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MEDIA 315 ACTION FILM

Semester 2, 2019

COURSE OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES

 Contemporary world cinema is action-oriented. This course explores the formal qualities of action genre and its interaction with historical, sociocultural and industrial contexts. While the course focuses on action aesthetics, such as narrative devices, blending of visual and aural spectacle, and the relation between “conventions” and “inventions”, it also addresses issues of identity and examines how identity is articulated through looking at the discourses of gender, youth, nation, ethnicity and geopolitics.

Each week we focus on studying one film in class. Two reading articles are provided to help you to better understand the film and the context in which it was produced. It is your responsibility to complete the required viewing and readings before attending the lecture and tutorial. You are also strongly encouraged to read and view beyond what the course outline highlights. There is no central text book for the course; all the required reading materials are available on Talis. The General Library has a comprehensive collection of books/periodicals and strong holdings of relevant DVDs and videos.

Students who have successfully completed the course are expected to

  • Be better informed about the evolution of action film as a most enduring creation of world cinema
  • Be more alert to the aesthetic elements that form the language of action films
  • Be more aware of the multi-generic nature of contemporary (action) films
  • Be more capable of using databases to support independent research on set topics
  • Be more capable of applying research to develop a distinctive critical voice

Astrid Crosland: acro996@aucklanduni.ac.nz Office hour: 10-11 Thursday 201E 525

 

 

Course summary:

Date Details Due