Course syllabus

FTVMS 202 Hollywood and Its Others

This course investigates the historical significance of Hollywood in an international context. It begins by examining the particular form of popular cinema associated with Hollywood and the industrial structures and economic organisation that helped American cinema to become dominant both at home and internationally. The second section of the course explores Hollywood’s historical relationship to European cinema, with a focus on the role of immigrants in the development of Hollywood, American cinema’s fascination with Europe as a place, and the aesthetic influences that have occurred back and forward across the Atlantic. The third section focuses on Hollywood’s relationship to Asia, from its influence on the development of cinema in China, through the American remaking of Asian films to the Asian film industry’s response to the Hollywood’s domination. The course concludes by considering the new global moving image economy dominated by Hollywood.

There is no central text book for the course; all required reading materials are available from Canvas. You are strongly encouraged to read and view beyond the course, particularly for essay writings. The library has an excellent collection of books/periodicals on the subjects and strong holdings of relevant DVDs and videos.

Students who have completed the course are expected to

• Better understand the conceptual and theoretical elements of Film Studies
• Be more alert to the aesthetic elements that form the film language
• Be better informed about the evolution of Hollywood as industry and mass medium
• Be more aware of the world cinema’s ‘dialogues’ with Hollywood
• Be more capable of evaluating, applying and presenting information
• Have the ability to structure, shape and synthesize information

Availability 2017

Semester 2

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Dr Xuelin Zhou

Points

FTVMS 202: 15.0 points

Prerequisites

FTVMS 100 and 101

Restrictions

FTVMS 307