen to become a billion-dollar industry and the most spectacular and original contemporary art form. After World War I and into the early 1920s, America was the leading producer of films in the world - using Thomas Ince's "factory system" of production, although the system did limit the creativity of many directors. Production was in the hands of the major studios (that really flourished after 1927), and the star system was burgeoning. The major studios were those that controlled all aspects of a film's development, something called vertical integration. They owned their own theatres, as well as production and distribution. The studios distributed their films to a network of studio-owned theaters. The firms that were to rule Hollywood filmmaking for the next half-century were the giants, sometimes dubbed "The Big Five". However, before the major studios were created, all filmmaking was independent. During and after the system dominated the Seventh Art, brave souls with passion, nerve and a head full of dreams made movies. Their films just weren't particularly accessible to or accepted by the public. Before the major studios formed, the entire medium wasn't accessible to everyone, but companies like Biograph, Triangle and other non-studio companies made films. Moviemakers experimented with narrative and technique creating a cinematic language while the studio's systemized movie production. The 1980s was the decade of the indie. A new generation reacted to the excesses of the past and put their money, commitment and faith into the art and craft of cinema. By the end of the Second World War, a growing segment of the American filmgoing public was wearying of mainstream Hollywood films and began to seek out something different. In major cities and college towns across the country, art film theaters provided a venue for alternatives to the films playing in main-street movie palaces: British, foreign-language, and independent American films, as well as documentaries were introduced to a wider American audience. While the sub-titles alert us to our entry into another world, this slight disturbance on the screen is much less important than our examination of that world. Can we do more than merely observe its time-and place-bound issues? Can we actually enter into this strange “other” and attempt to understand it? The cinematic stories and the societal traditions they mirror (which tend to be country-specific), along with the human elements within them (which tend to be universal), are invaluable aids in this endeavor. Culture clash is possible at every turn, but the bridge to understanding and larger tolerance of “the other” is open precisely when we dare cross into it. We can interpret fairly only when we understand, and we can understand only when we know. In learning about international diversity, foreign cinema is both an excellent partner and a pragmatic tool. Indeed, while Hollywood's studios devote much of their time and energy to churning out big-budget, star-studded event movies, a vibrant foreign film industry as well as a renegade independent cinema continue to challenges mainstream fare with strong critical support and loyal audiences. We will be taking a closer look at both of them this semester.

IN CLASS ASSIGNMENTS

Jan 14 Introduction Merritt: Introduction/

Gazetas:pp. 1-6; 37-45; 57-69; 103-110

Jan 21 Guest lecturer Merritt: 194-257

Jan 28 Independent film/Sundance Gazetas: pp. 133-141; 161-170/

Merritt: 260-308

Feb 04 Post-war films/Independent Gezetas: pp. 291-303; 313-323

Feb 11 Other Cinemas Merritt: pp. 310-351

Feb 18 The Indie Merritt: pp. 353-411

Feb 25 MIFF film and discussion Attend Film Festival

Mar 4 Film-film analysis Complete Film Analysis

Mar 11 Student Presentations

Mar 18 SPRING BREAK

Mar 25 Student Presentations

Apr 01 Student Presentations

Apr 08 Student Presentations

Apr 15 Student Presentations

Tentative Grading Formula:

Final Papers 25% each = 50%

Film Analysis Notebooks 20%

Oral Presentation 15%

Class Attendance, quizzes and participation 15%