ARTH 204 | 3 Credits. An introductory study of the relationship between film and American culture. The objective is to improve one's ability to understand a film's message and to expand one's cultural awareness. Discussion covers the way one of our most popular media portrays American culture and influences our interpretation of cultural issues.
Aug 07, 2021 · Taualai Godinet Professor Norcross ARTH 204 19 April 2020 Moana vs. Mulan Moana is a film about a 14-year-old girl who embarked on a journey to find a demigod named Maui and helped him sail across the ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti (mother island). Te Fiti’s heart was taken by Maui to offer mankind the power of creation and life-giving (Disney’s …
Birth of a Nation. In 1915, director D. W. Griffith established his reputation with the highly successful film The Birth of a Nation, based on Thomas Dixon’s novel The Clansman, a prosegregation narrative about the American South during and after the Civil War.At the time, The Birth of a Nation was the longest feature film ever made, at almost 3 hours, and contained …
Students in the Film and Media PhD are encouraged to situate moving images within the larger theoretical and analytical frameworks of a range of other disciplines. They integrate the traditions of history, law, literature, cultural studies, gender studies, and political theory to the newer disciplines of film studies and digital media, applying ...
ARTH Course Listing. Film and American Culture Studies (ARTH 204, 3 Credits) An introductory study of the relationship between film and American culture. The objective is to improve one's ability to understand a film's message and to expand one's cultural awareness.
This course introduces students to the basics of film analysis, cinematic formal elements, genre, and narrative structure and helps students develop the skills to recognize, analyze, describe and enjoy film as an art and entertainment form.
A film studies degree isn't just about watching movies - it gets you to look at film through a theoretical and critical lens. You'll be taught about the film industry itself, as well as the history and the different genres of film.Dec 14, 2021
In film school, students learn about the key aspects of movie making. Topics of study include producing, directing, art direction, cinematography, screenwriting, postproduction work and sound. Film school students can earn undergrad and graduate degrees in film, cinema studies, media studies or cinema production.
Just as movies reflect the anxieties, beliefs, and values of the cultures that produce them, they also help to shape and solidify a culture’s beliefs. Sometimes the influence is trivial, as in the case of fashion trends or figures of speech. After the release of Flashdance in 1983, for instance, ...
Films like Dr. Strangelove (1964), M*A*S*H (1970), The Deer Hunter (1978), and Apocalypse Now (1979) portray the military establishment in a negative light and dissolve clear-cut distinctions, such as the “us versus them” mentality, of earlier war films. These, and the dozens of Vietnam War films that were produced in the 1970s and 1980s—Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), for example—reflect the sense of defeat and lack of closure Americans felt after the Vietnam War and the emotional and psychological scars it left on the nation’s psyche (Dirks, 2010; Anderegg, 1991). A spate of military and politically themed films emerged during the 1980s as America recovered from defeat in Vietnam, while at the same time facing anxieties about the ongoing Cold War with the Soviet Union.
As a result, the MPPDA instituted the Production Code, or Hays Code (after MPPDA director William H. Hays), which remained in place until 1967. The code, which according to motion picture producers concerned itself with ensuring that movies were “directly responsible for spiritual or moral progress, for higher types of social life, and for much correct thinking (History Matters),” was strictly enforced starting in 1934, putting an end to most public complaints. However, many people in Hollywood resented its restrictiveness. After a series of Supreme Court cases in the 1950s regarding the code’s restrictions to freedom of speech, the Production Code grew weaker until it was finally replaced in 1967 with the MPAA rating system (American Decades Primary Sources, 2004).
In 1915, director D. W. Griffith established his reputation with the highly successful film The Birth of a Nation, based on Thomas Dixon’s novel The Clansman, a prosegregation narrative about the American South during and after the Civil War.
Youth versus Age: From Counterculture to Mass Culture. In Mike Nichols’s 1967 film The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman, as the film’s protagonist, enters into a romantic affair with the wife of his father’s business partner.
At the time, The Birth of a Nation was the longest feature film ever made, at almost 3 hours, and contained huge battle scenes that amazed and delighted audiences. Griffith’s storytelling ability helped solidify the narrative style that would go on to dominate feature films.
However, after the United States was drawn into the war in Europe, the government enlisted Hollywood to help with the war effort, opening the federal Bureau of Motion Picture Affairs in Los Angeles. Bureau officials served in an advisory capacity on the production of war-related films, an effort with which the studios cooperated. As a result, films tended toward the patriotic and were produced to inspire feelings of pride and confidence in being American and to clearly establish that America and its allies were forces of good. For instance, critically acclaimed Casablanca paints a picture of the ill effects of fascism, illustrates the values that heroes like Victor Laszlo hold, and depicts America as a place for refugees to find democracy and freedom (Digital History).
Students in the Film and Media PhD are encouraged to situate moving images within the larger theoretical and analytical frameworks of a range of other disciplines.
PhD students at Berkeley outside the Department of Film & Media may add a Designated Emphasis in Film Studies to their major fields. The designated emphasis provides curricular and research resources for students who want to concentrate on film and media research within their respective disciplines and have their work formally recognized.
Some of the most acclaimed movies in history were released during this period, including Citizen Kane and The Grapes of Wrath. However, postwar inflation, a temporary loss of key foreign markets, the advent of the television, and other factors combined to bring that rapid growth to an end.
The concept of the motion picture was first introduced to a mass audience through Thomas Edison’s kinetoscope in 1891. However, it wasn’t until the Lumière brothers released the cinématographe in 1895 that motion pictures were projected for audience viewing. In the United States, film established itself as a popular form of entertainment with the nickelodeon theater in the 1910s.
The spike in theater attendance that followed the introduction of talking films changed the economic structure of the motion picture industry, bringing about some of the largest mergers in industry history. By 1930, eight studios produced 95 percent of all American films, and they continued to experience growth even during the Depression. The five most influential of these studios—Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount—were vertically integrated; that is, they controlled every part of the system as it related to their films, from the production to release, distribution, and even viewing. Because they owned theater chains worldwide, these studios controlled which movies exhibitors ran, and because they “owned” a stock of directors, actors, writers, and technical assistants by contract, each studio produced films of a particular character.
The movie industry as we know it today originated in the early 19th century through a series of technological developments: the creation of photography, the discovery of the illusion of motion by combining individual still images, and the study of human and animal locomotion. The history presented here begins at the culmination ...
The Cold War with the Soviet Union began in 1947, and with it came the widespread fear of communism, not only from the outside, but equally from within. To undermine this perceived threat, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) commenced investigations to locate communist sympathizers in America who were suspected of conducting espionage for the Soviet Union. In the highly conservative and paranoid atmosphere of the time, Hollywood, the source of a mass-cultural medium, came under fire in response to fears that subversive, communist messages were being embedded in films. In November 1947, more than 100 people in the movie business were called to testify before the HUAC about their and their colleagues’ involvement with communist affairs. Of those investigated, 10 in particular refused to cooperate with the committee’s questions. These 10, later known as the Hollywood Ten, were fired from their jobs and sentenced to serve up to a year in prison. The studios, already slipping in influence and profit, were eager to cooperate in order to save themselves, and a number of producers signed an agreement stating that no communists would work in Hollywood.
The 1990s saw the rise of two divergent strands of cinema: the technically spectacular blockbuster with special, computer-generated effects and the independent, low-budget film. The capabilities of special effects were enhanced when studios began manipulating film digitally.
The 1970s and 1980s saw the rise of the blockbuster, with films like Jaws, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Godfather. The adoption of the VCR by most households in the 1980s reduced audiences at movie theaters but opened a new mass market of home movie viewers.
Bachelor of Arts (BA) Berkeley offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate program leading to a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Film & Media. The program offers rigorous engagement with the entire culture of moving-images, teaching students to think historically, theoretically, and analytically about a wide range of cinematic forms.
To declare a major in Film & Media, students must have completed a minimum of 30 units, and have satisfactorily completed FILM 10 or FILM 20. For further information regarding prerequisites, please see the Major Requirements tab on this page.
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5-7.5 hours of lecture, 0-2.5 hours of discussion, and 0-3 hours of laboratory per week. 8 weeks - 6-6 hours of lecture, 0-2 hours of discussion, and 0-3 hours of laboratory per week.
Besides enriching and nourishing your inner world, art and culture illuminate your inner life and boost your creativity and imagination. With better tolerance, enhanced health and learning, ...
1. Sharing Experiences with Others . Art and culture bring communities together. They’re an excellent source of wonder, delight, and wisdom, and offer intellectual and emotional experiences, which promote either contemplation or celebration.
Both culture and art are two wonderful ways of preserving or strengthening a strong community’s sense of place, forging a personal identity, and showing your creativity. Art and culture boast multiple opportunities for learning, entertainment, leisure, personal growth, and improving communication with others.
Joanne Liebenberg, a professional dancer from South Africa who now lives and works in the U.S., has proven that talented artists can spend their careers sharing their talents and their artistry with audiences all around the world while also being transformed themselves.
Encouraging Healthy Populations. Encouraging healthy populations is one of the biggest roles of art and culture in our life. Numerous studies have shown that cultural and creativity helps to enhance physical and mental health alike.
The more things your town or city has to show to others, the more tourists it will attract. A variety of historic sites, art galleries, museums, events, and festivals greatly contribute to tourism.
Have you heard of art therapy? It’s one of the latest methods of reducing high stress levels and relieving the symptoms of anxiety . When ignored, stress can negatively affect the body and result in serious consequences, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.