TuTh, 2:30 PM-3:45 PM, SE 105
Required film screening: W, 7:00 PM-10:30 PM, SE 105

Fulfills College S&H Requirement

Instructor: Barbara Klinger
E-Mail: klinger@indiana.edu
Office: C2 225
Phone: 855-1796

This course will survey Hollywood cinema from the post-WWII era of
the late 1940s to the start of the 21st century, examining how
Hollywood and its audiences have changed as a result of a
combination of multiple forces, from economic and technological
developments to social and cultural transformations. We will begin
with the challenges Hollywood faced as a result of the break-up of
the studio system, the introduction of television, suburbanization,
and Cold War paranoia, and move toward contemporary times in which
media conglomerates, convergence, globalization, the digital
revolution, multiplexes, and shifting audience demographics define
the business, art, and experience of American cinema. Within this
more than 60 year period, we will consider such topics as how the
industry has been affected by changing business models and box
office, transformations in censorship standards, the emergence of
the blockbuster, the rise of independent cinema, the impact of
exhibition formats and technologies (e.g., from the drive-in and
shopping mall theater to DVD), debates about media piracy, and the
significance of international markets. In the process, we will
consider some of the major filmmakers, genres, films, and stars that
have characterized different eras of Hollywood cinema in the context
of central developments in the industry and American culture.

In addition to attending lectures, students are required to attend
weekly screenings featuring key works of the period. There will be 3
exams (including the final) and a number of short writing
assignments. Readings will be drawn from textbooks and e-reserves.