Exam. Bring readings and notes to class.
See you at 9AM.
A semantic/syntactic approach to film genre
When a corpus of a genre is established two things tend to happen:
1. A list of films is compiled that respond to a simple tautological definition of genre (ie. Western = film that takes place in the west, cowboys, etc)
2. Critics, theoreticians that stick to a cannon that has little do with the tautological – Same films tend to be mentioned over and over – (kind of fanatic approach, leaning towards a classic cannon of films)
Contradiction lies at the heart of which movies belong where – opposed to the simplicity of their definitions.
The uncertainty is also associated with the relative “contradicting” status of theory and history genre studies.
Continue reading A semantic/syntactic approach to film genre
Assignments for Sept. 9th
Conclusions & appendix to Rick Altman’s, Film / Genre. Please read the appendix first (pg 216-225) and then the conclusions (pg 207-215). Write down the definitions for semantic, syntactic and pragmatic approaches to film genre and bring your notes to class. You can find the readings in the ftp under the Semantic-syntactic folder.
Cronograma de presentaciones
Semana 7 (Septiembre 9)
Segunda presentación de trabajos de investigación:
Exploitation (Christian & Enrique)
Semana 8 (Septiembre 16)
Primer examen parcial
Semana 10 (Septiembre 30)
Tercera presentación de trabajos de investigación:
Gangster (Alejandro, Ruben)
Semana 11 (Octubre 7)
Cuarta presentación de trabajos de investigación:
Action: (Carlos Arturo & Aura)
Semana 13 (Octubre 21)
Segundo Parcial
Semana 14 (Octubre 28)
Quinta presentación de trabajos de investigación:
War: (Juan Pablo & Giovanny)
Semana 15 (Noviembre 4)
Entrega de anteproyectos
Semana 16 (Noviembre 11)
La figura del monstruo en el cine de horror
Quinta presentación de trabajos de investigación:
Horror (Gerardo & Daniel M)
Assignments for September 2nd
Please read Janet Walker’s, Westerns: Films Through History. -Introduction: Westerns Through History (pg 1-27), and write a summary (no less than 700 words) in which you outline the most important aspects of the reading. (In folder “Semana 7”)
The Western & the Westerner
** Notes on Robert Warshow’s – Movie Chronicle : The Westerner
The title indicates that Warshow is more concerned about the westerner – the western hero-, than the genre itself. However, the western is pretty much defined by its hero and the hero, particularly in the western and in action movies, is the driving force of the film.
Warshow compares the hero of the gangster movie to that of the western in order to:
– Show the differences in both
– Discuss the parallel between both men’s use of guns
– Compare their positions as outsiders
– Contrast their melancholy and loneliness
The outcome shows that “the westerner” – the hero at the center of The western is:
1. A figure of repose
2. Sort of a zen character who understands the world and its code (comes as no surprise to us that Seven Samurai inspired The Magnificent Seven – where the samurai code is equivalent to the code of honor of the western hero)
3. His melancholy comes from the simple recognition that life is hard and serious.
4. Although we never see him working we recognize that there are no luxuries in his lifestyle, – that he has a hard life.
5. Love is not on his side in the sense that he is bound to be doomed and cannot settle for love – there tends to be something of a higher power that calls him
6. Usually the territory is lawless and the westerner is due to set precedent with his actions
7. He will protect those who are weak from the perils of the evil that surrounds the landscape and from the harshness of the landscape itself.
The Western Myth – Approaching genre theory from the western.
Westerns have occupied a very important place in the discussion on genre theory. Despite the fact that westerns are not as popular as they used to be in the 40’s and 50’s, the western is still central to the theoretical approaches to genre.
Continue reading The Western Myth – Approaching genre theory from the western.
Assignments for August 26th
Please read:
Robert Warshow´s, Movie Chronicle: The Westerner (pg 654-667)
Write a text in which you discuss the characteristics of “the westerner” described by Warshow and the traits you found in the movie we watched in class: Stagecoach.
Also, please read:
“The western: or the American film par excellence” and “The evolution of the western”, both by Andre Bazin.
Please write a series of three questions and three answers for both texts.
The only ones who are exempt from handing in the homework are Natalia, Alvaro & Herberth, who are doing a presentation on “comedy”. They are not exempt, however, from doing the readings.
Assignments for August 19th
Chapter 3 from Rick Altman´s, Film / Genre. – The Western (pg 34-38)
Steve Neale´s, Genre and Hollywood: Westerns (pg 133-142)
For each text, please write a set of three questions, with the corresponding answers.
Readings can be found here: ftp://ftp.icesi.edu.co/mlcuellar/, in the subfolder called “semama 4”
The musical and it’s narrative
According to Dyer there are three kinds of musicals:
1. Those that keep the narrative and the musical numbers clearly separated: (mostly where the numbers appear to be part of a show like Cabaret)
2. Those that retain the division between narrative as problems and musical numbers as escape (where one more or less can tell when the musical number will appear as it tends to be cued – The Wizard of Oz)
3. Those which try to dissolve the distinction between narrative and numbers, thus implying that the world in which the narrative takes place is also utopian. (Moulin Rouge – utopic world of artists and performers being more sensitive – yet one can argue that MR combines all three)
