This is an archived course. Visit the most recent syllabus.

Course Description

Following the emergence of the European New Waves in the years following World War II, the cinema evolved into a truly global, innovative, and transnational art form. This course traces the development of new cinema movements, from 1970 to the present. We will cover the various economic, institutional and aesthetic changes in these movements within the context of national and global culture.

Instructor

Juan Monroy

Email

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Course Materials

Textbook

The following textbook is available at the Queens College Bookstore, Student Union Building, Phone: (718) 997-3573, through online retailers, and on reserve at Rosenthal Library.

Starting in 2009, required course materials qualify for a tax credit.

Electronic Reserves

Required course readings not found in the textbook are available electronically. To access these readings, go to EReserves Home and locate our course. You can also navigate directly to our Electronic Reserves site. In either case, when prompted, enter the password.

Course Blog

I have established a blog where I will post summaries of course lecture and commentary related to the topics we are covering. I will regularly post analyses related to the films we covered in class or elaborate on the material covered in lecture.

Blackboard

We will be using Blackboard for announcements, assignment guidelines, and your individual grade book. You will also use Blackboard to take quizzes and submit each of your assignments.

Please update your email address on Blackboard to one that you currently check, preferably your QC email address.

Wiki

The collective knowledge of everyone in the class can surpass any single resource I can provide. Please use the Wiki to collaborate with other students in creating rich study guides for the class.

Each week, I will post a list of topics covered in lecture. Please feel free to add to each page with your notes and summaries. I will not edit the wiki pages after I post them, but I ask that you please use them in a responsible way.

Hulu Plus

In addition to in-class screenings, you are required to watch specific films each week outside of class. An easy way to procure these films is to subscribe to Hulu Plus. There is a monthly $7.99 fee, and you can watch on a number of devices, such as video game players, connected televisions, smartphones, and tablets. All but one of the required outside screenings are available on Hulu Plus's Criterion Collection channel.

You can also get a student membership, which includes a two-week trail period.

You are not required to subscribe to Hulu Plus if you can watch these films elsewhere.

Dropbox

If you don't use it already, I highly recommend using Dropbox to exchange files with me. You can sign up for free and receive two (2) gigabytes of cloud based storage. This is an invaluable tool for accessing all of your files anywhere without having to carry a USB flash drive. I hate those things.

Requirements

This class consists of five components. You cannot satisfactorily complete this course without all five of these.

Lectures

Each lecture will form the basis of the material I expect you to know for the exams. I will present on the historical and cultural context relevant to the film movement covered that particular week. I will post outlines and slides from each lecture, but believe me, those serve as poor substitutes for attending each week's lecture.

Screenings

There will be an in-class screening each week, usually following the lecture. I will lead a brief discussion after these screenings, depending on time constraints. You will also be responsible for an outside screening. I highly recommend subscribing to Hulu Plus since all but one of these screenings are available on its Criterion Collection channel.

Readings

Please read the assigned course material prior to each week's class. Consult the Course Schedule for the required reading assignments.

Assignments

All assignments must be completed on time in order to receive full credit. Late assignments will be penalized by a 10% reduction for each 24-hour period it is late. After seven calendar days, the assignment will not be accepted and you will likely fail this class.

Exams

Exams comprise half of your course grade and are written to reward regular attendance and diligent studying. Exams will be administered in class and must be taken at the specified date and time.

Policies

Professionalism

Please respect the classroom environment. You should pay attention to the lecture, take notes, and avoid distractions, such as web surfing and using your mobile phone. Studies have consistently shown that students using laptops and mobile phones perform about 11% worse than students who are not distracted by these devices. On a personal note, it's very difficult to stay motivated as a teacher if I see students seemingly disinterested in their own education. If I find you engaging in disruptive behavior, such as watching online videos, passing notes, instant messaging, chatting, or texting, I will remove you from the classroom and have you withdraw from the class.

Late Work and "Incomplete" Grades

Please submit your work on time. Late work will be penalized by a 10% reduction for each 24-hour period it is late. After one calendar week, the assignment will not be accepted and you will likely fail this class.

There will be no incomplete grades for this class except in the case of a documented emergency in the final weeks of the semester. If you experience such an emergency, please contact me immediately, and we will work out a schedule for you to complete the outstanding work before the beginning of the following semester.

But aside from these circumstances, no late work will be accepted and no "incomplete" grades will be granted. If you have difficulty keeping up with coursework, consider giving yourself extra time to complete assignments, reducing your overall course load, and/or taking this class at a later semester.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York. Penalties for academic dishonesty include academic sanctions, such as failing or otherwise reduced grades, and/or disciplinary sanctions, including suspension or expulsion. Examples of Academic Dishonesty include cheating, plagiarism, obtaining an unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents.

Cheating is the unauthorized use or attempted use of material, infonnation, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise. Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person's ideas, research or writings as your own. Obtaining Unfair Advantage is any action taken by a student that gives that student an unfair advantage in his/her academic work over another student, or an action taken by a student through which a student attempts to gain an unfair advantage in his or her academic work over another student.

For tips and information on how to maintain academic integrity, consult Writing at Queens document, "What is Plagiarism?

Mobile Phones

Please silence or turn off the radio in your mobile phone (power down the phone or set to "Airplane" mode). Not only do ringing phones disrupt class, most phones will also interfere with the media equipment in the room.

Email

Please check your QC email account (student@qc.cuny.edu) on a daily basis, if not more frequently. I will broadcast announcements and send point-to-point communiques using your official email address.

Please note that I am not allowed to discuss your grade from an account that is not your official email account.

Students with Disabilities

Queens College has a history of commitment to the enhancement of education of students with disabilities. The Office of Special Services for Students with Disabilities was established in 1974 to provide equal opportunities for a college education to academically qualified students with physical disabilities. The office offers comprehensive support services to students with various disabilities. Queens College prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities and it ensures full access and equal opportunity to qualified students with disabilities to all academic programs and social activities on campus.

To receive these services, a student must first register with the office in Kiely 171. To do so, you must bring proper documentation pertaining to the nature of your disability from a qualified professional. To learn more about CUNY Assistive Technology Services and the office located at Queens College, call (718) 997-3775 or visit Kiely Hall 173. For more information, visit The Office of Special Services.

Assignments

Blackboard Quizzes

Each week, I will post a quiz consisting of review questions. The questions cover the material covered in lecture and are due each Friday at noon. Because Blackboard cannot penalize late submissions, no late quizzes will be accepted.

  • Weight: 20%

Timeline

On Blackboard, I will provide you with twenty-five (25) events relevant to the history of film and global culture. Give the four digit year event took place.

Complete the assignment on Blackboard. You do not need to submit this assignment in class.

  • Weight: 10%
  • Due: Friday, February 10, on Blackboard.

Hollywood Franchise Films

Using one of the following movie franchises, which I will assign to you, and write a 1200-word review of the original film and at least one sequel. Your review should note the source material, connections between each film and the marketing of these films through theatrical trailers, advertising and promotional tie-ins with other products. You should also consider the reception of these films and evaluate how it impacts the value of the franchise.

  • Shrek
  • Jurassic Park
  • Toy Story
  • Harry Potter
  • Ice Age
  • Fast and the Furious
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Mission: Impossible
  • Meet the Parents
  • Terminator
  • Bourne Identity
  • Star Wars
  • X-Men
  • Transformers
  • Iron Man
  • Matrix
  • Lord of the Rings

Please submit your assignment on Blackboard by uploading your document in the Assignments section.

  • Weight: 20%
  • Due: Friday, May 11, on Blackboard.

Exams

Midterm Exam

The midterm exam is in-class exam, consisting of multiple choice, identification and essay questions. The exam will cover the course material from the first six weeks of the class, including all lectures, readings and screenings.

  • Weight: 25%
  • March 27, in class

Final Exam

Like the midterm exam, The midterm exam is in-class exam, consisting of multiple choice, identification and essay questions. The exam will cover the course material from the entire course, including all lectures, readings and screenings.

  • Weight: 25%
  • Date and Time are to be determined

Course Schedule

January 31: Introduction

Assignment

February 7: European New Waves

Reading
  • Thompson and Bordwell, 403-414 and 418-420.
  • Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey. "Art Cinema." In The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
In-Class Screening
  • Persona (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1967), 81 min.
Outside Screening
  • Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, France, 1962)
  • Breathless [A bout souffle] (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1959)
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #1 on Blackboard by Friday, February 10.
  • Timeline assignment is due on Friday, February 10, 5:00 PM.

February 14: Irrelevance of Old Hollywood

Reading
  • Thompson and Bordwell, 472-478.
In-Class Screening
  • Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, USA, 1966), 131 min.
Outside Screening
  • Man with the Golden Arm (Otto Preminger, USA, 1955)
  • And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, France, 1956)
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #2 on Blackboard by Friday, February 17.

February 28: Eastern European New Wave

Reading
In-Class Screening
  • Daisies [Sedmikársky] (Vera Chytilová, Czechoslovakia, 1966)
  • The Red and the White [Csillagosok, katonák] (Miklós Jancsó, Hungary, 1967)
Outside Screening
  • Knife in the Water [Nóz w wodzie] (Roman Polanski, Poland, 1962)
  • WR: Mysteries of the Organism [W.R.- Misterije organizma] (Dusan Macavejev, Yugoslavia, 1971)
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #3 on Blackboard by Monday, March 5.

March 6: Latin America and Third Cinema

Reading
In-Class Screening
  • Memories of Underdevelopment [Memorias del subdesarrollo] (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1968), 97 min.
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #4 on Blackboard by Monday, March 12.

March 13: New German Cinema

Scheduling Note

We will start today's class at 10:00 AM.

Reading
In-Class Screening
  • Ali: Fear Eats the Soul [Angst essen Seele auf] (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Germany, 1974), 93 min.
Outside Screening
  • Alice in the Cities [Alice in den Städten] (Wim Wenders, Germany, 1974)
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #5 on Blackboard by Monday, March 19.

March 20: Emergence of New Hollywood

Reading
  • Thompson and Bordwell, 478-493.
  • Schatz, Thomas, "The New Hollywood," in Jim Collins, Hillary Radner, and Ava Preacher Collins, eds., Film Theory Goes to the Movies. New York: Routledge, 1993, 8–36, 265–268.
In-Class Screening
  • Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, USA, 1978) 94 min.

Outside Screening

  • A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavettes, USA, 1974)
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #6 on Blackboard by Monday, March 26.

March 27: Midterm Exam

Please review the Midterm Exam Guide for a summary of the structure of the exam. You will also find the essay questions that will appear on the exam.

Assignment
  • You will be assigned a Hollywood Franchise at the beginning of class before starting the midterm exam.

April 3: Western European Cinema

Reading
  • Thompson and Bordwell, 566-587.
In-Class Screening
  • Blue (Krzysztof Kieślowski, France, 1993), 98 min.
Outside Screening
  • Je Tu Il Elle (Chantal Ackerman, Belgium, 1975)
  • Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch, France/UK/Germany/USA/Japan, 1991)
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #7 on Blackboard by Monday, April 9.

April 17: Soviet Union and Tarkovsky

Reading
In-Class Screening
  • The Mirror [Zerkalo] (Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR, 1975), 108 min.
Outside Screening
  • The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko, USSR, 1977)
  • Nine Days of One Year (Mikhail Romm, USSR, 1962)
  • Ivan's Childhood (Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR, 1962)
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #8 on Blackboard by Monday, April 23.

April 24: Mainland China

Reading
In-Class Screening
  • Raise the Red Lantern [Da hong deng long gao gao gua] (Yimou Zhang, PRC, 1991), 125 min.
  • Red Detachment of Women on YouTube (Pan Wenzhan and Fu Jie, PRC, 1971)
Outside Screening
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #9 on Blackboard by Monday, April 30.

May 1: East Asian Cinemas

Reading
  • Thompson and Bordwell, 643-658.
In-Class Screening
  • Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong, 1994)
Outside Screening
Assignment
  • Complete Quiz #10 on Blackboard by Monday, May 7.

May 8: Global Film Culture

Reading
In-Class Screening
  • Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, UK/India, 2008), 120 min.
Assignment
  • Franchise Film Assignment due by Friday, May 11, 6:00 PM, on Blackboard.
  • Complete Quiz #11 on Blackboard by Monday, May 14.

May 15: Hollywood and the Entertainment Economy

Reading
In-Class Screening
  • To be determined

May 22: Final Exam

Our Final Exam will be held on Tuesday, May 22, between 8:30 and 10:30 AM, in Kiely 264.

Please review the Final Exam Guide for a summary of the structure of the exam. You will also find the essay questions that will appear on the exam.