FI306-15 Special Topic II : Case Studies in Film and/or Television
Introductory description
N/A.
Module aims
This module aims to offer a detailed consideration of a research-related case study in film and/or television/related screen media, enabling final year students to pursue an area of study in a significant amount of depth. The module places emphasis on seminar work and independent research and learning, this contributing to the overall aim of our degrees in fostering increasing intellectual independence in students through research, seminar contribution and assessed written work. For example, the outline syllabus below presents an indication of the thematic and historical areas that would be addressed, and related teaching materials, for a research-led module Indian Cinemas: Cultures and Contestations which explores the cinemas in India including Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil cinemas. It covers film from a range of periods in Indian cinema from the silent era to contemporary LGBTQ films from the Hindi film industry, often popularly shortened to Bollywood. It investigates the way in which nationalism, the anti-colonial struggle, the Nation-state, and Stars influence Indian cinemas as well as exploring the avant-garde and neo-noir in Indian cinemas. The module also pays special attention to concepts of queer film in India, including examining homonormativity through popular diaspora films made by Karan Johar, the role of film in the ‘public emergence’ of the lesbian movement in India, and the new proliferation of LGBTQ identities on film through television, web series, and online content. Films studied will include Hindi films such as Mother India (Mehboob Khan, 1957), Amar Akbar Anthony (Manmohan Desai, 1997); Bengali film Ghaire-Baire (Satyajit Ray, 1984); films from south India including Jigarthanda (Karthik Subbaraj, 2014) and Ka Bodyscapes (Jayan Cherian, 2016), as well as queer films including Fire (Deepa Mehta, 1996).
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Indian Cinemas: Cultures and Contestations
Week 1: Understanding Indian Cinema from Amateur Film in the British Raj to Films in
Independent India
Screenings: The North West Frontier Province: An Introductory or Revision Film (James
Fairgrieve, 1928)
Tins for India (Bimal Roy, 1941)
Do Bigah Zamin (Bimal Roy, 1953)
Week 2: Mother India: Creating a National Epic
Screening: Mother India (Mehboob Khan, 1957)
Week 3: Melodrama and Hindi cinema
Screening: Amar Akbar Anthony (Manmohan Desai, 1977)
Week 4: The Film Star and Indian Cinema
Screening: Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)
Week 5: Satyajit Ray and Rethinking Avant-Gardism
Screening: Ghaire-Baire (Satyajit Ray, 1984)
Week 6: Reading week
Week 7: Hatke and the Rise of the Neo-Noir in Indian Cinema
Screening: Jigarthanda (Karthik Subbaraj, 2014)
Week 8: ‘Lesbian and Indian’
Screening: Fire (Deepa Mehta, 1997)
Week 9: Gay Men in the Popular Hindi Film
Screening: Student of the Year (Karan Johar, 2012)
Week 10: From Cinema with Love: TV, Web, and Censorship
Screenings: Romil and Jugal (Nupur Asthana, 2017)
Sasuraal Gay-nda Fool (Nazar Battu Productions, 2016)
The Visit (Anouk #BoldisBeautiful, 2015)
Ka Bodyscapes (Jayan Cherian, 2016)
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Comment critically and confidently on the theory, literature and intellectual debates pertaining to the case study.
- Offer detailed and sophisticated analyses of a range of moving image texts and their theoretical, critical, historical and cultural contexts, orally and in writing.
- Develop appropriate research techniques for assessed work.
- Work independently and as part of a team in formulating ideas and arguments.
Indicative reading list
Reading lists can be found in Talis
Subject specific skills
This module develops skills of audio-visual literacy, through close textual and/or contextual analysis in relation to the moving image and sound. It may also develops understandings of historical, theoretical and conceptual frameworks relevant to screen arts and cultures.
Transferable skills
- critical and analytical thinking in relation
- independent research skills
- team work
- clarity and effectiveness of communication, oral and written
- accurate, concise and persuasive writing
- audio-visual literacy
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Seminars | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Other activity | 22 hours 30 minutes (15%) |
| Private study | 109 hours 30 minutes (73%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
Reading and note making prior to weekly teaching. Wider reading and research in preparation for assessment. Writing of assessment.
Other activity description
One 2-3 hour screening per week.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
|||
| 5,000 Word Research Essay | 100% | Yes (extension) | |
|
Essay |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Students will receive detailed written feedback on each piece of written work and on their assessed presentations.
Courses
This module is Optional for:
- Year 3 of UFIA-W620 Undergraduate Film Studies
- Year 4 of UFIA-W621 Undergraduate Film Studies (with Year Abroad)
- Year 4 of UFIA-QW26 Undergraduate Film and Literature (with Study Abroad)
This module is Option list A for:
- Year 3 of UFIA-QW25 Undergraduate Film and Literature