The Documentary Film
FILM 385
Fall 2012 not offered
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This course explores the history, theory, and aesthetics of nonfiction filmmaking from the origins of cinema to the present day. We will trace the emergence and development of documentary conventions and genres, paying particular attention to how structural and stylistic choices represent reality and shape viewer response. In class discussion, we will explore topics central to nonfiction filmmaking, including how documentary has been defined and redefined; how filmmakers and theorists have perceived the relationship between documentaries and the realities they represent; what conceptions of truth have guided the work of documentary filmmakers and theorists; the role of the documentary filmmaker as witness, mediator, instigator, promoter, and/or participant; documentary as social advocacy; the autobiographical impulse; the use of reflexivity; and the ethics of documentary filmmaking. Screenings will include films directed by Robert Flaherty, Pare Lorentz, Basil Wright, John Grierson, Luis Buñuel, Leni Riefenstahl, Jean Rouch, Alain Resnais, Frederick Wiseman, the Maysles brothers, Ross McElwee, Marlon Riggs, Godfrey Reggio, Errol Morris, James Longley, Bonnie Sher Klein, Amir Bar-Lev, and Michael Moore, among others. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA FILM |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
Jack C. Ellis and Betsy McLane, A NEW HISTORY OF DOCUMENTARY FILM
Bill Nichols, INTRODUCTION TO DOCUMENTARY
Selected readings by John Grierson, Jeffrey Geiger, Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, Jeanne Lynn Hall, Barry Keith Grant, and others.
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Examinations and Assignments:
One 4-6 page paper, two 6-8 page papers, reflection journal. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course is open to all class years and majors, and may be taken by nonfilm majors as a general education course and by majors as a film history/theory elective. No prerequisites required. |
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