Film, culture, class
David Hanan
8 points or 12 points * 4 hours per week * First semester * Clayton * Prerequisites: A major sequence in visual arts
The subject will investigate two related issues: the nature of class and ideological representation in film, and the processes by which films establish and represent indigenous cultures. Areas and topics treated in the subject will include material from Western advanced capitalist societies (where it will focus on notions of popular culture), and from so-called traditional societies and the third world. The subject is primarily a reading course but reference will be made to a range of visual material, namely key texts dealing with indigenous cultures (eg Bateson and Mead's Balinese character, a photographic analysis), and film examples taken from major film industries in Asia (in particular, the Indian, Indonesian and Japanese cinemas) and from Australian, American and English film and television. Students will be expected to engage with writings in Marxism, social theory (Habermas) and anthropological theory (Bourdieu), as well as with recent film theory.
Assessment: 8 points
Seminar paper (2500 words): 40% * Essay (3500 words): 60%
Assessment: 12 points
Class paper (3500 words): 33% * Long essay (6000 words): 66%
Prescribed texts
Austin-Broos D Creating culture Allen and Unwin, 1987
Bennet T and Woolacott J Bond and beyond: The political career of a popular hero Macmillan, 1987
Bateson G Steps to an ecology of mind Paladin
Curran J and others Mass communication and society Edward Arnold, 1977
Hanan D (ed.) Course reader for `Film, culture class' Dept Visual Arts, Monash U
Hockings P (ed.) Principles of visual anthropology Mouton, 1975
Michaels E For a cultural future Artspace, 1987
Sen K Histories and stories: Cinema in new order Indonesia Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Monash U, 1988