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Art Cinema and the Love Story (SCRN30001)

Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

Availability
Semester 2
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This subject is a study of many manifestations of the love story represented in Australian, Italian, French, British and North American art cinema traditions. Through detailed close-analysis of a range of films, the subject explores topics such as romantic love, Surrealism and mad love, the marital gothic, adultery, gay and lesbian love, inter-racial romance, perversion, loss and melancholia. Concentrating on art cinema treatments of romantic comedy, melodrama, the backstage musical, horror and gothic romance, the subject highlights the various formal strategies employed to create the love story in art cinema. The subject looks at the way in which film theory has explained the idea of love and desire in the cinema by drawing on Freudian psychoanalysis, mythology and gender studies. In addition to the close reading of the love story through prescribed films, the subject also explores the way film intersects with theatre, television, literature, art and popular music on the subject.

Intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should have:

  • The ability to apply critical and analytical skills and methods of Screen Studies to understand the love story within the context of changing social and historical contexts
  • An advanced knowledge of various approaches to close analysis and audio-visual literacy
  • A detailed understanding of the ways in which the love story is represented in art cinema, television, art and popular culture generally
  • The ability to read, interpret, research and write about the key cinematic techniques of narration, style and genre used in telling the love story, which also uses rigorous methods of inquiry and appropriate methodologies that are applied with intellectual honesty and a respect for ethical values
  • An appreciation of key issues surrounding art cinema including authorship, national cinema, trade and international co-production, relationships to other arts forms, and in the context of social and political history
  • An understanding of the significance of the disciplinary methods particular to Screen Studies but also recognize the value of interdisciplinary approaches to an analysis of the love story, including key works of film and gender theory and Freudian psychoanalysis.

Generic skills

At the completion of this subject, students should acquire generic skills in the following areas:

  • A capacity for critical thinking through the use of readings and discussion to develop an understanding of the considerations that underpin cinema studies
  • High-level written and oral communication skills through contribution to class discussions and the completion of assignments
  • Skills in research through the preparation of class papers and assignments, including the use of online as well as print-based materials
  • Skills in time management and planning through managing workloads for recommended reading, tutorial presentations and assessment requirements
  • A capacity for theoretical analysis through engagement with a range of texts that offer different perspectives on publishing as a component of the wider field of cultural practices.

Last updated: 19 September 2024