| Unit name | Political Film |
|---|---|
| Unit code | FATV30018 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Massoumi |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
DRAM11007 Production Skills or FATV10001 Film Fundamentals |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Film and Television |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will explore the formal, aesthetic, thematic, historical and institutional concerns of cinema from a distinctly political standpoint. It begins with the principle that all films can be defined, in one way or another, as political. Through a political examination of a selection of films the unit will explore issues such as the emancipatory potential and ideological function/s of cinema; its historical links to political power and social change; the role and affects of film as propaganda; theoretical debates concerning the relationship between politics and aesthetics; the differing intellectual and artistic responses to dominant film forms and institutional practices. The unit will engage a variety of political theories (e.g. Marxism, post/modernism, post-colonialism and feminism) and their implications for film practice, touching on the politics of Hollywood cinema, European art house, avant-garde film, Third Cinema and activist/community video. Students will develop and produce their own film engaging with the issues raised in the unit.
The Unit aims:
1. To examine the political, historical, social and ideological role of cinema;
2. To explore the relationship between politics and aesthetics in film;
3. To consider the theoretical perspectives and approaches to the politics of film;
4. To develop skills in critical analysis of films in their social and political contexts;
5. To enhance critically-engaged, practical skills in filmmaking.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of political possibilities and limitations of film form;
2. Situate and analyse films politically in terms of their context, function, aesthetics and/or approach;
3. Identify and use politically informed methods of film practice;
4. Employ advanced practice-based skills in the making of a short film;
5. Communicate an understanding of aesthetic/formal decisions and their underlying political implications.
Weekly 2-hour screening plus 3-hour workshop/seminar, production tutorials and practical work (both independent and partially supervised).
10 minute film or related audiovisual work (50%) ILO 1-4
2500 word reflexive account of practical work (50%) ILO 1-3, 5
Adorno, T., Benjamin, W., Bloch, E., Brecht, B., & Lukás, G. (1977 [2007]). Aesthetics and Politics. London: Verso.
Orr, J., (2000). The Art and Politics of Film. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Rancière, J., (2014). The Emancipated Spectator. London: Verso Books.
Rushton, R., (2016). The Politics of Hollywood Cinema: Popular film and Contemporary Political Theory. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Thornham, S., ed. (1999). Feminist Film Theory: A Reader. New York: New York University Press.
Wayne, M., (2001). Political Film: The Dialectics of Third C'inema. London: Pluto Press.
