COMING SOON . . .

New course guidelines and expectations for the Cinema History class to be offered Q3 -- 5th hour.

Course Closure

Thank you to all participants of this class. It has been a fun quarter. Although we only got through the 1950s with our exploration of cinema history, I believed we learned a tremendous amount about culture, socio-political influences on the media, and movie technology. Next year, I will split the course into two quarters (birth - 1950s & 1950s-today). That shift should allow for a slower pace in viewing, analysis, and research for individual curiosity projects.

Snaps to all who presented their final projects this week. I enjoyed them and learned quite a bit from them, as well.

Final Project Deadline Changes

Due to limitations in resources available to students, I will be extending the due date of the projects to the last Monday of the quarter -- Monday, March 23.

You do still need to get clips to me for preview by Friday, March 20th -- if not before.

Presentations will still being on Monday, March 23. All need to be ready to go at that time.

Projects

Final Project Resource Selections

Third Resource is due on Wednesday, March 11, 2009.

Work time for projects available on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Outlines / draft plans for presentations/papers due on Friday this week.

Think about: How is the film High Noon representative of the historical context of 1952 (year of its theatre release)?

Final Project Resource Selections

Choose (and obtain) your first resource (min. 3 for project). Write down the citation information on your orange sheet for Denise to check in.

Due Friday, March 6 at start of class.

Second Resource selection is due on Monday, March 9.

Elia Kazan Accepting Life-Time Achievement Oscar

Please take a look at this short clip of Elia Kazan accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1999 71st Academy Awards. Still controversial more than 40 years after acting as a "friendly informant" to the HUAC, audience members chose to be silent in censure.

McCarthyism and Hollywood

The Hollywood Ten ....
Two short videos highlighting the background of 10 writers/film directors arrested for un-American activities during the McCarthy Era.

Video 1 of 2:


Video 2 of 2:

Final Project Topic Questions are Due

All final project topic questions are due on Friday, February 27. The question is the thick or deep question on which you will complete independent research in the next three weeks. You will also need to contract your "articulation" format (how you will show the answer to your question to your instructor and classmates).

Possible articulation formats:

1. traditional essay (min. 5 pages)
2. PowerPoint presentation (min. 15 slides, incl. title and citation slides)
3. Traditional verbal presentation to class (no more than 15 min.) with appropriate visuals
4. Original short video presentation
5. Blog Page (guidelines must be worked out with Denise)

Can't think of a topic question? Refer to earlier posts on this Blogspot -- curiosity question lists from the short reading chapters on Birth of the Industry, The Silent Era, Movies Find a Voice.

Still stuck? Here are a few ideas:

• What is the history of the annual Academy Awards? (structure, decisions, trends, past winners)
• How did McCarthyism affect Hollywood?
• What are some of the most famous scandals of the early years of Cinema (birth to 40s)?
• How did Hollywood change with the rebellious culture of the 50s, 60s, and 70s?
• What are considered the most influential films of all time (and why?)?
• How did (insert actor/actress/director name here) affect the cinema industry?

The Oscars

Questions arose . . .

Heath Ledger was not included in the "Passed Away" montage because he had been included in last year's goodbye sequence. He died 13 months ago.

Yes, Angelina Jolie's emeralds were real.

Dustin Lance Black is 34, not 30.

Sophia Loren is 74 years old.

Mickey Rourke has led a colorful life: boxer to actor to boxer to actor, again. He is a dog lover. Best known for his roles in Sin City, 9 1/2 Weeks, Barfly, The Pope of Greenwich Village, and Body Heat.

This Week -- Feb. 9 - 13

What's up for the week?

• Monday - finish Chaplin's "The Kid" -- discussion / Curiosity Questions Due for Silent Era/Sound Technology readings.
• Tuesday -- discussion / computer acivity (?)
• Wed. -- Harold Lloyd's "The Freshman"
• Thurs. -- Harold Lloyd's "The Freshman"
• Fri -- Finish "The Freshman" / Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"

What Are We Doing Today -- February 2 - 6

• If you were absent at all last week, make sure you catch up on your homework -- have it ready to go on Monday.
• 
  
• Monday, February 2 -- Finish with jigsaw share of very early years of cinema; Edison shorts
• Tuesday, February 3 -- Edison shorts,
• Wednesday, February 4 -- Video examples of Lumier, Porter, Melies; HOMEWORK: chapter on Silent Film Era and Sound technology (prepare curiosity question).
• Thursday, February 5 -- Chaplin's The Kid (1921)
  
• Friday, February 6 -- Lang's Metropolis (1927)

What Are We Doing Today?

• Tuesday, January 27 -- Intro to Class
• Wednesday, 28th -- Paperwork (contact/individ info); Birth of the Industry; -- FINISH THE ARTICLE AS HOMEWORK & prepare your Curiosity Question (that comes from information in the article).
  
• Thursday, 29th -- Discuss questions -- Early Cinema Year by Year (Jigsaw share on Friday)



• Monday, February 2 -- Finish Early Years of Cinema sharing -- Clips -- Early stuff -- Edison, Lumiere, Milies, Porter

SNAPS TO ALL OF MY STUDENTS FOR THE GREAT CURIOSITY QUESTIONS THEY PRESENTED ON THURSDAY IN CLASS.

Academy Awards Nominations 2009

The Nominations for the 2009 Academy Awards were announced on January 22nd. Go to the Oscars.com link for the full list.

Students in the Cinema History class should try to see a couple of the films prior to the Academy Awards on February 22nd.

Course Guidelines

Cinema Through the Decades
Course Guidelines – Quarter Three – 2008-09

In this course, participants will explore, analyze, and discuss film history, movie technology, and the cultural context of cinema by the decades from the late 1800s to the 1970s. As a group, we will travel through moving picture history to get brief glimpses into the development of this popular media form. This class is not intended to cover all cinema history in depth. It is not a college-preparatory, intensive course. It is a survey and discovery class intended to allow students and staff to find areas of interest in film which may lead to further application and research outside of the course.

Course Goals:

• Students will increase their understanding of the cinema industry its contributions to cultural history in the United States.
• Student will increase their understanding of visual texts in areas of persuasion, metaphorical imagery, and the connection of text with historical context.
• Students will increase research, discussion, and writing skills.

Assessment:

To earn credit in the course, students must:

1. maintain a positive attendance record in the class;

2. pro-actively participate in class discussions on a consistent basis;

Attendance and Participation Check-ins will be completed on a regular basis.

3. respect the film viewing process; (Students discovered sleeping, talking, listening to music, or playing with phone or game devices during film viewing will automatically be marked absent for the class period. Consider this your warning!)

4. complete short assignments in a timely manner according to established guidelines; (Short assignments may take the form of notetaking, short jigsawed reading and sharing sessions, journal entries, discussion questions, observation cards, online resource exploration notes, etc.)

5. complete an independent research project and presentation on film history in a timely manner according to established guidelines. (Project guidelines will be distributed by Week 4 of the quarter.) Student should expect to do research project homework.

6. follow guidelines for academic integrity. All resources used for research projects or other assignments must be clearly cited and credited. (See note below on plagiarism.)

Plagiarism:
When a student uses information (words, paper organization, and/or central ideas) from another source without proper citation it is called plagiarism. “You are therefore cautioned (1) against using, word for word, without acknowledgment, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, etc., from the printed [or online material] of others; (2) against using with only slight changes the materials of another; and (3) against using the general plan, the main headings, or a rewritten form of someone else's material. These cautions apply to the work of other students as well as to the published work of professional writers [either in print or online].” If it is discovered that students “borrow” text from other book reviews, essays, papers, or classmates, it will be considered direct plagiarism and intellectual theft. Such action is in violation of the MMSD Student Code of Conduct and basic guidelines of this course. Students who choose to take such inappropriate action will be required to conference with Denise (and possibly with Sally and parents) and may receive a No Credit grade/evaluation in the course. Policy Source: Weiser, Irwin. “Academic Honesty Statement.” Purdue OWL: Avoiding Plagiarism. Online. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource

Course Organization:

Week One: Pre-20s - Intro to Class, Birth of the Industry, Early Film Technology
Edison, Lumiere, Melies, Porter, Chaplin’s The Kid – Short Clips

Week Two: 1920s - New Technologies, Color & Camera Style, The Silent Film Era
Scorsese’s Director as Illusionist, Lang's Metropolis, Keaton ?

Week Three: 1930s - Sound and Color; Development of the Industry
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Public Enemy, The Wizard of Oz?

Week Four: 1940s - World Context and Influence on Style, B-Films, The Academy Awards
Citizen Kane

Week Five: 1950s – The Cold War and Influences on Content, The Rise of Popular Culture
Academy Awards, Rebel Without a Cause ?
(Parent Confs. & SWEIO)

Week Six: 1950s cont. – Rebellion and Anti-Establishment
Film TBA

Week Seven: 1960s – Anti-Establishment and A New Industry
Film TBA

Week Eight: 1970s – A New Industry
IFC’s A Decade Under the Influence

Week Nine: Student Project Presentations & Evals

Basic Class Stuff

Work Completion:
Students must complete ALL assignments within the task guidelines to earn credit, unless otherwise noted by Denise. Due dates are firm in this class. If a grace period is needed, a student must confer with Denise before the due date to work out a strategic plan for assignment completion. Due date extension agreements are made on a case by case basis. (Students with documented special education writing concerns must have a dialogue with Denise about those concerns in the first week of the course. Permission for extensions must be in line with a student’s IEP.)

Attendance Requirements:
• It is each student’s responsibility to ask for any assignments or responsibilities missed due to absences. Please do this on the day you return to class.

• The Shabazz attendance policy will be strictly enforced in all classes. Remember that all tardies are accounted for (3 tardies = 1 absence). Students arriving more than 15 minutes late will be marked absent. Students accruing more than 6 absences will no longer be eligible for credit in the class. Because this course is discussion and participation based, delayed credit is not possible.