MTA 378 (“Comparative Critical Approaches to Film and Theatre”)

Prof. Walter Metz

Fall 2004

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Meeting Times

This course meets in a lecture format on Mondays from 11:00am until 12:50am in VCB 182 and then in discussion sections on Mondays from 2:10pm until 4:00pm or on Wednesdays from 11:00am until 12:50pm in VCB 148.

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Information About the Instructors

• Dr. Walter C. Metz, Associate Professor

• Office Location: VCB 224

• Office Phone: (406) 994‑6403 [with voice mail]

• E‑mail: metz@montana.edu

• Web Site: http://www.montana.edu/metz

• Office Hours: Mondays from 1-2pm; Thursdays from 10:30am until Noon; and Fridays from Noon until 1:00pm; and by appointment.

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• Eric Bendick, Teaching Assistant

• Primary Phone: 587-3832

• E-mail: ebendick@hotmail.com

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Course Goals

This course serves as a sequel to the three first-year history courses: MTA 101 ("Film in America"), MTA 104 ("Understanding Theatre"), and MTA 218 ("International Film and Television"). This course will therefore provide MTA students with an intermediate-level studies course. To accomplish this goal, we will study film theory in a way that revisits and challenges the historical emphases in the introductory-level film classes from the first-year curriculum.  Students will emerge from this course with a set of critical tools that will enable a deeper understanding of the narrative environment that engulfs them as they create and watch media texts.

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Reading Material

I have ordered three books for this course. They are all available at the MSU Bookstore and on reserve at the Renne Library:

• Stam, Robert. Film Theory: An Introduction. London: Blackwell, 2000. ISBN 063120654X.

• Geuens, Jean-Pierre. Film Production Theory. Albany: SUNY Press, 2000. ISBN 0791445267.

• Roland Barthes, S/Z. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1989. ISBN 0374521670.

• There is also a packet of readings on physical and e-reserve at the Renee Library.

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Note Taking

To do well, you must take notes in this class, on discussion material and the readings.  In our discussions, I'll be throwing a lot of complicated information at you, so you'll need to write it down, reflect on it, and work to understand its relevance to the "Big Picture."  This is not the sort of class where if you just come and pay attention, you are guaranteed a good grade.  There is a great deal of reading material, and in order to learn what is contained therein, you need to take notes on it and study it.  People learn by processing material repeatedly.  Reading something once without going back over it a few times does not encourage remembering it later.

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Grading Policy

This is not an easy class.  The readings are heavy and the information I'll be presenting and we'll be discussing is often theoretical, and thus difficult and challenging. That said, however, I want to re‑assure you that I'll keep this in mind while determining grades.  Don't be afraid if you're confused early on.  Use our discussions, your writing, and office hours to work through this new material.  That confusion is invigorating and is the fuel that will drive your education.  I've attempted to structure the course so that it will be challenging, yet accessible, to students of varying abilities. I will use the + and ‑ system when assigning grades.

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Graded Course Activities

• Academic Paper (5 pages) -- 20%

• Thematic Statement (2 pages) and Script (10 pages) -- 20%

• Oral Presentation (10 min) -- 20%

• Final Exam -- 40%

Thus, in addition to taking the final exam and coming to class regularly and participating, you will complete three assignments for a formal grade.  Each assignment (a 5 page academic paper, a thematic statement and script, and an oral presentation) must be completed on a separate topic. You may, however, do these assignments in any order, according to your schedule and preferences. However, you must complete one assignment by October 6, one by November 3 and one by December 1. This work will be due the week before you would like your peers discuss it at the seminar meeting. Thus, the week before you expect a grade (and thus no later than September 29, October 27, and November 24), you should bring three copies of your work (one for each instructor and one for a box on the shelves in the break room so that students can read it at their leisure). If you do not have work to hand in by these deadlines, you will receive an F for that portion of the course.  For an oral presentation, you should hand in a one-page sheet indicating the title of your talk, and a brief (250 words or so) abstract of your thesis argument.  You should preview the coursework as early as possible, and inform me of the order in which you plan to complete the three assignments, as soon as you are able. This will help me with scheduling matters. We will use as much of the seminar time as we need to discuss student work. Any excess time will be used to discuss the critical readings assigned for that date.

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Description of Final Exam

My exams are rather challenging.  However, I grade on a curve, and most students who study hard throughout the semester will do well on them.  You'll be given short format yet open‑ended questions (identifications, identify and analyze a quotation, short essay, and long essay) about the material presented in class and in the readings, and its applicability to the film clips we've watched for the course.  The material for these questions will be culled from the in-class material (including clips shown in class) and the reading material.  Please write down immediately the date of the exam.  If you do not take the final exam, you will receive a grade of F for the course.

{Please click here to see a sample final exam}

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Description of Thematic Statement and Script Assignment

The capstone project in the MTA Department's production curriculum is MTA 472 ("Senior Production").  For students to be selected by the faculty to be allowed to produce their senior project, they must write a successful proposal.  My response to these proposals has been that they rarely are sophisticated enough to present clearly the significance of the project. To help students learn how to write a proposal that aggressively speaks to the significance of their chosen project, this course will allow students the opportunity to practice writing proposals.  The content of this course is designed to give students a set of critical tools that will allow them to speak about the critical, historical, and/or theoretical significance of their projects.  There is no binding relationship between the proposals written in this course and the eventual proposals students hand in as MTA 472 proposals: students may keep the same topic or choose something entirely new when it comes to formulating their senior project.  For the purposes of this course, a fully formulated Thematic Statement (2 pages in length) and a 10 page script (for a film, a television show, a video, a play, or a multimedia artwork) will be completed by each student.  See my "Test-Tube Jesus" for an example.

Please click here to see "Test-Tube Jesus"

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Description of Academic Paper and Oral Presentation

To successfully complete the course, you will produce a five-page paper and a 10 minute oral presentation (on separate topics from separate sections of the course) that 1) employ the methodologies presented in the class and/or 2) investigate the content of some portion of the class material.  You will be afforded the opportunity for feedback on your work from both the students in the seminar and the instructor.  In the case of the academic paper, you may re-write it for a higher grade.  The due date for these re-writes is no later than 3 weeks after you receive the instructors' comments on your initial draft.  In the case of the oral presentation, you are encouraged to meet with one of the instructors during office hours, prepared with an outline of your oral presentation, including what clip you would like to show to illustrate your main point, at least one week prior to your scheduled presentation time.

• Please click here to see a sample five-page academic paper.

• Please click here to see a sample one-page outline for an oral presentation.

 

• Please click below to see sample powerpoints for oral presentations:

  • Metz: John Waters

  • Metz: Henry IV

  • Metz: Tom Hanks Syndrome

  • Bendick: Gladiator

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Attendance Policy

If you do not come to class regularly, there is no way you will pass the course.  Since so much of the learning will be going on during class, you will not be able to fully understand the material by looking at someone else's notes later on.  If you miss more than 3 class meetings (as un-excused absences, according to university definitions), expect to receive no better than a C in the course; more than 5 un-excused absences will probably result in a grade of F for the course.

• {Please click here to see a sample final exam}