ATS3536 - Alternatives in film and television - 2019

Alternatives in film and television raises questions of aesthetics and politics to consider a varied body of work, one considered 'alternative' in relation to 'dominant' cultural practice and value. The unit takes a range of case studies to understand how film and television texts set themselves apart dominant forms and practices at certain historical moments and in diverse national contexts. For example the unit might examine the new American cinema of the sixties and European counter-cinema of the seventies, or post-punk and American indie films of the 1980s and beyond. In the same way, the unit may take as its case study the work of women or Indigenous, or political filmmakers worldwide.

On the successful completion of this unit students will be expected to: recognise that alternative film and television must be understood in relation to mainstream or dominant practice; identify a material, social and political difference between historically specific moments of alternative (avant-garde, experimental or independent) film and television theory and practice; identify 'political modernism' of the sixties and seventies as a discursive field produced by specific practices of film criticism and associated institutions; translate this formulation of political modernism into a more contemporary engagement of film and television practice with theory and the aesthetic characteristics of (post)modernism.

Within semester assessment: 70% + Exam: 30%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Film and screen studies