Mar 29, 2024  
2021-2022 College Catalog 
    
2021-2022 College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

DAR 173 - History of American Cinema

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
3 lecture periods 0 lab periods

American cinematic film making as an art form, a global cultural influence, economic force in America and internationally, and a system of production and distribution. Includes history of American cinema, development of classical Hollywood style and world-wide storytelling on film, cinema genres, alternative American films, analysis and criticism, and film production teams.



Course Learning Outcomes
  1. Discuss the characteristics of American cinema and the classical Hollywood style as related to the technical and narrative elements of filmmaking.
  2. Describe American film history in terms of specific periods, such as the silent era, the golden age, and identify how Hollywood stardom and the studio system existed as a cultural phenomenon.
  3. Compare and contrast critical elements of film genres such as documentary, film noir, horror, science fiction, musical, comedy, western, and war.
  4. Analyze the relationships between American film production and distribution based on a variety of cultural, political, and corporate influences including those related to war, social awareness, and current events.

Outline:
I. Introduction to the History of American Cinema

  1. First frames
  2. American film industry
  3. Early technology
  4. National cinemas and film movements
  5. Film stars
  6. Global influences of American cinema

II. Development of the Hollywood Style/World-Wide Storytelling

  1. Thomas Edison
  2. Early mechanisms
  3. The movie camera
  4. Expressive techniques

III. Cinema Genres

  1. History of genre criticism
  2. Cultural influence of film
  3. Western
  4. Melodrama
  5. Gangster/crime
  6. Film noir
  7. Horror
  8. Musical
  9. Documentary
  10. Science fiction
  11. War
  12. Comedy

IV. History of Narrative Film

  1. Early cinema
  2. Classic narrative system
  3. Development of editing
  4. Development of sound
  5. Economics of the studio system
  6. International influence

V. History of Narrative Film Sound

  1. Silent films
  2. Early invention
  3. Movies talk
  4. Synchronous sound
  5. Asynchronous sound
  6. Music: the film score
  7. Sound perspective
  8. Hollywood and the silent film
  9. Sound and the narrative film

VI. Alternative American Films

  1. Documentary
  2. Experimental film
  3. Independent film
  4. Animated film
  5. Auteur theory

VII. Analysis and Criticism

  1. Film reviewing
  2. Film criticism
  3. Film theory
  4. Exporting American culture

VIII. American Cinema Production Team

  1. Writer
  2. Director
  3. Producer
  4. Cinematographer
  5. Editor
  6. Sound Designer
  7. Art Director


Effective Term:
Full Academic Year 2020/2021