ENGL 4109: Film as Literature
TLC 1114, TR 8-10:45
Dr. A.
E-mail: ainsenga@westga.edu T,
R
Website: http://www.westga.edu/~ainsenga/
and by appointment
Office: 319 Pafford
Office phone: 678 839 4864
Just Whistlin’
Course Description:
What makes the South southern? Beyond geographical positioning, what makes it a region unto itself, one so alien that “Yankee” John Kelso in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil insists to his editor that the “real” South is “like Gone With the Wind on mescaline!”? Is it the heat? Peaches and grits? NASCAR? A violent and troubled past? A shared climate of political opinion? Our course will take as a core question whether or not there is a recognizable and viable southern iconography promulgated on film. As a correlating idea, we will discuss how the South has actively ostracized and “othered” certain groups and has been historically “othered” by the rest of the country; conversely, we will take into account a current socio-political notion that the “New South” heavily influences and shapes the whole of American culture. If such an idea presents to us a truth, then the iconic systems in these film-texts can help us to conceive and understand the cultural frame in which they exist. In essence, we will theorize how filmic images labor in an even larger system that constructs meanings about the region known as “the South.”
Along with viewing films produced between 1939 and 2004 in four course categories, students will read myriad essays by historians, sociologists, politicians, literary critics, religious leaders, and, yes, even a few “good old boys” as they traverse the red clay of the South’s celluloid terrain.
Course Objectives:
- Students will learn to view and analyze films as texts.
- Students will gain an enhanced knowledge of the ways in which film employs the aesthetic and cultural techniques of other literary forms.
- Students will become familiar with the medium's distinctive qualities.
- Students will understand that social, political, economic, and historical influences affect the production and consumption of film texts.
- Students will demonstrate in both oral and written work a discipline-specific critical facility through convincing and well-supported analysis of related material.
- Students will demonstrate their command of academic English and the tenets of sound composition by means of thesis-driven analytical prose.
- Students will learn to use discipline-specific computer technologies related to the study of language such as listservs, word processing, and internet research.
Required Texts/Films:
- Various articles, all found on Ingram Library’s Docutek electronic reserves (see detailed syllabus for specific titles and reading schedule)
- Films
(students will view films outside of class, though we will view
representative scenes and examine specific elements of mise en scene in class)*:
The Mythic South:
Song of the South (now banned
by Disney in the U.S., though ripe for study)
Gone With the Wind
Showboat
The Troubled South:
4 Little Girls (documentary)
Mississippi Burning
Rosewood
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Long Walk Home
The Decadent South:
Midnight in the Garden of Good and
Evil
Interview With the Vampire: The Vampire
Chronicles
Pretty Baby
The Female South: Hell's Belles
Norma Rae or Coal Miner's Daughter
Fried Green Tomatoes
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (documentary)
*Students carry the responsibility for viewing films by specific class dates set down in the daily syllabus. The department owns two copies of each film and portable DVD players available for student check-out. You can also watch these films in the writing center. All films can also be acquired through an online movie service like Netflix, and some are available from local rental establishments.
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Delineation:
Students are required to take two WAC courses for an
undergraduate degree in the
Course activities include both “Writing to Learn” and “Writing to Communicate” assignments. Your specific WTL assignments include your eight Reading Responses, annotated bibliography, film journal, and elements of your oral presentation. Your WTC assignments, specific to this discipline, are the major research paper and elements of your oral presentation. See specific description of these assignments under “Major Assignments” below.
Major Assignments:
- 8 reading responses (20%) WTL
- Film Journal (no less than five written pages a week) (15%) WTL
- In-class presentation (15%) WTL/WTC
- Final project and annotated bibliography (40%) WTC/WTL
- Participation (10%)
Description of Major
Assignments:
- Reading Responses:
All of your semi-formal reading responses, save the first one which will a personal narrative about your take on the South, must be thesis-driven. For each response beyond the first, I expect you to create an argument about the current film and support it with primary and/or secondary evidence. The best reading responses will have a narrowed, argumentative focus with relevant primary and/or secondary support. All reading responses must be correctly documented and formatted and include an accurate Works Cited page.
Absolutely no reading response should include “reviews” of films or critical readings. No reading response should offer summary of the films or of the critical readings found on Docutek. Instead, you must approach the film or text from a critical/analytical standpoint. For example, instead of “Gone With the Wind is a great film that offers spectacular acting performances” or “Mississippi Burning portrays racism,” you might see “Scarlet O’Hara presents to viewers a debacle that challenges their stereotypes; while she represents the perfect image of the southern belle, she also is tougher than most of the men in the film—she is, in short, the first ‘steel magnolia’” or “Though it fails, the opening shot of the segregated water fountains in Mississippi Burning attempts to offer us a relic and a renunciation of racism.”
- Film Journal:
You will complete at least four pages (about 1000 words) of journal writing per week (that’s about 32 pages in all for the semester). The level of writing in your journal is informal and you should adopt a reflective stance; further, you should respond to all of the assigned films you view this semester. In your journal you may write about specific, personal reactions to film texts or continue a class discussion about a film. You could compare and contrast films to make a point or discuss a specific performance or filming technique. You may practice doing “anatomy of a scene” exercises (the “grammar” of film), or you may respond to a critical reading written about a film. You may write the journal out long hand or type it. Either way, you must write 1000 words per week.
I also require that you all bring your entire journal to every class meeting after the first. You should have responded to the current film or critical piece by the time you arrive. That way, when called upon at the beginning of class, you can contribute to the discussion with thoughts, questions, and impressions from your latest entries. I will do spot checks of journals by collecting them at least two times throughout our semester together. Your complete journal is due with your final project, though I will let you know after the two spot checks where your grade on the journal stands.
- In-class presentations:
Each of you will present a critical reading of one of our film texts in a 15-20 minute presentation. You will need to do significant research of the film text, come up with a clear, critical reading of it, and share that reading with the class. You should have a handout for the class that outlines your presentation’s goals, offers a correctly documented Works Consulted/Cited page, and shows support for your major claims about the film. You may also find it useful for us to examine a particular scene or hear part of a director’s commentary as you make your case. You can also utilize PowerPoint or other programs/equipment in our computer-enhanced classroom. As with the Reading Responses, your focus must not be one that is merely summary or simple information about the film. Work hard to research, create, and support your reading of the film.
- Final project:
For your final essay project, you will choose a film on the South/from the South/about the South that we have not studied and will perform a critical reading of it using the methods we’ve honed throughout the semester. Significant research and integration of scholarly articles is required. At mid-term, you will turn in a proposal that evidences preliminary research (a works cited page) and argumentation (a two page discussion of what film you’ve chosen, what you plan on arguing, the sources you’ve read and how you’ll use them, etc.). You may not change your topic after you’ve turned in your proposal at mid-term, and I must approve your topic.
- Annotated bibliography:
You will find information about this assignment at the following URL:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_annotatedbib.html
Carefully follow the guidelines set down on this site. Your annotated bibliography is due with your
final paper, and you must annotate a minimum
of five secondary sources. You should
use more than five sources for your final project, but you must annotate at least five secondary, scholarly sources. Please see the detailed examples at the site
above. I suggest annotating articles and/or book chapters, as they will be
easier for those of you who are writing an annotated bibliography for the first
time.
- Participation:
Though attendance is meritorious and required, it is by far not the sole determinant in participation grades. Students must bring annotated print outs of assigned readings and complete journals to every class and must be at the ready to begin and perpetuate meaningful discussion about the films and/or critical readings. Often, a class is only as good as those willing students who sit in it, and I can only be at my best when you are.
Required Format for
Work:
All work, save the writing you do in your film journal, will be presented in correct MLA format. 12 pt. font is also required. I will not accept work electronically, save under the most dire circumstances. Please do not send me work electronically unless you and I have made prior arrangements. I will not accept the work. If you are unfamiliar with or need a refresher on MLA format, please see me during the first week of and/or check out the following link: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html
Attendance:
Summer classes can present challenges. Our course meets 14 times in eight weeks, and the university requires us to accomplish a semester’s worth of work during this time period. Because of this requirement and time constraints, the rules for attendance are strict.
One absence is equivalent to missing more than a week’s worth of work. For this reason, if you miss more than two class periods you will be dropped from the course or fail because of absences. Each class lasts 2 ¾ hours, and we will take a fifteen minute break during each class. Leaving or arriving at the break will count as a full absence. It is never necessary for you to notify me about missed class since I do not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences.
Late Work/Make-Up
Work:
As a general rule, I do not accept late work. If you feel you have an extenuating circumstance, you must see me to discuss. I also ask that you do not place work outside my office door or under my office door unless we have spoken. I will not accept work in this manner. As aforementioned, I will not accept work electronically unless we’ve made a previous arrangement.
The workload will be rigorous as we achieve our goals this summer. You can expect at least 30-40 pages of reading and at least 1 and ½ hours of required viewing due per class period. The heaviest reading/viewing loads will be assigned on Thursdays for Tuesday classes since you have five nights to read/view. I have attempted to mitigate some of the stress by focusing largely on active reading and analytical writing instead of testing or quizzing, and I hope that this class structure helps you focus on the primary texts and the tasks at hand rather than mere memorization and regurgitation of facts.
Plagiarism & Academic Dishonesty:
From the English Department’s website:
“The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking
personal credit for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in
electronic, print, and verbal sources. The Department expects that
students will accurately credit
sources in all assignments. An equally dishonest practice is fabricating
sources or facts; it is another form of misrepresenting the truth. Plagiarism
is grounds for failing the course. The University policies for handling
Academic Dishonesty are found at the following URLs:
· The English Department http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/Plagiarism/index.html
· The Faculty Handbook http://www.westga.edu/~vpaa/handrev/
· Student Uncatalogue: "Rights and Responsibilities" http://www.westga.edu/handbook/”
Please note:
“excessive collaboration” includes having family members, friends, or
significant others edit or proofread your work.
This sort of behavior is cheating and will be treated as such. We’ll participate in Peer Review and will
collaborate in class, and you have the
Should you cheat in this class, it will be an automatic “F” in the course, and I will recommend that you be sent before a disciplinary committee. My policy is a zero tolerance one.
Administrivia:
· I reserve the right to amend this document with further handouts.
· The absolute best way to contact me is through e-mail.
· Turn off cell phones and remove Ipod ear buds when you enter our classroom.
· Not coming to class prepared with printed out copies of readings and necessary materials (film journal) is an automatic absence. No exceptions.
Detailed Syllabus:
Note: All course readings can be found through
Docutek, the library’s course reserves system.
Our course password is “ainsenga”
Directions to get into
Docutek:
- Go to http://www.westga.edu/~library/
- Click on “Course Reserves” underneath “Find Information”
- Click on “Electronic Reserves and Reserves Pages”
- Enter the information requested (course or instructor name)
- Click on course number (4109)
- Enter password (ainsenga); click on “accept”
- Find and print out reading(s)
June 6
Course Introduction
“Reading” film (resources for reading film, including the grammar of film and semiotics, are found on my website. Please check them out!)
“Reading” The South
Sign up for presentations
- For next class:
View: Gone With the Wind
Read: “The South: What is it? Where is it?” and “‘It Ain't Fittin’: Cinematic Contours of Mammy in Gone with the Wind and Beyond”
Write: Reading Response One—for this first response, write a personal narrative about your current “reading” of the South. You can discuss your impressions of the region, offer up your own personal history about the place you call home (for better or worse), or focus on a single concept that highlights your experience.
Write: Begin your film journal. Remember, as of next class, you should arrive at every class meeting with a written journal response to the film and/or critical readings.
June 8
Discuss Gone With the Wind and reading
Reading Response One due
Practice “reading” scenes
The musical: genre discussion
Last day to sign up for presentations
- For next class:
View: Song of the South and Showboat
Read: “‘Take a Frown, Turn it Upside Down':
Write: Reading Response Two (you may write argumentatively about either Song of the South or Showboat)
June 13
Presentations One and Two
Reading Response Two due
Discuss Song of the
South, Showboat, and reading
- For next class:
Read: “Preview to Understanding” (preface) and
“The Mind of the South: Its Origin and Development in the Old South”
June 15
Presentation Three
Finish our discussion of “the mythic South” and films/readings related to this course subsection
The documentary: genre discussion
- For next class:
View: 4
Little Girls and
Read: “Mobs and Ritual” and “
June 20
Presentations four and five
Discuss “the troubled South” (4 Little Girls and Mississippi Burning) and reading
- For next class:
View: To Kill a Mockingbird
Read: “The Gift Refused: The Southern Lawyer in
To Kill a Mockingbird, The Client, and
Write: Reading Response Three
June 22
Presentation six
Reading Response Three due
Discuss To Kill a Mockingbird
- For next class:
View: Rosewood
Read: “The Not-Free and Not-Me: Constructions
of Whiteness in Rosewood and Ghosts of
the 1960s"
June 27
Presentation seven
Discuss Rosewood and reading
- For next class:
View: The Long Walk Home
Write: Reading Response Four
June 29
Presentation eight
Reading Response Four due
Discuss The Long Walk
Home
- For next class (a week from today):
View: Interview
with the Vampire: The Vampire
Chronicles, Pretty Baby, and
Read: “The Business of Pleasure: Concert
Saloons and Sexual Commerce in the Economic Mainstream” and “Simulacrum
Write: Reading Response Five and Final Project proposal
July 4
July 6
Presentations nine and ten
Final Project proposals due
Reading Response Five due
Discuss “the decadent South” (Interview, Pretty Baby, and
- For next class:
Continue to work on research/annotated bibliography for Final Projects
July 11
Presentation eleven
Continue discussion of Interview,
Pretty Baby, and
Wrap up “the decadent South” discussion
- For next class:
View: Fried Green Tomatoes
Read: “Cruisin'
for a Bruisin':
Write: Reading Response Six
July 13
Presentation twelve
Reading Response Six due
Discuss Fried Green Tomatoes (“the female South”) and reading
- For next class:
View: Norma
Rae or Coal Miner’s Daughter
Read: “My Tears Spoiled My Aim: Violence in Country Music”
Write:
July 18
Presentation thirteen
Reading Response Seven due
Discuss Norma Rae, Coal Miner’s Daughter, and reading
- For next class:
Work on final project/research/annotated bibliography
July 20
Presentation fourteen
Discuss Norma Rae and Coal Miner’s Daughter
The documentary: genre discussion (will mirror, in some ways, our discussion of 4 Little Girls)
- For next class:
View: The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Write: Reading Response Eight
Work on final project/research/annotated bibliography
July 25: last day of
classes
Course evaluations
Presentation fifteen
Reading Response Eight due
Discuss The Eyes of Tammy
Faye
July 27th
Final paper projects, annotated bibliographies, and completed
film journals due at my office by