FIST 100 003: Introduction to Film Studies

Jan-April 2018

Instructor Information
Instructor Email Office Location & Hours
Dr. Christine Evans christine.evans@ubc.ca Buchanan Tower 1002
1873 East Mall
Thursdays 3:00-4:00 PM
Phone: (604) 822-3707

General Information
Description
This course aims to introduce you to film as a serious academic discipline through a variety of foundational texts,
important essays, and screenings of both familiar contemporary films and films of historical and theoretical significance
that will be new to many of you. The material presented in the course aims to foster a dynamic and inquisitive
environment where you can engage with cinema as a popular medium that is problematized by its ideological impact
and struggle for artistic authenticity.
The course is roughly divided into three units of varying length: the first and longest unit is an introductory component
on film form that presents you with foundational terminology. The second, shorter unit is focused on Hollywood and its
relationship with authorship, genre, and ideology. The course concludes with two weeks that present alternative modes
to Hollywood filmmaking and analysis. Screenings and lectures are supplemented by illustrative clips, extensive reading
of a core text book (Film Art) and essays made available on Connect, as well as by mandatory weekly discussion
sessions.

Expectations & Goals

This is a reading-intensive course! It is very important that you keep up to date with all course readings and ask for
help when you need it.
At the conclusion of the course, you will have broad knowledge on cinema’s traversal through its own artistic and
ideological history, a solid understanding of the language used to discuss film, and a desire to confidently explore
further aspects of film in upper-year courses.

Attendance & Participation

You are expected to attend all lectures, screenings, and discussion groups, and are expected to actively participate in
discussions. This includes reading (and familiarity with) assigned material prior to class, asking questions, taking notes,
and contributing to the discussions as scholars and critical thinkers.
Attendance is taken during Friday tutorial sessions but not at Wednesday lectures and screenings. You are accountable
only to yourself for this material. You are required to independently make up for any information that you miss
(meaning that a summary of material missed during an absence will not be provided, even in the case of illness).

Readings & Screenings

The text is integral to the course and is available at the bookstore. It is essential that you do the readings before the
seminar sessions.
All films screened in class are available for re-viewing at the Film Library in the Visual Resources Centre, room 206
LaSerre Building (6333 Memorial Road V6T 1Z2).

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Additionally, some films screened in class (and hundreds more) are available to stream through the library. Go to the
UBC library website and click on the “Indexes and Databases” tab, then search for one of the two subscription services
that stream film: Kanopy or Criterion Pictures. To access these films off campus, simply sign in with your CWL.

Etiquette
No phones are allowed in class. Turn phones to silent when you enter and resist the temptation to check your phone
during lectures, screenings, and tutorials. Laptops and tablets are permitted as note-taking devices only, but are not
encouraged barring access needs. It has been statistically proven time and again that students who take notes by hand
perform better in university courses. In short, if you can take notes without a laptop, it is strongly recommended that
you do. If you do elect to use a laptop or tablet but would rather browse Facebook then please stay at home. This is a
university course that treats film seriously; you are expected to behave as scholars during screenings (no whispering,
checking phones or opening laptops). Make sure that you take any garbage with you when you leave.
Please feel free to email your TA or the course instructor with any questions. Be aware that all emails are placed in a
queue and answered from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday-Friday, so you may not get a same-day response.

Concession in the event of illness or emergency

If you fall ill (or experience an emergency such as a death in the family) and are required to miss a significant number
of classes, are unable to write a test/exam, or are unable submit an assignment on time, you must contact Arts
Advising in order to arrange a concession. You will need to provide Arts Advising with evidence that your
illness/emergency directly impacted your scheduled academic obligations. Once Arts Advising reviews and approves
your case, they will contact the course instructor and a concession/extension will be arranged. Please do not email
your evidence to the course instructor.

Final exam
You are required to be available for all your April exams. As UBC often posts the exam schedule quite late, it is
imperative that you do not book any travel before you know your final exam dates. Concessions for final exams are only
permitted in cases of illness or serious emergencies, which must be submitted to Arts Advising as a request for
academic concession (see above). Arts Advising does not award concession to students who have other, personal
conflicts with their final exams, including work schedules or confirmed travel plans. Final exam dates are set by UBC –
not by the course instructor – and cannot be changed.
If you are forced to miss a final exam due to illness or emergency and Arts Advising approves your concession, you will
write your final exam during UBC’s official Deferred Examination Period in late July. No exceptions are permitted to
this schedule (i.e., you may not attempt to arrange another date with the course instructor, since your deferral must
be handled officially by UBC Exams).

Course Materials
Required Text

Bordwell, David, Kristin Thompson, and Jeff Smith. Film Art: An Introduction. Eleventh Edition. New
York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 2016.

PDF files on Connect

Optional Text
MH Connect Smartbook (interactive eBook) version of Film Art.

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Assignments & Evaluation
Assignment Weight
Attendance & participation 10%
Shot-by-shot breakdown & analysis of a single sequence - 15%
due 11:59:59 PM Feb. 7 on Turnitin
Midterm test (multiple choice, true/false, short answer, 20%
short response) – Feb. 14 in class
Final essay (6-8 pages) – due 11:59:59 PM April 6 on 25%
Turnitin
Final exam (multiple choice, true/false, short answer, 30%
essay) – date & location TBA

Course Schedule
Week Topic Reading Screening
1 (Jan. 3 & 5) Film Studies & Film Art, pp. 49-70 (“The Significance of Film Citizen Kane (Orson
Film Form Form”) Welles, U.S., 1941; 119
mins)
2 (Jan. 10 & Narrative Form Film Art, pp. 72-110 (“Narrative Form”) Rashomon (Akira
12) Kurosawa, Japan, 1950;
88 mins)
3 (Jan. 17 & Mise-en-scène Film Art, pp. 111-158 (“The Shot: Mise-en- The Cabinet of Dr.
19) Scène”) Caligari (Robert Wiene,
Germany, 1920; 78 mins)
4 (Jan. 24 & Cinematography Film Art pp. 159-215 (“The Shot: Blue Velvet (David Lynch,
26) Cinematography”) U.S., 1986; 121 mins)
5 (Jan. 31 & Editing Film Art pp. 216-262 (“The Relation of Shot to Run Lola Run (Tom
Feb. 2) Shot: Editing”) Tykwer, Germany/USA,
1998; 80 mins)
6 (Feb. 7 & 9) Sound Film Art, pp. 263-302 (“Sound in Cinema”) A Man Escaped (Robert
Bresson, France, 1956;
102 mins)
7 (Feb. 14 & Midterm test – in
16) class (no tutorials
on Friday)
8 (Feb. 21 & Midterm break –
23) no classes
9 (Feb. 28 & Documentary Film Art, pp. 350-369 (“Documentary”) The Act of Killing (Joshua
March 2) Connect: Bill Nichols, “Why are ethical issues Oppenheimer,
central to documentary filmmaking?” Denmark/Norway/UK,
2012; 115 mins)
10 (March 7 & Authorship Connect: Andrew Tudor, “Auteur” Rear Window (Alfred
9) David Sterritt, “Introduction” Hitchcock, U.S., 1954;
112 mins)
11 (March 14 & Genre & Ideology Connect: Andrew Tudor, “Genre” Meet Me in St. Louis
16) Barry Keith Grant, “Genre and Society” (Vincente Minnelli, U.S.,
1945; 113 mins)
Film Art, pp. 441-446 (“Form, Style, &
Ideology: Meet Me in St. Louis”)

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 Week Topic Reading Screening
12 (March 21 & The Horror Film Connect: Mark Jancovich, “A Real Shocker: The Babadook (Jennifer
23) Authenticity, Genre, and the Struggle for Kent, Australia, 2014; 95
Distinction” mins)
Robin Wood, “An Introduction to the American
Horror Film”
13 (March 28) Art Cinema & Connect: David Bordwell, “The Art Cinema as a Tout Va Bien (Jean-Luc
No tutorials on Radical Mode of Film Practice” Godard, France, 1972; 95
March 30 due Resistance Annette Kuhn, “Alternative Narrative Systems” mins)
to Good Friday Jean-Luc Comolli and Jean Narboni,
“Cinema/Ideology/Criticism”
Kristin Thompson, “Tout Va Bien”
14 (April 4 & 6) Film & Connect: John Hill, “Film and Postmodernism” Chungking Express (Wong
Postmodernity Kar-Wai, Hong Kong,
1995; 97 mins)

Policies for written work

Citation & Assessment
All written work must be typed and double-spaced and adhere to citation guidelines. MLA is the preferred style for
humanities courses; you may use MLA, Chicago, or Harvard style for your citations but your citations and references
must be consistent and properly formatted. It is essential to consult and keep on hand a citation manual for essay-
writing (The Chicago Manual of Style, The MLA Handbook, etc).
Handwritten assignments will not be accepted.
Your written work should reflect your advanced knowledge of the subject matter; your final essay must include a
coherent thesis statement which is rigorously defended through analysis, use of examples, and engagement with
secondary sources.
Written work is assessed using the following criteria:
• the ability to write lucidly and with focused relevance, avoiding vague and unsupported generalities
• the ability to analyze, identifying issues with precision
• the ability to identify appropriate illustrative and supportive material through research and to make
productive use of it
• the ability to use primary and secondary sources appropriately
• the ability to present and sustain a discussion, investigation, or argument based on a secure grasp of
source material, and to draw reasoned and logical conclusions.

Academic honesty and academic misconduct

The University of British Columbia presents the following guidelines on academic honesty and academic misconduct,
available in expanded form here: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,0,0,0
Academic honesty is essential to the continued functioning of The University of British Columbia as an institution of
higher learning and research. All UBC students are expected to behave as honest and responsible members of an
academic community. Breach of those expectations or failure to follow the appropriate policies, principles, rules, and
guidelines of the University with respect to academic honesty may result in disciplinary action.
It is the student's obligation to inform himself or herself of the applicable standards for academic honesty.
Students must be aware that standards at the University of British Columbia may be different from those in secondary
schools or at other institutions. If a student is in any doubt as to the standard of academic honesty in a particular

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course or assignment, then the student must consult with the instructor as soon as possible, and in no case should a
student submit an assignment if the student is not clear on the relevant standard of academic honesty.
If an allegation is made against a student, the Registrar may place the student on academic hold until the President has
made his or her final decision. When a student is placed on academic hold, the student is blocked from all activity in
the Student Service Centre.
Students are responsible for informing themselves of the guidelines of acceptable and non-acceptable conduct for
graded assignments established by their instructors for specific courses and of the examples of academic misconduct
set out below. Academic misconduct that is subject to disciplinary measures includes, but is not limited to, engaging
in, attempting to engage in, or assisting others to engage, in any of the actions described below.

1. Cheating, which may include, but is not limited to:

I. falsification of any material subject to academic evaluation, including research data;
II. use of or participation in unauthorized collaborative work;
III. use or possession in an examination of any materials (including devices) other than those permitted
by the examiner;
IV. use, possession, or facilitation of unauthorized means to complete an examination (e.g., receiving
unauthorized assistance from another person, or providing that assistance); and
V. dishonest practices that breach rules governing examinations or submissions for academic evaluation.
2. Plagiarism, which is intellectual theft, occurs where an individual submits or presents the oral or written work
of another person as his or her own. Scholarship quite properly rests upon examining and referring to the thoughts and
writings of others. However, when another person's words (i.e. phrases, sentences, or paragraphs), ideas, or entire
works are used, the author must be acknowledged in the text, in footnotes, in endnotes, or in another accepted form
of academic citation. Where direct quotations are made, they must be clearly delineated (for example, within
quotation marks or separately indented). Failure to provide proper attribution is plagiarism because it represents
someone else's work as one's own. Plagiarism should not occur in submitted drafts or final works. A student who seeks
assistance from a tutor or other scholastic aids must ensure that the work submitted is the student's own. Students are
responsible for ensuring that any work submitted does not constitute plagiarism. Students who are in any doubt as to
what constitutes plagiarism should consult their instructor before handing in any assignments.
3. Submitting the same, or substantially the same, essay, presentation, or assignment more than once (whether
the earlier submission was at this or another institution) unless prior approval has been obtained from the instructor(s)
to whom the assignment is to be submitted.
4. Impersonating a candidate at an examination or other evaluation, facilitating the impersonation of a
candidate, or availing oneself of the results of an impersonation.
5. Submitting false records or information, orally or in writing, or failing to provide relevant information when
requested.
6. Falsifying or submitting false documents, transcripts, or other academic credentials.
7. Failing to comply with any disciplinary measure imposed for academic misconduct.

The Department of Theatre and Film has a zero tolerance policy on plagiarism. It is your responsibility to be
informed of good academic practices regarding citation. Any student whose work is found to have plagiarized will
automatically receive a zero on the assignment and will be reported to the Department Head.

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