MDS 341 - American Cinema (4 Cr.)

(Formerly COM 341) (GCR Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies area)

This course examines American cinema as an art form, an industry, and a system of representation and communication, from the start of the 20th century to the present. Beginning with the emergence of film technology and exhibition, we will move on to explore the rise of narrative film, the development and three decade reign of the classical Hollywood studio system, the American New Wave of the 1960s and 1970s, the 1990s indie film boom, and the contemporary blockbuster era and global Hollywood. We will explore how American identity is both formed and reflected through movies, and how films work aesthetically, culturally, and ideologically to reinforce and challenge our national self-image. Prerequisite: MDS 105, MDS 232, and MDS 262, by the beginning of the course; or permission of instructor. Spring semester. Marcus, Program faculty