This course provides an introduction to film history beginning with the incorporation of synchronous sound technology at the onset of the “Golden Age” of cinema. Although we will focus significantly on the development and maintenance of the Hollywood film industry, this lens will also prompt questions about power, propaganda, and spectatorship, in a global context. Therefore, we will track the evolution of the motion picture industry in both Hollywood and international markets through the end of, what is known as, the “studio system” era. One of the primary goals of this class is to understand how dominant ideologies related to race, class, gender, and sexuality have impacted American and international film industries over time. By analyzing the industrial, technological, and cultural changes that shaped the film industry, students will be prompted to consider various film movements and the ways in which they attempted to address the socio-political conditions of their respective audiences. Students will be encouraged to critically engage with a range of film styles that collectively shifted the form and function of the industry during critical moments in history.
Days: TU TH  05:00-06:20 PM