Alternative film and video
Constantine Verevis
8 points
* 4 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton
*
Prerequisite: At least one of VSA1040, VSA1050, or VSA2190
Objectives By the completion of this subject students will be expected to recognise that alternative film must be understood in relation to mainstream or dominant film practice; identify a material, social and political difference between historically specific moments of alternative (avant-garde, experimental or independent) film 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 practice with theory and the aesthetic characteristics of (post)modernism.
Synopsis This subject raises questions of filmic form, aesthetics and politics to consider a heterogeneous body of film, one that is considered `alternative'--avant-garde, experimental, independent--in relation to dominant cultural practice and value. recognising that these alternatives are materially and historically contingent, Alternative Film and Video begins by considering `new American cinema' of the sixties (Brakhage, Snow, Warhol) and European `counter-cinema' of the seventies (Godard, Mulvey and Wollen) in relation to a discourse of political modernism. Acknowledging a shift in the relationship between (post)modern aesthetics and industrial product, the latter part of the subject considers a more recent engagement of alternative film theory and practice through an examination of Thatcherism (Frears, Leigh), nationalism (Jarman, Greenaway) and post-colonialism (Trinh, Moffat).
Assessment second year Essay (2000 words): 35%
* Essay (2500 words):
45%
* Visual test (1 hour): 20%
Assessment third year First essay (2000 words): 35%
* Second essay
(3000 words): 45%
* Visual test (1 hour): 20%
* Third-year students are
expected to read more widely and work at a higher level than second-year
students.
Recommended texts
James D Allegories of cinema Princeton U P, 1989
MacDonald S A critical cinema vols 1 and 2, U California P, 1982 and 1988
Rodowick D The crisis of political modernism U Illinois P, 1988
| Published by Monash University, Clayton, Victoria
3168 Copyright © Monash University 1996 - All Rights Reserved - Caution Authorised by the Academic Registrar December 1996 |