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MCA132

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Film History and Criticism

Media Communication ArtsLiberal Arts
OverviewGoals, Topics, and ObjectivesAssessment, Requirements, and OutcomesRegister for this Course

Course Goals

The goal of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of film as both an art form and an industry by exploring its technical, cultural, and historical, evolution. Through the examination of cinematic techniques, film genres, and powerful movements, students will learn to critically analyze films' visual and narrative elements, understand the social and global impact of cinema, and recognize the shifting landscape from early movies to contemporary filmmaking styles and practices. Ultimately, students will gain a deeper appreciation and enjoyment of film as a medium that reflects and influences our world.

Core Course Topics

  1. The nature, magic and verisimilitude of the film experience, including explicit and implicit meaning and analysis

  2. The early inventors and their inventions that led to the motion picture

  3. The early films and their filmmakers, 1890--1915

  4. Genre and the three stages of film production

  5. Stages of filmmaking: Production, Distribution and Exhibition

  6. Continuity, Narrative, and the Hollywood System, 1915-1930

  7. Mise en scene, German Expressionism, and the introduction of "talkies", 1915-1930

  8. Montage, Editing and Russia in the 1920's

  9. The Hays Code, MPAA and ratings/censorship in film

  10. Hollywood’s Golden Era, 1930-1950

  11. Italian Neo-Realism and the French New Wave, 1945-1965

  12. Hollywood, the Rise of Independents and Foreign Films, 1950-1970

  13. The New Hollywood and American Independent Films, 1970-1990's

  14. Global cinema

  15. The business of modern film and the franchise/cinematic universe model of filmmaking

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

The nature, magic and verisimilitude of the film experience, including explicit and implicit meaning and analysis

The early inventors and their inventions that led to the motion picture

The early films and their filmmakers, 1890--1915

Genre and the three stages of film production

Stages of filmmaking: Production, Distribution and Exhibition

Continuity, Narrative, and the Hollywood System, 1915-1930

Mise en scene, German Expressionism, and the introduction of "talkies", 1915-1930

Montage, Editing and Russia in the 1920's

The Hays Code, MPAA and ratings/censorship in film

Hollywood’s Golden Era, 1930-1950

Italian Neo-Realism and the French New Wave, 1945-1965

Hollywood, the Rise of Independents and Foreign Films, 1950-1970

The New Hollywood and American Independent Films, 1970-1990's

Global cinema

The business of modern film and the franchise/cinematic universe model of filmmaking