Syllabus for Roster(s):
- 14F ISHU 3306-101 (SCPS)
In the UVaCollab course site: 1950s American Film
1950s American Film
ISHU 3306– Fall 2012
Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Program
Undergraduate Course, 3.0 Credit Hours
University of Virginia
American Film and Culture in the 1950s
Robert Kolker
Online Wednesdays
4-6:45
Course prerequisites: None
Course description:
Film always echoes and sometimes influences the culture that contains it. In the 1950s,
this interaction was especially strong and produced some extraordinary films. We will
examine a number of film genres and the work of important directors that were
particularly sensitive to cultural and political currents—melodrama, the gangster film,
the Western, science fiction, films by Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Nicholas Ray,
among others—to determine how Post-World War II America saw itself in its films.
this interaction was especially strong and produced some extraordinary films. We will
examine a number of film genres and the work of important directors that were
particularly sensitive to cultural and political currents—melodrama, the gangster film,
the Western, science fiction, films by Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Nicholas Ray,
among others—to determine how Post-World War II America saw itself in its films.
Course objectives:
Students will gain skills in critical thinking by analyzing films in their cultural and
historical context, specifically the culture and history of America in the 1950s,
a period of great cultural turmoil. Students will gain experience in research and
writing (there will be two substantial papers in the course of the semester).
Students will gain critical skills in the interpretation of film.
historical context, specifically the culture and history of America in the 1950s,
a period of great cultural turmoil. Students will gain experience in research and
writing (there will be two substantial papers in the course of the semester).
Students will gain critical skills in the interpretation of film.
Textbooks/Readings/Other materials:
Kolker, Film, Form, & Culture, if you have never had a film course
Other readings are linked on the syllabus.
Recommended Reading: J. Hoberman, An Army of Phantoms: American Movies and the Making of the Cold War
Course Methodology: The course is run online, on Blackboard Collaborate, seminar style. Attendance is mandatory.
Each week, the class will view films as indicated on the syllabus (DVDs are on reserve in
Clemons Library and readily available at most rental outlets). Students will be asked to
discuss these films prior to class on in the Forums. This discussion will constitute part of
the grade. For each meeting, there will be a set of general questions. These questions
will form the basis for team presentations for the week. The teams will be selected
at the beginning of class. Each group within the team will be assigned to one of the
general questions each week and prepare a Powerpoint presentation for the week.
Depending on the size of the class, there will be 4-5 presentations each week.
Clemons Library and readily available at most rental outlets). Students will be asked to
discuss these films prior to class on in the Forums. This discussion will constitute part of
the grade. For each meeting, there will be a set of general questions. These questions
will form the basis for team presentations for the week. The teams will be selected
at the beginning of class. Each group within the team will be assigned to one of the
general questions each week and prepare a Powerpoint presentation for the week.
Depending on the size of the class, there will be 4-5 presentations each week.
There will be two papers of approximately 6-7 pages in length. The papers will analyze
one or more of the films in the period we are studying, including films not discussed in class.
The papers can be on any topic—a close analysis of a film or films, a study of some historical
or cultural issues surrounding the films, a discussion of influences on the films or on other films
having to do with the period we are studying—chosen by the student in consultation with the
instructor. Late Papers are not accepted.
one or more of the films in the period we are studying, including films not discussed in class.
The papers can be on any topic—a close analysis of a film or films, a study of some historical
or cultural issues surrounding the films, a discussion of influences on the films or on other films
having to do with the period we are studying—chosen by the student in consultation with the
instructor. Late Papers are not accepted.
Course Requirements: Attendance at weekly online meetings is mandatory, as is participations
in the forums. There will be two substantial research papers.
in the forums. There will be two substantial research papers.
Evaluation Standards: Papers account for approximately 75% of the course. Class presentations 20%.
Forum participation 5%.
Forum participation 5%.
UVaCollab: each week the course will meet online on Blackboard Collaborate LTI, accessed through the
“Blackboard Collaborate LTI” tab on Collab.
Here is a quick reference guide to the BbCollaborate screen.
Weekly assignments are linked to the “Week of” entries in Collab.
End of Semester course evaluations are also available on Collab.
Technical Requirements:
· UVa Computing IDs and Passwords
· Internet Explorer (7.0 or above) or
· Mozilla Firefox
· Headset/Mic: Recommended Logitech Headset with USB
Technical Support:
Login/Password: scpshelpdesk@virginia.edu
· UVaCollab: collab-support@virginia.edu
· BbCollaborate (Elluminate) Support: scpshelpdesk@virginia.edu or http://support.blackboardcollaborate.com
Login/Password: scpshelpdesk@virginia.edu
· UVaCollab: collab-support@virginia.edu
· BbCollaborate (Elluminate) Support: scpshelpdesk@virginia.edu or http://support.blackboardcollaborate.com
Presentation Teams
What to Look for in a Film
Tips for Writing Film Papers
Tips for Writing College Level Papers
Twelve Writing Principles
Tips on Using Commas in Your Essays
Citation formats from The Chicago Manual of Style
Syllabus
|
Week
|
FILMS
|
READINGS & DUE DATES
|
|
Introduction
|
Read through Film, Form, and Culture and look at its DVD
|
|
|
Renewal & Angst
|
Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, Goldwyn, 1946, DVD01123)
The Blue Dahlia (George Marshall, Paramount, 1946 DVD07987)
|
From James Gilbert, Another Chance
From Frederick Siegel, Troubled Journey
From Martin Jezer, The Dark Ages
|
|
In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, Columbia, 1950, DVD03937)
Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, United Artists, Mirisch Corp, 1959, DVD02562)
|
Steven Cohan, Chapter 2, Masked Men: Masculinity and the Movies in the Fifties,
Laura Mulvey, "Visual Pleasure & the Narrative Cinema"
Lois Banner, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon: Marilyn Monroe and Whiteness" |
|
|
The Wild One (Laszlo Benedik, Columbia, 1953, DVD00956)
Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, Warner Bros., 1955, DVD01070)
|
Jerold Simmons, Violent youth: The censoring and public reception of The Wild One and The Blackboard Jungle”
George M. Wilson “Nicholas Ray’s Rebel Without a Cause”
Leo Braudy, “’No Body’s Perfect’: Method Acting & 50s Culture”
Topics for first paper
|
|
|
No Way Out (Joseph Mankiewicz, Fox, 1950, DVD05819)
Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, Universal, 1959, DVD03461)
|
Ryan De Rosa, “ Historicizing the Shadows and
Nancy Felice Gabin, Matriarchs, Moms, and Midcentury Liberalism
Fischer, "Three Way Mirror" Elsaesser, "Tales of Sound and Fury" |
|
|
High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, Stanley Kramer Prod., UA, 1952 ,DVD00760 2002)
The Searchers (John Ford, Warner Bros., 1956, DVD00795)
|
Robert Warshow, “The Westerner”
Sue Matheson, “'Let's Go Home, Debbie': The Matter of Blood Pollution, Combat Culture, and Cold War Hysteria in The Searchers “
Brian Henderson, “The Searchers: An American Dilemma”
Jon Wiener, "Culture Workers of Cold War Hollywood" |
|
|
Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, Warner Bros., 1950, DVD04253)
Kiss Me Deadly (Robert Aldrich, UA, 1955, DVD03280)
|
Paul Schrader, “Notes on Film Noir”
Sobchack, “Lounge Time” in Refiguring American Film Genres
Robert Lang, "Looking for the Great Whatzit: Kiss Me Deadly and Film Noir
Robert Warshow, “The Gangster as Tragic Hero”
First Paper
|
|
|
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, Universal, 1958, DVD01659)
Vertigo, (Hitchcock, Paramount, 1958 DVD 00019)
|
Comito, "Touch of Evil"
|
|
|
On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, Columbia, 1954, DVD02504 )
Pickup on South Street (Sam Fuller, Fox, 1953, DVD03476 )
|
From Navasky, Naming Names 1.
Brian Neve, “…The case of Elia Kazan”
Jonathan Auerbach, “Microfilm, Containment, and the Cold War”
|
|
|
Week 10
|
Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander MacKendrick, UA, 1957, DVD04721)
Salt of the Earth (Herbert Biberman, 1954,DVD01025)
|
Anderson, "Red Hollywood"
John Lewis, "’We Do Not Ask You to Condone This": How the Blacklist Saved Hollywood" From Patterson, Grand Expectations Topics for final Paper |
|
Nov. 5
Religious Spectacle and the liberal mise-en-scène |
The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille, Paramount, 1956, DVD 00757, Pt. 1)
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, UA, 1957, DVD01880) |
Tony Shaw, "Martyrs, Miracles, and Martians Religion and Cold War Cinematic Propaganda in the 1950s"
Anton Kozlovic, “Cecil B. DeMille: Hollywood Macho Man…”
|
|
The Thing (Howard Hawks/Christian Nyby, RKO, 1951, DVD05215)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise, Fox, 1951, DVD03692)
|
Andrew J. Huebner, “Lost in Space: Technology and Turbulence in Futuristic Cinema
of the 1950s”
Susan Sontag, "The Imagination of Disaster" |
|
|
Forbidden Planet (Fred Wilcox, MGM, 1956, DVD00260)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, Allied Artists, 1956, DVD05230) |
|
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| MONDAY, DEC 1 | Final Paper | |
|
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, Paramount, 1960,DVD01318)
Dr. Strangelove, (Stanley Kubrick, Columbia, 1963) DVD00302 |
George Toles, "'If Thine Eye Offends Thee'"
|
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