COURSE NAME: Film Studies

SCHOOL DISTRICT: Corinth

INSTRUCTOR: Mr. Rooney

Full Year

BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION / OUTLINE: Images dominate the cultural conversation that takes place in our
society through the pervasive influence of film and television. We are more likely to be consumers of film and
television than we are of the written word. However, though we consume the product, few are versed at
providing a critical analysis of the product, the visual text that in today's society is the primary means of
communications and dissemination of information. As Louis Giannetti, a noted film scholar, says, "We watch
them [movies and television] uncritically, passively, allowing them to wash over us, rarely analyzing how they
work on us, how they can shape our values."

The purpose of this course is to give the student the skills to become literate in reading and analyzing the
text of films in order to understand the many language systems they use. A primary goal is to help students
analyze movies with precision and technical sophistication. Students will understand how the forms of the
film (IE, editing, photography, etc.) create meaning and shape values. These forms exert a powerful
influence on our understanding and appreciation of a film but often are not consciously recognized.

Students will use and understand the special vocabulary of film so they can speak and write intelligently
about the medium. Students will write reviews on a selected number of films in which they will demonstrate
their mastery of the technical language of film as well as their understanding of the forms of the film.

OTHER NOTES / MISCELLANEOUS: This class is taught on a block schedule. The class runs for one semester
but is worth one (1) credit. A more detailed syllabus of this course is available upon request.

12/21/06