ENGL 270 G - American Film Genres - Film and the Environment

Campus: Urbana-Champaign

Description:

Introduction to the study of the dominant genres or types U.S. cinema. Examines the elements that constitute genres (such as visual and narrative patterns), the formation and reshaping of genres by filmmakers and the entertainment industry, the social and cultural factors that influence the genre cycles and subgenres, and the landmark works of each genre. The course treats several genres in historical perspective or focus on a single genre. Course Information: May be repeated in separate terms up to 6 hours if topics vary.

Special Instructions:

Cinema and the Natural Environment - This course examines films on environmental issues and topics of sustainability. Films such as Soylent Green, A Civil Action, and Erin Brockovich each conveyed a sense of urgency about the damage that business and failed politics wreak on our environment. From explaining how corporate greed and political corruption obstruct efforts to save the planet, to providing us the representations of individual civil action, these films make us think about our position as citizens-viewers-activists. We will discuss the choices that filmmakers have made and how those choices reflect three primary influences: industrial goals, political aims, and conceptions of the relationship between a film and its spectators. With that last element in mind, a secondary purpose of this course is to help you become more aware of how filmmakers invite us to participate in the experience they have created for us and of what happens when we accept that invitation. Films will be

Option 1

Course Level: Undergraduate

Credit: 3

Term(s): Fall