| Unit name | Contemporary Film |
|---|---|
| Unit code | DRAMM0017 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Moen |
| Open unit status | Open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Film and Television |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will examine key trends and changes in cinema from the last decade. This will include the exploration of popular Hollywood films from the period, genres and narrative forms, and the impact of new technologies and aesthetic approaches. The unit will also explore broader theoretical ways of understanding contemporary cinema, such as its relation to modernity/postmodernity, globalization and the place of film in contemporary media culture.
Unit Aims: To examine trends and changes in the uses of genre, narrative and film aesthetics in contemporary cinema; To examine changing formations of cinema as a medium, form of artistic expression and example of popular culture; To explore the relationship between contemporary cinema and society and ideology; To deepen conceptual vocabularies and theoretical frameworks for the analysis of contemporary film.
To develop an understanding of select central and emerging trends in contemporary cinema; To gain skills in the examination of film through conceptual frameworks; To enrich an understanding of cinema's place within societal and cultural contexts; To develop skills in analysing genre and narrative.
Seminars and screenings
One 5000 word essay (100%) designed to demonstrate the acquisition of core knowledge from the unit, the ability to think critically, to organize material and to reach independent conclusions.
Bordwell, D. (2006) The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies, Berkeley: University of California Press. Buktaman, S. (2003) Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century, Durham: Duke University Press. Jameson, F. (1991) Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Durham: Duke University Press. Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, New York: New York University Press.
