English 11: Film Appreciation

 

            Teacher:                     Jim Toner

            Classroom:                 Dogwood 1

            Meeting Times:         Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00-11:05

            Prerequisite:               English 1A or equivalent

            Units of Credit:          3

            Teacher info:              Office is Cedar 7;

                                                Phone # is 588-5226;

                                                Email is tonerj@yosemite.cc.ca.us;

                                                Office hours are M/W 11:15-12:45 and T/Th 2:00-3:00.

            Course Website:        gocolumbia.org/tonerj then click on the English 11 link.

            Your two students:     A.___________________________________________

                                                B. ___________________________________________

            Textbook:                   Film: An Introduction (3rd edition), by William Phillips

 

Course Objectives:

1.      To watch some of the world’s greatest movies;

2.      To understand the chronological development of movies;

3.      To understand that cinema is an art form throughout the world;

4.      To learn about some of the world’s great directors and actors;

5.      To learn some of the technical concepts of movies (as outlined in the text);

6.      To discuss and to write about your response to cinema in an informed way;

7.      To understand the literary elements of movies (character, plot, theme, etc.);

8.      To improve one’s writing;

9.      To orally share with the class some information about a movie or its director or its country’s film industry;

10.  To write in depth about some aspect of cinema that fascinates you.

 

What you’ll need to do to achieve these objectives:

1.      Read the textbook and do well on the periodic quizzes;

2.      Come to all of the classes, watch all of the movies, participate in discussions;

3.      Keep an informal journal where you can write your responses to the movies. Often I will give you some particular questions to answer for that movie, but in general you can begin with these prompts:

                                                               i.      What did you like or dislike about this movie?

                                                             ii.      What about the acting? The story? The directing? The writing? The cinematography?

                                                            iii.      What did you learn in your reading that is at work in this film?

                                                           iv.      How does this film relate to the others we’ve seen?

                                                             v.      Would you recommend this film to a friend? Explain.

                                                           vi.      And more…

4.      Write three formal papers:

¨      One will be a movie review;

¨      Another will compare and contrast two movies;

¨      A third will be a longer research paper (about 10 pages or so).

5.      Give one 5-10 oral presentation on topics I’ll give to you later.

6.      Attend at least one movie at the independent film series in Sonora or Angel’s Camp.

 

General Calculations for Grading:

            Attendance at the movies and

   participation in class: 15%

            Journals:                                   15%

            Book Reading and Quizzes:      15%

            2 Essays:                                  15% (5% for one, 10% for the other)

            1 longer research paper:            15%

            1 oral presentation:                   5%

            Final exam or essays:                20%

(Note: These calculations are very rough and will likely change once we get rolling in the course. For now, though, they should give you a general idea of what you’ll need to do for the course.)

 

Grading Scale: I give points for everything and then tabulate those points on a computer program. I’ll give you grade updates about once a month. Here’s the scale:

            A: 100-91

            B:  90-81

            C:  80-71

            D: 70-61

            F: Below 60

 

Policies:

¨      Late Work: Things have to be turned in on time, especially papers and projects, because I tightly coordinate this class with my others so that my workload doesn’t get overwhelming.

¨      Class absence: It’s never a good idea to miss class, but if you must, then my expectation is that you will consult your friends in class or the website to see what you missed, and then come to the next class all prepared.

¨      Plagiarism: It’s the policy of the English Department at Columbia College that anyone caught plagiarizing work is immediately dismissed from class with an “F” grade.

¨      Food: Beverages are okay but food is not.

 

And a couple of notes on the movies:

·        None are rated “X”; some are “R”; most are “PG” or “G”. Let me know if this creates any kind of problem.

·        A few movies are longer than the 125 minutes we have for class. On those rare times I’ll ask that you come earlier, like 8:30, so you can watch the whole movie uninterrupted. I will then reduce the class minutes at our next meeting.

See the weekly schedule: