FIL-110 American Cinema
For more than a century, audiences around the world have learned about America by watching American motion pictures. American Cinema is an introduction to the history and language of this most influential art form. Filmmaking involves both art and craft (industry), and a deeper understanding of each creates a more critical viewer. Films, as with any artistic creation, are reflections of the culture in which they are created; they are also a reaction to change and an expression of people's relationship to the world around them. In this course, students will study the significance of the invention of the motion picture camera, the rise of the studio system, and the Hollywood Style, and the production of popular genres such as the Western, the comedy, the combat film, and horror films/science fiction. Even a casual moviegoer's experience is deepened by a greater understanding of and appreciation for the technical and social makeup of American cinema.