Film Studies Courses
FILM - Film Studies Courses
FILM-110: Making Sense of Movies and Aesthetics,And Aesthetics (Credits: 4)
This course examines the formal elements of film and its history, from the earliest experiments in motion photography through the present. Students will learn the terminology and concepts of film analysis (mise-en-scene, montage, cinematography, etc.) in the context of film's evolution across the twentieth century. Films may include profanity, violence, and/or sexually explicit images. (WCore: WCFAH, RE, WCCRT)
FILM-300: Special Topics in Film (Credits: 1 to 4)
This is the general designation for film electives, which explore specific elements of film, film history, and interdisciplinary film studies. Courses include: Film Theory, Cinematography and Editing, National Cinemas, Documentary Film, Sociology of Popular Culture, Screenwriting, Film Genres, Narrative and Adaptation, and Race in Film.
FILM-323: Film: Screenwriting (Credits: 3)
This course emphasizes the art and craft of writing film scripts, with a focus on constructing compelling narratives, authentic dialogue, and dynamic characters. Through an engaging combination of film screenings, scriptwriting exercises, and in-depth analytical discussions, students will explore the techniques that transform stories into impactful visual experiences. This course fulfills the elective requirement in the Film minor.
FILM-331: These Films Are So Gay! (Credits: 4)
One of the earliest representations of non-normative gender performances in film is The Dickinson Experimental Sound Film of 1894/5. Lasting only 17 seconds, the film captures a man playing a violin into a large recording horn while two men danced "cheek to cheek". The dancing men perhaps were an afterthought for William Kennedy Dickson, the Scottish inventor who recorded the film, or as Vito Russo insists, in The Celluloid Closet (1981), as a direct representation of homoerotic affection between men. Nevertheless, this film demonstrates the power found in questioning heteronormative constructs of gender identities and sexuality and raises questions of how films both represent, either by accident or design, non-normative sexual desire that ultimately become part of cultural identities. In this course we will explore representative films of queer cinema not only for their aesthetic value but also for their political meaning and historical legacy. Some of the themes and films we will explore are: problematic yet impressive explorations of gender identities of the pre-code era such as Sidney Drew's A Florida Enchantment (1914) and George Cukor's Sylvia Scarlett (1935); homoerotic desire in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) and Kenneth Anger's short films; iconic camp films such as Robert Aldrich's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Frank Perry's Mommie Dearest (1975); boundary and taste pushing films in the aftermath of Stonewall such as John Waters's Pink Flamingos (1972); and contemporary films where the pretense of "suggestive" homoerotic love interests are dropped and fully explored such as Sean S. Baker's Tangerine (2015) and Celine Sciamma's Girlhood (2014) .
FILM-345: Video Production (Credits: 4)
This course covers the basics of video production and editing. Topics include storyboarding, camera operation, sound, lighting and editing, as well as a wide variety of film and video genres including narrative, documentary and experimental.
FILM-355: Arthurian Fantasy & the Other (Credits: 4)
Arthurian literature has been an important form of popular culture since early medieval Welsh struggles against English oppressors. Today, a vast array of Arthurian fiction and film draws captive audiences. This course begins with the medieval history of Arthurian narrative as both a response to and a participant in English imperialism. From its beginnings, then, the Arthur story has always been about the conquest of one powerful group over peoples who are othered. As Arthur tales are retold and revised over the centuries, they characterize the Other in terms of not only national but also of racial, religious, and gendered difference. Moving toward contemporary receptions of the Arthur saga, the class engages with reader-response, critical race theory, queer readings, and more to evaluate how the Other is at the core of this ancient literary tradition.
FILM-372: Dead White Women (Credits: 4)
With programing that holds salacious titles such as Stalked, Last Seen Alive, Surviving Evil, Southern Fried Homicide, House of Horrors: Kidnapped, Beauty Queen Murders, Dates from Hell and Swamp Murders the Investigative Discovery (ID) channel is the go to place to marvel at the frequency of violent deaths white women suffer at the hands of deranged murderers. It would be erroneous to assume that the ID channel only sets out to tell the story of white women, but, with very few exceptions, most of the programming revolves around the horrifying deaths or near deaths experienced by white women. It also needs to be noted that in between true crime stories about the murder of beauty queens, southern belles and the young white woman last seen walking home from school, the ID channel also includes series of white women as murderers. But what the programming does not include, unless it is at the hands of hysterical or evil white women, are the deaths of men. Since ID is the 11th most watched prime time cable TV channel for people 18-49 and the most watched ad-supported TV channel for women ages 25-54 of 2015, we must ask, why? What is so attractive about watching dead white women? What is it about white women's deaths that piques our voyeuristic instincts? Do we as a culture find pleasure at the horrifying deaths of white women at the hands of abusive lovers and husbands? What is so titillating about these TV series? In this course we will watch popular documentary-style crime dramas, scripted TV series, films and documentary films that demonstrate our (unhealthy) obsession with the death of white women. We will study these works from an interdisciplinary approach that includes theorists from film studies, cultural anthropology, feminist studies and critical race studies. Students will be required to have a Netflix account and access to the Internet. Course requirements include attendance, class discussion participation, group presentations and a research paper.
FILM-378: Podcasting (Credits: 4)
As a disruptive technology, podcasts have reinvented the way we listen. While washing the dishes, walking the dog, and commuting we listen to podcasts on comedy, music, horror, news, knitting, murder, boating, walking, eating, film, TV, and video games. The topics for podcasts are endless and, so it appears, is our insatiable hunger for them! In this course we will spend our time listening and creating podcasts. We will explore different genres such as political podcasts and podguides and different formats such as video podcasts. The goals for this course include understanding audio storytelling, ethics, and diversity in podcasting through a transgender BIPOC-inclusive feminist approach that seeks to celebrate? lived experiences. You will learn basic broadcasting skills such as writing, research, interviewing, and editing. The projects for this course will involve podcasting about Salt Lake City, helping you develop an understanding of the historical and current impact of sex and gender on societies, individuals, and institutions in Salt Lake City and the greater Utah area. This requires that during class time we meet outside of campus. Students are required to have a smart phone or a camera with the capacity to record both sound and video. This course fulfills the Language & Media requirement for LMW majors.
FILM-380: Video Game Culture (Credits: 4)
Video games have emerged in the 21st century as one of the most-watched spectator sports. Pro-gamers compete for hundred-thousand-dollar prizes, and they receive sponsorships that can be worth millions. But to view the video game medium as only an economic force denies the complicated nature of gaming. In popular culture, gaming is the domain of nerdy teenagers, but video game conventions demonstrate that the average player is, well, everyone. This course focuses on the critical analysis of social issues in video games. Class time will be split between playing across different video game genres (such as role-playing, action-adventure, life simulation, strategy, sports, music, and literary hypertexts) and participating in current academic debates around gaming and game studies. Class discussions will engage with the ludic and narrative elements of game theory from an interdisciplinary perspective that considers video games as cultural artifacts, economic powerhouses, educational tools, drivers of technological innovation and works of art.
FILM-381: Bollywood to Hollywood (Credits: 4)
This course examines how feature-length films in Hollywood and Bollywood address race, gender, sexuality and social class. We will study film as literature, analyzing it for its content and visual delivery. As India moves toward being a regional and global superpower, it grapples to address widening social issues such as wealth inequality, gender discrimination, sexual violence and religious violence. How does Bollywood present these narratives and whose side is Bollywood on in the struggle between dominant and marginalized communities? We will analyze Bollywood films within their historical and cultural contexts and draw connections with Hollywood's treatment of violence against marginalized communities.
FILM-390: Post-Studio Artmaking (Credits: 1 to 4)
In this class, you will make artwork in any discipline of your choice. These might include, but are not limited to, traditional disciplines such as painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, video, sculpture, performance, installation, music, theater, writing, and dance, as well as non-traditional, experimental, and hybrid disciplines. You will regularly present new work to each other for feedback and discussion in group critiques. These works-in-progress critiques will help you to develop and refine a strong and cohesive body of work due at the end of the semester. Because no new technical skills will be demonstrated, you will rely on skills you already have, as well as personal investigation and possibly collaboration with each other, to make your work. It is likely that several different disciplines will be practiced by the participants in this class, giving you the opportunity and responsibility to share concerns of your individual practice with each other. In this environment, you are the authority of your work. Discussion will likely be built around concerns that unite us as artists rather than details that separate us by discipline. This course has no prerequisite requirement, but it is designed for participants who have some art making experience.
FILM-401: Directed Studies (Credits: 1 to 4)
A tutorial-based course used only for student- initiated proposals for intensive individual study of topics not otherwise offered in the Film Studies Program. Requires consent of instructor and school dean. This course is repeatable for credit.
FILM-440: Internship (Credits: 1 to 8)
Offers students the opportunity to integrate classroom knowledge with practical experience. Students will be graded on assigned coursework and evaluation by their site supervisor. Prerequisites: 60 college credits completed (for transfer students at least 15 hours completed at Westminster or permission of instructor), minimum 2.5 GPA, and consent of faculty advisor and Career Center internship coordinator. Interns will work for 42 hours per each registered credit. This course is repeatable for credit. Some majors limit how many internship credits may count towards the major, consult your faculty advisor. REGISTRATION NOTE: Registration for internships is initiated through the Career Center website and is finalized upon completion of required paperwork and approvals. More info: 801-832-2590 https://westminsteru.edu/student-life/career -center/internships.html
FILM-440S: Internship (Credits: 1 to 8)
Offers students the opportunity to integrate classroom knowledge with practical experience. Students will be graded on assigned coursework and evaluation by their site supervisor. Prerequisites: 60 college credits completed (for transfer students at least 15 hours completed at Westminster or permission of instructor), minimum 2.5 GPA, and consent of faculty advisor and Career Center internship coordinator. Interns will work for 42 hours per each registered credit. This course is repeatable for credit. Some majors limit how many internship credits may count towards the major, consult your faculty advisor. REGISTRATION NOTE: Registration for internships is initiated through the Career Center website and is finalized upon completion of required paperwork and approvals. More info: 801-832-2590 https://westminsteru.edu/student-life/career -center/internships.html