Political Science Y200 (Course No.  13287) – Fall 2011

Syllabus

Politics and Film

Class Meets: TuTh 11:15am-12:30pm, Ballantine Hall 109

 

Instructor: Jeffrey Hart

Office: Woodburn Hall, Room 346

Office Hours: Wed 1-3

Phone: 855-9002

Email: hartj@indiana.edu

Course Web Site: http://www.indiana.edu/~polfilm

 

Associate Instructors:

Nicholas Howenstein

Email: nhowenst@indiana.edu

 

Course Description

This course will consider the relationships between politics and film from a variety of perspectives. First, it will examine the political content of films, especially films on political subjects like war and peace, revolution, electoral politics, racism, and feminism. Course members will be required to attend a film series connected with the course and participate in discussions about each film. Second, it will examine the history of the film industry, its relationship to other media, and the role of the (mainly Hollywood-based) film industry in (mainly American) politics. Finally, the course will consider a variety of theoretical perspectives that address the relationship between politics and film.

 

Main Written Assignments

The main written work for the course will be a midterm and final examination and two short papers. Grades for the course will depend on grades for class participation (10%), midterm (20%), papers (15% each), and final (40%).

 

Texts

The following books have been ordered for purchase and will be available at the Indiana Memorial Union bookstore:

Ernest Giglio, Here’s Looking at You, 3rd Edition (2010)

Terry Christensen and Peter Haas, Projecting Politics (2005)

 

Films to Be Shown

The following films will be shown on Thursday evenings from 7:00pm until the conclusion of the film (usually about 2 hours) in Woodburn 120:

 

Date

Film

Sep 2

Citizen Kane

Sep 8

Dr. Strangelove

Sep 15

Apocalypse Now

Sep 22

The Battle of Algiers

Sep 29

The Hurt Locker

Oct 6

Charlie Wilson’s War

Oct 13

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Oct 20

Capitalism: A Love Story

Nov 3

Slumdog Millionaire

Nov 10

Dirty Pretty Things

Nov 17

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Nov 24

Election

Dec 1

Thank You for Smoking

 

In the on-line version of the syllabus, clicking on the title of each film with take you to the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) entry on the film. There will be a discussion of each film in class following the screening. Attendance of the film series is mandatory, but if you cannot attend film screenings and you inform the instructor, then you will be able to borrow VHS tape or DVD versions of all of the films, most of which will be on reserve in the Media Reserves in the Main Library.  Many of these films can also be rented at local video stores or downloaded on-line for purposes of review.

 

Reading List

Aug 30 – Sep 2

Christensen and Haas, Preface; “Citizen Kane,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane

Sep 6-8

Giglio, chs. 1-2; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove; Christensen and Haas, Part I

Sep 13-15

Giglio, chs. 4-5; “Vietnam War,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War

Sep 20-22

Giglio, chs. 8-9; Christensen and Haas, chs. 6-9; “Battle of Algiers,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Algiers_%28film%29

Sep 27-29

Giglio, chs. 6-7; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War

Oct 4-6

Giglio, chs. 10-11; Christensen and Haas, ch. 11; “Soviet War in Afghanistan,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan;  “War in Afghanistan (2001-present), Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)

Oct 11-13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism:_A_Love_Story;

Oct 18-20

Midterm review and Midterm

Nov  1-3

Giglio, ch. 3; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street:_Money_Never_Sleeps;

Nov 8-10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slumdog_Millionaire;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood

Nov 15-17

“Illegal Immigration,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigrants

Nov 22-24

Giglio, ch. 3; Christensen and Haas, ch. 12; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_(1999_film)

Nov 29 – Dec 1

Giglio, chs. 6-7; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thank_You_for_Smoking; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying;

 

1ST PAPER ASSIGNMENT IS DUE Tuesday, October 4, at the beginning of class.

MIDTERM REVIEW is on Tuesday, October 18, in class.

MIDTERM is on Thursday, October 20, in class.

2ND PAPER ASSIGNMENT IS DUE Thursday, November 17, at the beginning of class.

FINAL REVIEW is Thursday, December 8, in class

FINAL EXAMINATION is on Thursday, December 15, 5pm-7pm, in Ballantine 109.