Admission requirements
None
Description
Since the earliest cave paintings 64,000 years ago, art has reflected, deepened, and enriched the human experience. Therefore, it is an essential component of a liberal arts education. Arguably, film is both the most ‘complete’ and the most influential form of modern art. Cinema is ‘complete’ because it incorporates numerous major art forms (theatre, photography, literature, painting, and music), blending them into a unique format. And it is influential because it shapes modern global culture like no other, simultaneously reflecting and moulding our collective imagination. Our past, present, and future are imagined and reimagined, and our hopes and dreams, fears and nightmares are experienced not just individually, but also collectively through the medium of film.
Because of its uniqueness and power, cinema has been used – and abused – by elites to shape the popular imagination and to manipulate public opinion. It is not a coincidence that politicians as diverse as Adolph Hitler and Al Gore have commissioned films to mould public discourse to fit their respective ideological agendas and political goals. On both a personal and societal level, then, media competence in general and film competence in particular are key skills. They enable us to appreciate the beauty and opportunities inherent in art while resisting manipulation and ideological entrapment.
In the classic tradition of the liberal arts, this course introduces you to the art form through the study of masterpieces. Similar to a ‘Great Books’ course, you get the opportunity to experience and discuss a selection of the most critically acclaimed and widely celebrated works of all time. We will do this with a twist, however, taking into account the Global Challenges focus of our College and the diversity of our community. So, unlike many ‘Great Books’ courses, we will cover masterpieces both about timeless subjects, e.g. love, desire, the meaning of life, and about contemporary challenges, e.g. environmental crisis and terrorism, from diverse cultures on five continents. The course will also feature a vibrant mix of different genres (comedy, satire, thriller, war etc.), and epochs, ranging from classics such as Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, USA, 1941) to recent masterpieces such as I Am Not a Witch (Rungano Nyoni, Zambia, 2017).
NB: The two sections of this course are independent of each other. Each section will feature a different theme and discuss different films, so it is possible (but not mandatory) to take both sections and to do so for credit. The theme of section I is ‘good/evil’. The distinction between good and evil is a fundamental building block of civilization. It is elemental to many religions and theologies, shapes societal norms, and influences political discourse – just think of George W. Bush’s ‘axis of evil’ rhetoric after 9/11. While modern, secular societies like to believe that they transcended the mythic good/evil dichotomy, it continues to exert tremendous power, often under the guise of updated terminology, e.g. when people debate whether a rule is un/fair, a policy il/legitimate, or a war un/just. Cinema has always been fascinated with the relationship between good and evil. While simple hero-villain constellations grab much of the attention (just think of the endless stream of superhero movies), cinema has since its earliest days offered much more interesting representations of good and evil and it continues to do so. To give four examples spanning a century, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, Germany, 1920), Rashōmon (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1950), Memento (Christopher Nolan, England, 2000), and You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, Scotland, 2017) represent but also problematise the dichotomy. In their unique way, each film questions the distinction between good/evil, our capacity to act accordingly, and even our ability to know the difference.
Course Objectives
The course has four main objectives.
- It exposes students to some of the most acclaimed pieces of film art, equipping them with a canon of cultural knowledge widely expected of a liberal arts student.
- Students will learn how to independently analyse film semantically (content analysis and interpretation) and, to an extent, technically (camera angles, editing, sound design).
- Students will acquire media competence, including the ability to identify and critically reflect on how global challenges are represented. This includes examining why some challenges are frequently featured while others are marginalized or absent altogether. It also comprises critically questioning the very notion of a ‘masterpiece’, asking who gets to define cultural hierarchies, how, and for what purpose.
- Students will train writing skills across two genres. Specifically, they will practice crafting accessible and critical yet balanced pieces, including personal reflection essays (genre: creative non-fiction) and a film review or an interview with a film director, producer, or actor (genre: journalism).
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2021-2022 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
The course consists of two seminars per week. Each session will discuss one film. In addition, screenings of the masterpieces will be organized, usually on Thursday evenings, 5.15pm, in the auditorium; attendance is strongly recommended.
Assessment Method
- Participation (10%)
- Presentation (15%)
- Leading a discussion (15%)
- Reflection essay (15%)
- Film review or interview with a filmmaker (15%)
- Final exam (30%)
Reading list
David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, Jeff Smith 2019: Film Art: An Introduction, 12th edition, McGraw Hill.
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Kai Hebel
Remarks
The course is accompanied by a film series. Screenings of the masterpieces will usually take place on Thursday evenings, 5.15pm, in the auditorium. Attendance is strongly recommended.