Film Society

 

1.      Some have suggested that the postmodern era of cinema is more similar to the earliest days of “silent” cinema than any other era. Using the concepts of the Operational Aesthetic and the Cinema of Attractions (making sure to define both in your answer), discuss the ways in which this idea can be supported and discounted. Refer to specific details from lectures and relevant film clips (of both eras) in your answer.

2.      Discuss the relationship between the Hollywood studios and the Motion Picture Patents Company, making specific reference to the role of D.W. Griffith in this conflict. Why did the MPPC fade away and why did Hollywood succeed? How were their business practices different and how were their films different? Be sure to refer to specific films and clips in forming your answer.

3.      What is the role of censorship in the history of American Film? Discuss and compare the 1930s and the 1960s as critical moments in this history, making specific reference to provocative films AND the groups that were created in order to assess them. What are some of the ways in which censorship has shaped film content? Finally, some have said that censorship was actually a good thing for Hollywood cinema – why is this? Do you agree?

4.      Why does Film Scholar Drew Casper believe that the Post-Classical era is the richest period of American cinema? Write a short essay on the significance of this era, making sure to refer to the immediate post-WWII social contexts. How does this era of film differ from Classical cinema? Be sure to refer to changes in Film Style throughout your answer (Romantic-Idealist realism, Film Noir, Psychological-Sociological realism, etc). Be sure to refer to specific films and clips in forming your answer.

5.      As mentioned in class, post-modernism is more of a cultural ‘debate’ than a fixed concept. Enter this debate – do you think this is a positive or a negative movement? Be sure to consider its relationship to the past (i.e. the postmodern attitude towards modernism). Are we already in the “sixth” unit of class? How will it differ from and/or reflect postmodernism? Make specific reference to the lecture concepts (Independent/Neo-Classical/Interactive/Digital cinemas) and clips in answering. How does engagement with these concepts affect meaning in such films?

 

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