This is the page for: English & American Culture Through Film, Fall 2010

(Course-related content will appear here in reverse chronological order: the newest things at the top of the page, and older posts toward the bottom.)

Youtube Midterms & Signup List

I forgot to post a list of whose midterm exams I can see on Youtube. I see the following videos:

  • Hee-jeong
  • Jeeyoung
  • Yuhwa
  • Boram
  • Sung Eun
  • Seoyeon
  • Im-Jung Ha
  • Saet Byul
  • Hye Ja
  • Ki-Ho
  • Yong Ho

If you have uploaded a Youtube video for your midterm and don’t see your name here, please email me with a link to the video.

Meanwhile, there are a few people missing from the database of students. The following people have signed up:

  • Kim Sung Eun
  • KimSeoyeon
  • wanglu
  • wangshengtao
  • zhongxiangyu/종샹위
  • Yuhwa, Han
  • Seat Byeul.Lee
  • Jo, hye ja
  • Kim sung eun
  • wanglu
  • wangshengtao
If you’re missing from this list, I won’t see your blog. (And that will very much hurt your final mark!) Please add your name to the list here if you’re not listed above. (Note, yes, a few people signed up twice… Wang Lu, Wang Sheng Tao, you don’t need to sign up again.
Thanks, folks!

For Next Friday (Dec. 3), and a Few Words about Your Final Exam

For next Friday, we will discuss two films:

I have decided that for our final exam, you will have a written exam. The exam will be fairly simple, involving two essay questions. One essay question will be supplied by me, and one will be supplied by you, the student.

You have plenty of time to think of an intelligent, challenging, and interesting question to ask yourself, and to answer, on the final exam. Possible examples (you cannot use these) include:

I do not want you to use these examples, but instead to make your own question, and think about how you can answer it on an in-class essay.

The other question I will ask will be general and reflect upon what we have learned throughout the past semester. It will be an essay question of comparable difficulty to the questions above.

Finally, some Monty Python sketches:

Update

Hi folks,

Sorry, I posted the totally wrong link for the film we were supposed to watch this week in Film Class, Breaking the Code. It’s not an easy film to watch, so we cannot watch it in class. Rather, we will watch a different film I have on hand which will probably be a bit easier to talk about. (The comedy film I mentioned, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.)

But for 3 December, we will discuss the Alan Turing film. You can get it here, if you are otherwise unable to find a copy.

The Movie for Class

It will take a while to download it, but the film for next Friday, Nov. 22 is here. Sorry, that was the wrong link. I’ll post an update. There are no subtitles, so you may need to watch a few times. Some of the dialog (especially about mathematics) may be very hard, so don’t feel badly if you don’t fully understand it. And there is a LOT of dialog, so be sure to spend time watching this in a QUIET setting.

There’s a website hosted by the author of the stage play on which this film was based, here, and an essay by the same author about adapting a life story to a play here. There is a short biography of Turing’s life here, which may help you make sense of the film’s jumping timelines.

Finally, here is an article about the impact of Turing on modern electronics and computers.

Some Stuff…

Here’s that poll I mentioned, where you can input information (your class blog address, your name, etc.) that I need for the course. If you’ve already filled it out, don’t worry, I can cut the repeated information later. Thanks.

Also, you may or may not be familiar with the Curious George series of children’s books, but if you know them, this video is hilarious, as well as pertinent to our discussion of Grizzly Man:

See you next week, when we will discuss Sunset Boulevard!

Brassed Off

Everyone,

I know I told you I’d upload a movie for you to watch, but I decided to simply show you the film Brassed Off in class. It’s a great movie and more fun with a bigger screen and decent sound system.

Please bring a USB drive to class, so you can get a copy for yourself to re-watch in preparation for our discussion next week. My plan is to go through some of the vocabulary and language to make sure you get more of what characters are saying, watch the movie, and then discuss a little.

If you want some more information that will help you understand the film, afterward, here are some issues that come up or inform the movie:

Your Midterm

Hi everyone,

I’ve received some emails and questions regarding your midterm project, the “reading” I’ve asked you to to conceive of, edit, and upload to Youtube.

First off, some of you don’t have any idea what I have in mind, so here’s a short explanation:

  1. First, choose a film. The film should be a film made in English, but it doesn’t need to be a Hollywood film, or American, or even British. It can be any feature film (not a short film) made in English.
  2. Watch the film. I don’t mean just watch it once. Watch it a bunch of times. Watch it with subtitles on. Watch it with subtitles off. Take notes. Ask yourself questions as you watch it. Think about it as you watch it. Maybe even watch other films in the same genre, or other films by the same director, or other films by the same actor(s).
  3. Read about the film. You might find some useful comments online, but I recommend you also have a look at what academics have said about it. Drop in on Google Scholar and see if any academic work has been done on the film (For example, check out all the academic work that’s been done on Forrest Gump).
  4. Think up your own ideas about the film. For example, if you remember how I talked about the film 괴물,  at the beginning of semester — those ideas about how it relates to the “Miracle on the Han” are mine. Lots of people noticed the film was political, but my unique, original idea is that the film is about a return to Minjung-movement political idealism and that it is about the history of the “Miracle on the Han.”  Maybe you’ll feel like your idea isn’t so unique, but what I’m saying is: think hard, and try to see something in it yourself, creatively — don’t just rely on your research. One popular technique is to find some research that is smart, but wrong, and disagree with it. See what disagreeing with a scholar might do for you. (It’s one of my favorite ways to write an essay or perform a reading of a film or text.)
  5. Formulate your thesis and supporting arguments. This would take a lot more explanation than I have time to write here, but you might find the Presentation Contest preparation package useful in terms of formulating a thesis, and developing supporting arguments. (And, indeed, in terms of making your speech effectively on the video.)
  6. Select your images and clips. Choose which images and which clips from the film you want to use in your video. You can use still images, or moving video clips. However, most of the moving video clips will be silent — so that you can talk while the action is onscreen. Don’t use any single clip with audio for more than 20 or 30 seconds: the focus of this video is not the film you’re talking about, but rather the words you have to say about it. One program that can help to in grabbing screenshots is the free program VLC Player. I don’t know if GOM player does this, but VLC is great for screen captures of films. For moving video clips, you’re on your on: I never use them, so I don’t know how to sample them. (Though I know it is possible!)
  7. Record your explanation, and then add the video. It makes more sense to record your verbal explanation first, and then to synchronize the images and video clips to the explanation. This way, you can make sure the video and images are connected to what you are saying. You shouldn’t just show any old video onscreen while talking about something else: use clips and images that help to demonstrate what you’re talking about. For example, when I discussed how dangerous life was for young women during the Miracle on the Han, I showed images of a poor girl, as well as a famous image of prostitution in Korea. Try your hardest to make the images and your discussion work together, supporting one another.  For software, I highly recommend Audacity for audio editing — you can record a high-quality audio file if you have a decent microphone, using this program. As many students have had a lot of success making videos using the free Windows Movie Maker software.  As usual, it’s up to you to choose your software: I’m just suggesting possibilities you can explore, if you have never used this kind of software before.
  8. Upload your video to Youtube. You will upload this to a Youtube channel shared by your classmates, not your own Youtube channel. However, you can also upload it elsewhere if you want.  I will give you the channel name and password for the week during which the project is due.

Tips:

  1. Quality. Make sure your audio is clear and high-quality. If I cannot hear you, I cannot understand you. If I cannot understand you, it will hurt your grade.  I know you might be tempted to hurry or just submit inferior audio: don’t. Spend a little time getting the right equipment, and testing the recording, and making sure things come out right. It’s worth it.
  2. Practice. Normally, for audio narration, I have to read a text four or five times to get it right. You will likely not get your audio speech perfect the first time. Don’t hesitate to try it again a few times, until you feel proud and confident about your results.
  3. Master your tools. If you’ve never done audio editing before, practice with that too! If you have not created a video before, I suggest you create a few short ones first. Don’t bother with frills — the fancy introduction and conclusion aren’t important, because what I am interested in is your thesis and supporting arguments. But you still need to know how to cut a video, how to record your voice, how to put the two together. So practice a little, now, while you have time!
  4. Creativity. Be creative! Don’t explain the obvious! I am looking for you to demonstrate that you can look at a film and see things that someone else might not see, whether it’s a political angle, an issue related to society, age, gender, race, or whatever. This requires some research, but also a lot of thinking. So don’t hesitate to spend a lot of time thinking over the subject of your reading.
  5. Cite your sources. If you are using sources, it’s important that you cite them. See here for more on the issue of plagiarism. If you plagiarize, you will get an F in the class, period. No explanations, no apologies, no tears or begging will change my mind. So be warned: cite your sources, tell me where you got someone else’s ideas from, and try to focus on your own ideas.
  6. Do it your way. If you think appearing onscreen yourself will help, do it. But you don’t have to, and in fact you shouldn’t appear onscreen for more than a minute or two.
  7. Remember your time limit. Your video must be between 9’40″ (9 minutes, 40 seconds) and 10″ (ten minutes) long.

Finally, so that you have some idea what I’m talking about, I found a pretty good example on Youtube. It’s in French, but that’s fine: the guy is simply explaining his ideas about the film. The use of still photos is simple but effective.

Talking About James Bond (007): You Only Live Twice, and a reminder

First, a reminder: I have assigned two films to you to watch outside of class. The first one, El Sistema, has apparently stopped playing in the cinema. Your second film is a movie called 방가방가, which I’m told is  screening in a number of cinemas across Seoul.Last time, we watched the James Bond (007) film You Only Live Twice. Here are some questions or ideas to consider for our in-class discussion on 15 October 2010.

That should be plenty for kickstarting a discussion on Friday. See you then!

This Friday: Ferris Beuller’s Day Off (and Some Related Reading)

This Friday, we’ll see Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, a famous film from the 1980s about a teenager skipping school. We’ll mainly talk about culture, criticism, and satire, but there is an article I would like you to read related to this, by Robert Epstein and titled “The Myth of the Teen Brain.”

If you don’t get to read it until after the film, that’s fine, but please do read it before you blog about the film. I will be bringing up Epstein’s research in my little talk prior to the film.

El Sistema… Schedules and Location

Hi everyone!

Well, as I mentioned in class today, one of the films I’m assigning you to see outside of class is El Sistema (ì—˜ 시스테마), which is a documentary film about a program for underprivileged kids in Venezuela that combines music education with community outreach and social justice.

El Sistema poster

(Click on the poster — after you’ve read the following homework explanation — to read more at Wikipedia about the project discussed in the film.)

The film is showing at Hypertheque Nada, which is part of the Dongsung Art Center (�숭 아트 센터). There are schedules for Sept. 16-22, and Sept. 23-29.

(Since the film is running till the end of September, and plays everyday, you have no excuse to miss it.)

Here’s a map, and I think this is the location on Google Maps.

However, I think the easiest map to use is on this map to the nearby Robot Museum: it shows the location of the Dongsung Art Center, the subway exit (#1) and the road much more clearly. Just remember to go to the Dongsung Art Center, not the Robot Museum! (Or, go to both!)

Warning: the cinema is pretty close to the subway station, but if you’re more than 10 minutes late for the film, then they won’t let you in, so don’t be late!

Also: there are no drinks or snacks in the theater, and the cafe in front of the cinema is quite expensive, so make sure you have either eaten before or have something in your bag to sneak in.

While this is not a film made in the USA or Britain (or any other Englishs-speaking country) it definitely is the sort of film that one would see in a repertory cinema in those countries, and we’ll be talking about the internationality of English-language film, so it’s a good counterpoint. It’s also just an amazing documentary and worth seeing so…

As for the homework component: once you’ve seen it, you are expected to write a blog post about the film. Write about whatever aspect you wish: the interviewing, the storytelling techniques, the subject, the use of music… whatever you like.

And… enjoy! Happy Chuseok!

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