Reading and Film Viewing Journal
(and recommended) reading, and general participation in the unit. You need only write an entry for three of the relevant teaching weeks for each journal e.g. choose 3 weeks from weeks 1 to 7 for Journal 1. Your answer to the weekly journal question should be approximately 400-600 words and each entry should conform to the following formula. A heading at the top of the page with the week number and theme. Begin every new entry on a new page of your journal.
- For films: provide filmographic details: country and year of production, Director, language (subtitles); and a brief synopsis: in a sentence or two, what is the film’s overall content?
- For readings: provide full reference details (as provided in the Study Guide) and a 2-paragraph summary of ONE of the Essential Readings for that week.
- Journal Question: you must consult Blackboard each week and read the journal question for the week. You then must answer the questions, citing examples from the film and readings to justify your arguments.
Your critical comments and how you use the films & readings to back up your answer is what this assignment assesses. Higher grade journals will contain more sophisticated levels of critical engagement with the unit’s materials: including films, readings, lectures and tutorial discussions, with original and insightful interpretations and most importantly, with engaged critical comments and discussion.
PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU DO NOT INCLUDE REFERENCE DETAILS OF THE READINGS YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A MARK ABOVE A PASS. You will also lose marks if you do not submit synopses, reading summaries and references AS WELL AS the answers to the journal questions. This assessment must be submitted via the relevant Turnitin submission points in Blackboard. Note that each assessment will have separate DRAFT and FINAL submission points set up in Blackboard. l The Draft submission point will allow MULTIPLE submissions, for which students will receive feedback from Turnitin in the form of an Originality report. Submitting a draft is optional, and draft submissions will NOT be marked. l The Final submission point will allow only ONE submission which will be marked and late submissions are allowed as per the late assessment policy.
Week 8 Question
Colette Balmain writes that ‘one of the dominant features of the contemporary horror film is the manner in which the break-up of the nuclear family has become a source of horror’ (2008: 128).
With specific reference to Balmain’s text, analyse the film Dark Water as representative of the horror genre. Refer to film’s iconography, characters, narrative, and core problematic as you analyse one of the film’s key scenes.
Essential Readings:
- Jancovich, M. (2002). General Introduction. In Horror: The Film Reader, (pp. 1-19). London: Routledge.
Balmain, Colette. (2008). Introduction to Jpanese Horror Film. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Universtiy Press. See Chapter 7 for discussion of Drak Water
Week 11 Question
Analyse one or two scenes from Gilda, to demonstrate how the four elements of film style– sound, cinematography, editing, mise en scene-are used to establish the film as an example of film noir. What meaning has been created by the use of these noir conventions?
Essential Readings:
- Schrader, P. (2003). Notes on Film Noir. In Barry Keith Grant (Ed), Film Genre Reader III, (pp. 229-242). Austin: University of Texas Press.
- Hayward, S. (2000). Film noir. In Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts (2nd ed., pp. 128-133). London and New York: Routledge.
Week 12 Question
Analyse one or two scenes from Gilda, to demonstrate how the four elements of film style– sound, cinematography, editing, mise en scene-are used to establish the film as an example of film noir. What meaning has been created by the use of these noir conventions?
Essential Readings:
Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K. (1993). The New Wave. In Film Art: An Introduction (4th edition, pp.479-483). New York: McGraw-Hill
- Cook, P. (1985) Authorship and Counter-Cinema. In Cook, P. (Ed.) The Cinema Book (pp. 192-195). New York: Pantheon.