Module Information
Module Identifier
FM20820
Module Title
British Cinema
Academic Year
2014/2015
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminars / Tutorials | 10 x 1 hour seminars |
| Lecture | 10 x 1 hour Lectures |
| Other | 10 x 3 hour viewings |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay (2000 words) | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay (3000 words) | 60% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay (2000 words) - to a new title | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay (3000 words) - to a new title | 60% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Have an understanding of developments in British film history
Analyse specific instances of the portrayal of cultural identity in British films; Relate these instances to other elements of the film
Work with the theories and concepts of cultural identity in studying British film
Brief description
This module introduces students to studying British film history, looking at key periods of British filmmaking from the silent period to the present day. Students will gain awareness of the documentary and realist traditions of British filmmaking, and will be introduced to debates concerning the relationship between British cinema, Hollywood and Europe.
Students will also examine British films in relation to the key concept of cultural identity. 'Cultural Identity' refers to the ways in which films are linked to, and comment back on the cultural background they come from. As such, the module aims, specifically, to introduce students to a range of practices that have been used to read British films as representations of cultural identity, and to think about films as vehicles for the exploration of the problems and issues associated with cultural identity in different historical periods and contexts.
The module is structured to encourage students to begin thinking about what might constitute the 'British identity' or 'British Character' and then move to consider the different challenges that have been made, through cinema, concerning a single British identity. As some of the seminars will focus on issues such as realism, race, gender, and youth culture, the module will serve as an introduction to these issues in general, as well as in terms of how they have been explored within the context of British Cinema.
Students will also examine British films in relation to the key concept of cultural identity. 'Cultural Identity' refers to the ways in which films are linked to, and comment back on the cultural background they come from. As such, the module aims, specifically, to introduce students to a range of practices that have been used to read British films as representations of cultural identity, and to think about films as vehicles for the exploration of the problems and issues associated with cultural identity in different historical periods and contexts.
The module is structured to encourage students to begin thinking about what might constitute the 'British identity' or 'British Character' and then move to consider the different challenges that have been made, through cinema, concerning a single British identity. As some of the seminars will focus on issues such as realism, race, gender, and youth culture, the module will serve as an introduction to these issues in general, as well as in terms of how they have been explored within the context of British Cinema.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | Students' written communication skills will be developed (e.g. appropriate language and style, accuracy, precision and abillity to be concise). * Opportunities will be given, through seminar sessions, for students to develop confidence in using their speaking and listening skills when communicating their ideas |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be able to develop their skills of information location and retrieval. *Students will be given opportunities to develoop effective note-taking skills. * Students will develop their critical thinking skills. *Through group discussion, students will be given opportunities to develop an awareness of the opinions of others and reconsider initial ideas if necessary. |
| Information Technology | Students will be given the opportunity to develop their authorial and note-taking skills when planning and preparing for the written assignment, and will be encouraged to develop their note-taking skills in lectures. * Students will be given opportunities to develop their skills in searching for relevant reading and other materials (such as film reviews) through the University's Voyager Library Catalogue, the University electronic journal resource, Joey, and through the newspaper database, Lexis-Nexis. *E-mail and Blackboard will remain the main forms of communication and information sharing in this module, so students will be encouraged to actively engage in these processes. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Students will be given the opportunity to evaluate current knowledge and skills and set targets for self-improvement. * Students will be encouraged to take increasing responsibility for managing their own learning. * Students will be encouraged to build upon the knowledge gained from lectures through developing skills in self study (supported by the general and specific reading lists and other resources distributed throughout the module) |
| Problem solving | Students should be able to identify tensions and debates in the field, and will be encouraged to critically reflect on the process by which academics arrive at particular theoretical interpretations of particular films |
| Research skills | Students will be able to develop their skills of information location and retrieval (in particular through the first assessment, where they are required to locate one academic piece of writing on their chosen film and then summarise its argument). *Students will be able to develop their textual analytical skills, and to learn to analyse texts in a focused and purposeful manner |
| Subject Specific Skills | |
| Team work | All seminar sessions will involve group work where students will be able to collaborate through discussion, and then feed back their ideas to the seminar group as a whole |
Reading List
Recommended TextBarr, Charles (ed) (1986) All Our Yesterdays: 90 Years of British Cinema Petley, Julian 'The Lost Continent' pp. 98-119 London: BFI Primo search Barrow, Sarah and White, John (eds) (2008) Fifty Key British Films Herwin, Nigel 'Goldfinger' pp. 127-132 Routledge Primo search Higson, Andrew (1995) Waving the Flag: Constructing a National Cinema in Britain 'British Film Culture and the Idea of National Cinema' pp. 4-25 Oxford: Clarendon Press Primo search Lindner, Christoph (ed) (2003) The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader Baron, Cynthia 'Doctor No Bonding Britishness to Racial Sovereignty' pp. 135-50 Manchester University Press Primo search Lindner, Christoph (ed.) (2003) The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader Stock, Paul 'Dial "M" for Metonym: Universal Exports, M's Office Space and Empire' pp. 215-231 Manchester University Press Primo search Miller, Toby (2003) Spyscreen: Espionage on Film and TV from the 1930s to the 1960s 'Cultural Imperialism and James Bond's Penis' http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-815952-8.pdf pp. 122-153 Oxford University Press Murphy, Robert (ed) (2009) The British Cinema Book Brown, Geoff 'Paradise Lost and Found: The Course of British Realism' 3rd edition, pp. 28-38 London: BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed) (2009) The British Cinema Book Dacre, Richard 'Traditions of British Comedy' 3rd edition, pp. 106-117 London: BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed) (2009) The British Cinema Book Hutchings, Peter 'Beyond the New Wave: Realism in British Cinema 1959-63' 3rd edition, pp. 304-312 London: BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed) (2009) The British Cinema Book Lovell, Alan 'The British Cinema: The Known Cinema?' 3rd edition, pp. 5-12 London: BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed) (2009) The British Cinema Book Moor, Andrew 'No Place Like Home: Powell, Pressburger Utopia' 3rd edition, pp. 240-246 London: BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed) (2009) The British Cinema Book Pines, Jim 'British Cinema and Black Representation' 3rd edition, pp. 118-124 London: BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed) (2009) The British cinema Book Conrich, Ian 'Traditions of the British Horror Film' 3rd edition, pp. 96-105 London: BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed.) (2009) The British Cinema Book Pulleine, Tim 'A Song and Dance at the Local: Thoughts on Ealing' 3rd edition, pp. 259-266 London: BFI Primo search Murphy, Robert (ed.) (2009) The British Cinema Book Spicer, Andrew 'Male Stars, Masculinity and British Cinema, 1945-60' 3rd edition, pp. 296-303 London: BFI Primo search Newland, Paul (2013) British Films of the 1970s Higson Andrew 'English Heritage, English Cinema: Costume Drama Since 1980' pp. 112-119 Manchester University Press Primo search Richards, Jeffrey (1997) Films and British National Identity: From Dickens to Dad's Army Chapter 7: 'Scotland', pp. 175-211 Manchester University Press Primo search Ruppert, Jeanne (ed) (1994) Gender: Literary and Cinematic Representation: Selected Papers from The Eleventh Annual Florida State University Conference on Literature and Film Clarke, Danae 'The Question of Masculinity' pp. 41-50 University Press of Florida Primo search Spicer, Andrew (2001) Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema Chapter 8: 'Rebel Males' pp. 145-60 London; I.B. Tauris Primo search Spicer, Andrew (2001) Typical Men: The representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema 'The Action Adventurer' pp. 65-79 London: I.B. Tauris Primo search Street, Sarah (1997) British National Cinema Chapter 6: 'Boderlines I: modernism and British cinema' pp. 147-168 Routledge Primo search Vitali, Valentina and Willemen (eds) (2006) Theorising National Cinema Hill, John 'British Cinema as National Cinema' pp. 100-113 London: BFI Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5