This course introduces students to discussions in the fields of film,
television, and new media concerning three central issues: the technical,
experiential, and aesthetic status of the media image in culture; the
state and development of narrative within and across media; and the nature
of spectatorship. We will examine key concepts in relation to each field
as they have been explored by major media theorists. We will consider such
topics as how theorists have addressed the issue of realism in relation to
film, television, video, and digital forms; the impact of the
reproducibility and powers of simulation characteristic of technological
developments on our sense of the real; the differences between classical
Hollywood narrative, the serial forms of television narrative, and new
"virtual" narratives engendered by digital media; and the positioning of
spectators variably as passive consumers, oppositional readers, and
interactive partners in media production. Throughout the course we will
examine the specificity of each medium we discuss, while exploring the
interrelationships between media--an especially important task given that
the rise of huge entertainment conglomerates and new technologies has made
it increasingly difficult to maintain clear boundaries between different
media industries and their texts.

Among theorists we will read are: Andre Bazin, Christian Metz, Raymond
Williams, John Ellis, Jane Feuer, John Caldwell, Roland Barthes, Walter
Benjamin, Jean Baudrillard, David Bordwell, Laura Mulvey, Peter Wollen,
Robert Allen, Tania Modleski, Henry Jenkins, Stuart Hall, Tony Bennett,
David Morley, Ien Ang, Janet Murray, and Victor Burgin.

Films, television shows, and other media will be shown weekly in relation
to the theories under discussion. Work will include an oral presentation,
a short paper, and a final research paper.