Introduction
A film reveals its politics in its attempt to make sense of the past. This course considers film as a window into U.S. history and popular culture by examining how the film text shapes and reflects one’s perception of nation, economy, community, and identity.  The 1962 film The Music Man, for example, not only presents a telling portrait of 1912 “Main Street” participatory culture but 1960s’ liberalism as well.
 
Throughout the semester, we'll consider the following:

• How do popular culture film texts signify nation, community, self, and other in the 20th and 21st century?
• How does film genre resist and reaffirm class, race, gender, and popular culture itself?
• In what ways have film media influenced human relations?
• How does a film shape the historical moment in which it emerges and represents?

Method
We’ll explore popular culture with the help of cultural studies, literary theory, film theory, and new media studies. Our friendly, workshop-style environment will promote productive class discussions and peer-review.

Primary Film Texts (1942-2013)

Allen. Annie Hall (1979)
Badham. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Curtiz. Casablanca (1942)
DaCosta. The Music Man (1962)
Edwards. "10" (1979)
Ficarra. Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
Hamilton. Goldfinger (1964)
Kubrick. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Kubrick. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Lester. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Nichols. The Graduate (1967)
Ray. Rebel without a Cause (1955)
Stone. Wall Street (1987)
Wise and Robbins. West Side Story (1961)


REQUIRED TEXT (bring to every class)
Barker.  Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice

OPTIONAL TEXTS (not required to purchase, but these may help you)
Harvey: A Brief History of Neoliberalism
McDonald: Boy Meets Girls Meets Genre (two chapters on Moodle)

Additional Texts
(Some texts below are on Moodle)
Allen. Sleeper
Anderson. Logan's Run
Apatow. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Baron: "Dr. No: Bonding Britishness to Racial Sovereignty"
Bennett and Woollacott: "The Moments of Bond"
Black. "Cold War Stories"
Bogdanovich. What's Up, Doc?
Bordo. "'Material Girl': The Effacement of Postmodern Culture"
Butler. "Imitation and Gender Insubordination"
Campbell. Casino Royale (2006)
Clifton. Song Remains the Same
Crowe. Jerry Maguire
Cox. Sid and Nancy
DaCosta. The Music Man
de Beauvoir. The Second Sex (excerpt)
Derrida. "Differance"
Fiske. Television Culture (excerpt)
Foucault. The History of Sexuality (excerpt)
Foucault. "Panopticism"
Gilbert. You Only Live Twice
Gilliam. 12 Monkeys (1995)
Gilliam. Brazil
Goldman. "Images of Technology in Popular Films: Discussion and Filmography"
Harron. American Psycho
Karl. "Goldfinger’s Gold Standard: Negotiating the Economic Nation in Mid-twentieth Century Britain"
Kleiser. Grease
Martin. "Where Did the Future Go?"
McDonald.  The Romantic Comedy: Boy Meets Girl Meets Genre
McG. Charlie's Angels
McKay. Anchorman
Niccol. GATTACA
Reiner. This is Spinal Tap
Reiner. When Harry Met Sally
Roach. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Robbins. West Side Story
Russell. Tommy
Said. Orientalism (excerpt)
Saussure. Course in General Linguistics (excerpt)
Schumacher. St. Elmo's Fire
Shankman. Rock of Ages
Sidney. Bye Bye Birdie
Stone. The Doors
Swift. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Taylor. Zizek!
Wadleigh. Woodstock

Course Objectives

• Understand that popular culture signifies and shapes political, familial, and institutional sources of selfhood and human relations
• Comprehend verbal and visual representations of these disciplinary forces through literal, implied, and symbolic levels
  
• Identify a text’s point of view, tone, exposition, and audience
• Analyze ideology through the textual and visual
• Gain cultural literacy through experiencing films, internet sites,  and literary works

Course Evaluation

• Midterm Exam 35%   
• Primary Text Class Presentation 25%
• Final Exam 40%

1. Midterm 35%
Your Midterm exam will consist of multiple choice and/or short essay questions representing the course content up to mid-term. Your midterm exam will consist of mutliple choice and short answers and cover thcourse content discussed up to midterm.
2. Primary Text Class Discussion 25%
Each film viewing requires an introduction. Early on, form groups of three to five (no more) and choose one of our main films that you would like to introduce to the class.. Your task is to give the class a brief background on the film, e.g., its history, politics, production, actors, director, location, and so on. Decide how your classmates should see the film, e.g., in its entirety, through select scenes, in relation to another film(s), and other ways.  Keep in mind that many of your classmates will be unfamiliar with your film, so you should show a representative sample.

Your introduction should be no more than ten minutes, though you may comment throughout the viewing.  Your introduction should help your classmates see the film as a product of popular culture. Consider the following questions as you guide your classmates to a deeper understanding of your film: How does your film depict class, race, gender, and nation? What are the film's politics in relation to history (i.e., time of production and period represented)? How can our critical readings help illuminate your film's genre and cultural significance? How does your film text resist and/or reaffirm old ways of seeing human relations?

Note the following responsibilities, due on the day of film viewing:

• Introduction to film
• Typed five-page analysis/reflection per member, with original title and additional Works Cited page (i.e., page six), that states in explicit terms how you contributed to your group introduction and your thoughts on your film's implications for the study of popular culture.
  

3. Final Exam 40%
Your final exam will consist of multiple choice and/or short essay questions representing the entire course content.  Note: You must be familiar with all of the course's primary films texts.

Participation
There is no percentage or points ascribed to participation since participation is mandatory. Class participation includes attendance, discussions, student-instructor conferences, and workshop activities.  Everyone has something to contribute to the class. If you do not feel comfortable speaking in class you can participate in other ways, such as in group activities and peer review.  You must complete all of your readings by their due date. Although participation grades will not be distributed, I will be happy to discuss any questions you have about your progress.

Policies
When you enroll in our class you make a commitment to your classmates. This is a participatory, collaborative workshop-style class and attendance is absolutely essential to our success.

Since we meet only twice per week, grades are dropped a letter beginning with the third absence. An F is given with the sixth.

All work is due on the date specified in our syllabus. You are responsible for completing and submitting any work due for a day that you miss and you must come prepared with any work required for the following class.  Let me know in advance if you'll be missing a class. Please feel free to contact me or see me during my office hours to learn what you missed and how to prepare for the next session. 

NOTE:

(1) Late work will not be accepted unless you have obtained an extension from me ahead of time. You must submit your essay even if you miss class on its due date. 

(2) Due to the participatory nature of this class, laptops and cellphones are not permitted.

Grades
You must complete all work to pass the course. Please feel free to come by my office or email me if you'd like to discuss your progress and/or other concerns during the semester.  

Academic Honesty
You must be scrupulously honest in documenting the work that you have drawn from others.  Like other institutions, CSUN maintains a strict academic honesty policy.  Plagiarism is illegal and dishonest.  All cases of academic dishonesty must be reported to the Dean, who may suspend or permanently dismiss you from CSUN.  You will receive a course grade of F if you plagiarize in ENGL313.