The Grammar and Syntax of Cinematic Style—Past, Present and Future

This course is a continuation of a project examining the nature and history of cinema with reference to (1) techniques of representation and attendant psychological depictions of emotional networks, and (2) experiential treatments of reality and illusion. We will ask what directors, editors, and cinematographers might have had in mind when they undertook to create a film and how we as audience members might be capable of honing our viewing skills to mirror what is on the screen using our own innate “sensibilities.” We will examine several nominees for contemporary awards and also move “backwards in time” to consider films which might well be regarded as “templates” for stylistic transformations and current experiments. Films for discussion will be drawn from the following list, depending on availability: Recent nominees--THE HOLDOVERS, MAY DECEMBER, MAESTRO, THE DEPARTED, ANATOMY OF A FALL, THE KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, PERFECT DAYS, POT-AU-FEU—will be compared with a selection from several older films—ON THE WATERFRONT, AMERICAN GRAFFITI, and EASY RIDER. 

Notes

Online registration closes June 4 at 5 pm CT.

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