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General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
F/TVD02AW
Course Title (CB02)
History of Cinema (1895-1950)
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2024
Course Description
This course surveys the international development of the motion picture to 1950 as a distinct form of artistic expression, through classic films, notable artists, and key events; an investigation of the aesthetic, technological, economic, and social factors that contributed to the evolution of film; an examination of the value systems reflected in and shaped by these works from diverse cultures. Expanded topics in historiography, such as problems and approaches to historical film research and analysis, will also be covered.
Faculty Requirements
Discipline 1
[Film Studies]
FSA
[FHDA FSA - FILM/TV]
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is transferable to CSU and UC and belongs on the Film/Television: Screenwriting A.A. Degree. The course meets a general education requirement for °®¶¹´«Ã½, CSU GE, and IGETC and provides students with an introduction to film history before 1950.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GC1°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area C1 - ArtsApproved
2GC2°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGC1CSU GE Area C1 - ArtsApproved
CGC2CSU GE Area C2 - HumanitiesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG3AIGETC Area 3A - ArtsApproved
IG3BIGETC Area 3B - HumanitiesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.5
Maximum Credit Units
4.5

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.59.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
54.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
54.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
108.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
108.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

(Not open to students with credit in the Honors Program related course.)

(Not open to students with credit in F/TV D002A, F/TV D02AH or F/TV D2AWH.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Film screenings and facilitated group discussions

In-class essays

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Homework and extended projects

Discussion of assigned reading

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Guest speakers

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Assignments

  1. Assigned reading
    1. Required textbook
    2. Periodicals, journals, and scholarly articles on Internet sites
    3. Instructor-created handouts 
  2. Writing
    1. Film analysis, including written portions of the midterm and final exam, requiring students to identify and employ various and appropriate rhetorical forms and strategies and to demonstrate some achievement of course objectives
    2. Research paper requiring students to evaluate and synthesize facts, opinions, and presentations about film history from various sources and to present this information utilizing MLA guidelines for formatting, citing sources, and compiling a works cited page; or film analysis paper applying a critical methodology learned in class  
    3. Analytical paper requiring students to examine a topic dealing with issues of historiography
  3. Film screenings
    1. Classroom discussions requiring students to analyze the content and form of the film screenings and their significance in respect to the facts, theories, core concepts and methods of inquiry that comprise the course content
    2. Collaborative learning and small group exercises, such as worksheets or oral presentations, in which students analyze the content and form of the film screenings and their significance in respect to the facts, theories, core concepts and methods of inquiry that comprise the course content

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Quizzes, midterm and and two-hour final examination using a combination of objective, short answer and essay questions to evaluate the student's grasp of the terminology, theories, core concepts, and methods of analysis that comprise the course content. The essay component will require critical thinking and analysis.
  2. Demonstration of the student's abilities to examine a significant issue or problem of film-history study up to 1950. The assignment will involve summary, synthesis, and critical analysis of theoretical perspectives pertaining to film history and applied to selected films and artists within a specific national cinema and time period.
  3. Instructor evaluation of the quality of student participation in and contribution to classroom discussions, collaborative learning and small group exercises. The assignment must demonstrate the student's ability to critically analyze the film screenings in the context of the facts, theories, core concepts and methods of inquiry that comprise the course content.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • ±·´Ç²Ô±ðÌý
Essential College Facilities:
  • Lecture room with DVD/Blu-ray deck, 1/2-inch VHS tape deck and 16mm film projection equipment

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Cook, David A.A History of Narrative FilmW. W. Norton2016/5th edition
Mast, Gerald and Bruce F. KawinA Short History of the MoviesPearson2010/11th edition
Thompson, KristinFilm History: An IntroductionMcGraw-Hill Higher Education2021/5th edition

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

None.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Identify, examine, and evaluate the discipline and methods of film history
  • Identify and analyze motion picture narrative, visual, and aural aesthetics and the constituent creative techniques in seminal works of film art
  • Recognize and evaluate the evolution of the art of motion pictures, including the significant works of film artists of diverse nations, class, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and ability
  • Examine the evolving art of the motion picture in social, cultural, technological, economic and industrial contexts, which necessarily foreground issues of mass and minority audiences, including nationality, class, race/ethnicity, gender and ability
  • Examine how the cinema, both directly and indirectly, reveals information about experience, identity, and culture; assess films in regard to the cultural conditions that produced them and attracted audiences to them
  • Formulate critical/historical analyses and evaluations of motion picture works and issues

CSLOs

  • Examine the historical development of narrative film from 1895 to 1950, including film language and film art.

  • Display ability to critically appraise motion pictures from different time periods and parts of the world in aesthetic, technological, economic and socio-historical contexts.

  • Distinguish significant genres, movements, film artists and national schools of filmmaking from 1895 to 1950.

  • Analyze representations of class, race/ethnicity, gender and sexuality, demonstrating an understanding of the politics of representation learned in class.

Outline

  1. Identify, examine, and evaluate the discipline and methods of film history
    1. Examine the nature of historical inquiry
      1. Debate issues of objectivity and interpretation
      2. Examine differences in philosophical orientations among film historians
      3. Analyze the changes that have occurred to the cinema since its origins, as well as account for aspects of the cinema that have resisted change
      4. Examine developments in historical inquiry from grand/master narratives towards multiple histories of the cinema
    2. Analyze the economic context of production, distribution and exhibition
      1. Examine the type (mass market, avant-garde), scale (factory, workshop), organization (independent, studio), and resources (private, government) of production
      2. Compare distribution and exhibition models
    3. Analyze the social/cultural context and impact of a collaborative art form that reaches a mass audience
      1. Appraise how film purveys popular culture and reflects the producer-writer-director's values in respect to political ideology, race/ethnicity, gender, identity and culture
      2. Appraise how film shapes the values of majority, minority and international audiences in respect to political ideology, race/ethnicity, gender, identity and culture
  2. Identify and analyze motion picture narrative, visual, and aural aesthetics and the constituent creative techniques in seminal works of film art
    1. Apply evolving aesthetics terms (shot, scene, sequence) and concepts (theatricality, continuity, deep focus, montage) in notable works
    2. Appraise the impact of evolving technology on aesthetics
      1. Materials such as film stock, lenses, cameras, sound recording technology
      2. Techniques such as mise en scene, camera movement, lighting, editing, sound design, special effects
      3. Distribution methods such as storefronts and cafes, vaudeville, nickelodeons, movie palaces
    3. Examine and analyze the historical poetics of classicism
      1. 3-act and 5-act dramatic structures
      2. Narrative closure
      3. Goal-oriented, likable protagonists
      4. Verisimilitude
      5. Continuity editing conventions
      6. Spectator identification
  3. Recognize and evaluate the evolution of the art of motion pictures, including the significant works of film artists of diverse nations, class, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and ability
    1. International scope of pre-film activities and the evolving mass culture in late 19th Century
    2. First projected motion pictures in Europe and United States, 1895-1896
      1. Primitive narrative and formal techniques, film apparatus, Black Maria studio, lack of business regulation
      2. Representative pioneering filmmakers and their films selected from the following list: Thomas Edison/W. K. Dickson (early shorts), Lumière Brothers (early shorts), Georges Méliès (A Trip to the Moon), Edwin S. Porter (The Great Train Robbery), Cecil Hepworth (Rescued by Rover)
    3. International Expansion, 1907-1918
      1. Early industrial production process in the United States
      2. Rise and fall of the Motion Picture Patents Company
      3. American film industry moves to Los Angeles, advent of the feature film and star system, new studio chiefs and industry realignment
      4. Expansion on the Continent: Pathé Frères, Gaumont, Société Film D'Art, Italian spectacle
    4. D. W. Griffith and Narrative Form, 1912-1920
      1. Griffith's narrative development, Victorian social norms, representation of Blacks and females in The Birth of a Nation,Ìýand enormous impact on the motion picture medium, the industry and American society
      2. Birth of "race cinema" and the work of pioneering African American filmmakers such as Noble Johnson and Oscar Micheaux
      3. Representative films selected from the following list of D. W. Griffith works: Biograph shorts, The Birth of a Nation,ÌýIntolerance,ÌýBroken Blossoms
    5. Europe in the 1920s: Germany
      1. Founding of UFA studios and importance of producer Erich Pommer
      2. Expressionism, "Street" Realism, Absolute Film
      3. Parufamet Agreement and migration of talent to Hollywood
      4. Representative film artists and their films selected from the following list: Robert Wiene (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari), F. W. Murnau (Nosferatu,ÌýThe Last Laugh), Fritz Lang (Metropolis,ÌýDestiny,ÌýM), G. W. Pabst (The Joyless Street,ÌýThe Love of Jeanne Ney,ÌýPandora's Box), among others
    6. Europe in the 1920s: France
      1. Avant-garde movement: surrealism, dadaism, impressionism
      2. Rising film culture and traditions of patronage
      3. Representative artists and their films selected from the following list: Man Ray-Fernand Léger (Ballet mécanique), Germaine Dulac (The Smiling Madame Beudet,ÌýThe Seashell and the Clergyman), René Clair (Entr'acte), Luis Buñuel-Salvador Dalí (Un chien andalou), among others
    7. Soviet Union in the 1920s
      1. Lev Kuleshov and the Kuleshov Workshop, Dziga Vertov and the Kino-Eye
      2. Sergei Eisenstein and montage theory
      3. Socialist Realism and the decline of Soviet cinema
      4. Representative film artists and their films selected from the following list: Sergei Eisenstein (Strike,ÌýBattleship Potemkin,ÌýOctober: Ten Days that Shook the World,ÌýAlexander Nevsky,ÌýIvan the Terrible, Parts I and II), Vsevolod Pudovkin (Mother), among others
    8. Hollywood in the 1920s
      1. Studio system: vertical integration, Thomas Ince and division of labor, the establishment of the Hollywood infrastructure and studios such as Paramount and United Artists, color processes and censorship
      2. Studio cycles, genres and stars
      3. Historical issues of gender, socio-economic class and race/ethnicity
      4. Representative film artists and their films selected from the following list: Charlie Chaplin (The Gold Rush), Buster Keaton (The General), Harold Lloyd (Safety Last), Erich von Stroheim (Greed), F. W. Murnau (Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans), among others
    9. Arrival of sound and color, 1926-1935
      1. Sound-on-disc, Sound-on-film, Vitaphone, Fox Movietone, Tobis-Klangfilm systems
      2. Problems of early sound recording, solutions, theoretical debates over sound and the process of conversion
      3. Color processes such as Kinemacolor and Technicolor
      4. Representative film artists and their films selected from the following list: early sound shorts, Alan Crosland (The Jazz Singer), Alfred Hitchcock (Blackmail), Chester Franklin (The Toll of the Sea), among others
    10. American Studio System in the 1930s
      1. Studio practices such as block booking, Production Code Administration, Paramount Decrees, major and minor studio structure, ethnic cinema, Classic Hollywood Narrative System, the audience (social conditions, box office)
      2. Studio cycles, genres, directors and stars
      3. Representative film artists and their films selected from the following list: Josef von Sternberg (Underworld,ÌýBlonde Venus,ÌýShanghai Express,ÌýThe Scarlet Empress), John Ford (Stagecoach,ÌýMy Darling Clementine,ÌýThe Grapes of Wrath), Howard Hawks (Scarface,ÌýHis Girl Friday), Alfred Hitchcock (Rebecca,ÌýSuspicion,ÌýShadow of a Doubt,ÌýSpellbound), Frank Capra (It Happened One Night,ÌýMr. Deeds Goes to Town,ÌýMr. Smith Goes to Washington), George Cukor (The Women,ÌýAdam's Rib), William Wyler (These Three,ÌýDodsworth), among others
    11. Europe in the 1930s
      1. "Second" Avant-Garde
      2. French Poetic Realism
      3. Pre-World War Two Germany
      4. Representative film artists and their films from the following list: Leni Riefenstahl (Triumph of the Will,ÌýOlympiad/Olympia), Rene Clair (Under the Roofs of Paris,ÌýLe Million,ÌýLiberty Is Ours), Jean Vigo (Zero for Conduct,ÌýL'Atalante), Jean Renoir (The Rules of the Game,ÌýGrand Illusion), among others
    12. Orson Welles and the Modern Sound Film
      1. Aesthetic and technical innovations
      2. Representative films from Orson Welles, especially Citizen Kane
    13. Pre-War and Wartime American Cinema and Postwar Cinema in Italy, 1940-1950
      1. Office of War Information (OWI) in Hollywood
      2. Foundations of Italian Neorealism
      3. Representative film artists and their films from the following list: Frank Capra (Meet John Doe,ÌýWhy We Fight series), Alfred Hitchcock (Lifeboat), Michael Curtiz (Mission to Moscow,ÌýCasablanca), John Ford (They Were Expendable), Luchino Visconti (Ossessione,ÌýLa terra trema), Roberto Rossellini (Rome, Open City,ÌýPaisan), Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief,ÌýUmberto D), among others
  4. Examine the evolving art of the motion picture in social, cultural, technological, economic and industrial contexts, which necessarily foreground issues of mass and minority audiences, including nationality, class, race/ethnicity, gender and ability
    1. Examine the filmic representations and cinematic histories of specific groups
    2. Identify and analyze stereotypical images, tracing the emergence of important issues about representation and difference, the power structure and labor practices of the industry, spectatorship and identification, and the relationship between motion pictures and culture
    3. Compare the relationship of stereotypes to broad historical and political processes
  5. Examine how the cinema, both directly and indirectly, reveals information about experience, identity, and culture; assess films in regard to the cultural conditions that produced them and attracted audiences to them
    1. Examine how film preserves audiovisual information, functioning as a social and historical document
    2. Analyze how popular films comprise a record of the aspirations, obsessions, and frustrations of those spending time and money making or viewing them
    3. Appraise how cinema mirrors and shapes a society
      1. Record the frequency with which various social types crop up in the films of a particular time and place
      2. Interpret the way groups are depicted and, therefore, valued
      3. Question how domestic and foreign-language films become the mechanism for massive dissemination of significant cultural and ideological values
    4. Recognize how government policies, including funding and censorship, affect popular expression
  6. Formulate critical/historical analyses and evaluations of motion picture works and issues
    1. Realism as a theory of film history
      1. The past as having an existence independent of the historian
      2. Historical evidence as the partial, mediated, yet indispensable record of the past
      3. Film as an open system, an interrelated set of components that condition and are conditioned by each other, such as artistic effects being dependent in part on the state of film technology and technological developments being conditioned by economic factors
      4. Causal analysis
    2. Analyze and interpret motion pictures using critical and theoretical approaches to film analysis, such as neoformalism, genre study, authorship/auteurism, psychological criticism (Freudianism, cognitive psychology) and ideological criticism (Marxism, feminism, queer and cultural studies)
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