USSO 285B - Going to the Movies: Film Spectatorship, Reception, Exhibition

Institution:

Case Western Reserve University

Subject:

Description:

Audiences clearly contribute something to the movie-going experience besides the price of admission--but what? This class examines different conceptualizations of the role of the film viewer, from abstract theories of the spectator to investigations into the historical reception of particular films to studies of the concrete and material circumstances of film exhibition. In particular, we'll be interested in how these three ways of conceiving of the act of movie-going relate to one another. With an emphasis on Hollywood cinema, we'll consider a film as a text with a context that includes the circumstances of the film's production, cultural factors weighing on both the film's production and consumption, and the mental activities of viewers. Do viewers merely "come after" the meaning-making activity that gives a film its form and significance? Are we mere passive receivers of the director's and screenwriter's messages? This course argues no, and places the viewer at the center of a dynamic process in which films only "come alive" when someone watches them. Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSO, FSCC, FSNA, FSSY or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.case.edu

Phone Number:

(216) 368-2000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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