COURSE EXPECTATIONS: AMERICAN SOCIETY AND FILM

(Post WWII – 1974)

COURSE OVERVIEW

As Steven Mintz and Randy Roberts argue in Hollywood’s America,

Of all the products of popular culture, none is more sharply etched in our collective imagination than the movies. Films represent much more than mass entertainment. Movies -- even bad ones -- are important sociological and cultural documents. From the beginning of the [20th-] century, films have recorded and even shaped American values, beliefs, and behavior. Popular films offer a valuable way of examining public responses to the social disorder and dislocations of the Great Depression; the fears of domestic subversion of the late 1940s and early 1950s; the cultural and moral upheavals of the 1960s; and the meaning and significance of the Vietnam War. (ix)

This course will examine how classic films treated political, economic, and social life in the U.S. from post-WWII to the early 1970s. Topics include the Cold War, Social Dynamics of the 1950s, Civil Rights of the 1950s and 1960s, and the Vietnam era. Some of the films reflect the historical period, while others are selected because they were created in a particular decade, even as their narrative recounts an earlier time in the U.S. In addition, the course will help students develop the tools to read and interpret visual texts. Thus, the first unit will explore the Art of Watching Films. The course’s assigned readings cover U.S. history as well as film. The film “texts” are Hollywood films as well as documentaries about history and/or film. Please note: several of the Hollywood films in the Vietnam Era unit are rated R.

NOTEBOOK & MATERIALS

You must have a 3-ring binder for handouts and notes; please include some lined paper. If you have a set of headphones for the days we use the CD-ROMs on the MACs, please bring them to class.

ATTENDANCE & LATE WORK.

Regular attendance is critical for success in this course. After an absence make prompt arrangements for make-up work. After the agreed upon extension, lateness penalties will apply. The penalty for late work is one grade a day. “Late” means not fully ready at the beginning of the class period. Final deadlines for accepting late work will be announced for individual assignments.

COURSE WORK and EVALUATION.

Success in this course demands that you view all the required films and keep up with the readings and assigned homework. Most nights you will have an assignment for this class. I hope that your interest in films and/or history engages you in these materials. For several assignments, you may need to view films outside of class.

Students will be evaluated on a range of assessments. A major component for success in this course is class participation, which means active engagement in class as well as preparedness with written materials and readings (e.g., it is essential that you keep up with the homework assignments). Several analytic papers will be assigned during the course. In addition, there will be group presentations and graded discussions as other ways to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding. Tests and quizzes are another vehicle for evaluation. Please note that per department policy, there are no retakes for tests or quizzes. Class participation represents approximately 20% of your grade; the homework, essays, quizzes/tests, and final project comprise 80% of your grade.

PLAGIARISM

We will discuss academic integrity at the beginning of the course. I hope that our discussion will help you to understand the importance of giving credit when you use other people’s words or ideas. Film analysis and group work require that you share ideas and depend on other people’s insights as well as your own; the crucial concept is that you should never present someone else’s work as if it were your own and that you understand how to cite sources accurately. Students who knowingly cheat or plagiarize will receive a zero for the assignment and families, guidance counselors, and the assistant principal will be notified.

CONFERENCES

Make-up work and extra help are available after school, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please make an appointment to avoid overloads or conflicts with meetings. Please do not hesitate to ask for help when you need it!

Lights, camera, action…..