HUM 210 American Cinema and Society (5 credits)
Distribution Area Fulfilled Humanities; General Transfer Elective
Formerly HUMAN 210
Course Description
This course explores the relationship between the themes, major genres, and production of Hollywood cinema, and American social, political, and economic history from the early 1900s to the present.
Course Content
A. American film as both an economic industry and a cultural art form
B. Elements of narrative film (e.g., character, plot, dialogue, setting, mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound)
C. American cinema genres (e.g. Film Noir, Western, musicals, comedy, war, horror, science fiction), their conventions and audience expectations.
D. The Hollywood Studio System (rise, fall, cause, effects, impacts)
E. 1950s Hollywood Filmmaking: Cold War, Cinemascope, teenagers, rise of television and Post-WWII recreations
F. 1960s and 1970s: Equal rights, social protest, the rise of counterculture cinema practices, the Film School Generation
G. The 1980s: Reaganism, home video technology, the return of the blockbuster
H. The 1990s: Rise of independent cinema, changing distribution platforms (e.g. Netflix)
I. Early 21st century: digital technologies, increased diversity and representation (on camera, behind the camera)
Student Outcomes
1. Discuss how classic Hollywood narrative and continuity editing impact American cinema and its capacities for storytelling.
2. Analyze the causes and effects of The Hollywood Studio System’s rise and fall.
3. Describe the conventions of a variety of major American cinema genres as reflections of American values.
4. Analyze the social, political, cultural and historical changes in American society that led American film movements.
5. Examine the impact of new technologies on both content and production in American cinema offerings.
6. Discuss barriers to inclusion, representation, and diversity in the mainstream American film industry.
Degree Outcomes
Humanities: Graduates acquire critical skills to interpret, analyze, and evaluate forms of human expression, which can include creation and performance as an expression of human experience.
Information Literacy: Graduates will be critical users, creators, and disseminators of information by examining how information is created, valued, and influenced by power and privilege.
Lecture Contact Hours 50
Lab Contact Hours 0
Clinical Contact Hours 0
Total Contact Hours 50
Potential Methods
1. Formal writings: essays, essay exams, research reports, reading responses
2. Projects: group presentations, individual presentations, multimedia productions
3. Informal writings: journals, in-class responses, brainstorming, freewriting
4. Group discussions and classroom activities
5. Exams and quizzes: short answer, matching, multiple choice
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