Studying at York
American Cinema, Independent Film: Orson Welles to David Lynch - ENG00044H
- Department: English and Related Literature
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
- See module specification for other years: 2023-24
Module summary
This module examines American cinema in the aftermath of World War 2, when the Hollywood studio system began to give way to independent systems of production and the artistic experimentation that accompanied it. It tracks these innovations into avant-garde film making in the 50s and 60s, the rise of ‘American Independent’ film in the countercultural 60s and 70s, and the assimilation of all these social and aesthetic dynamics into ‘New Hollywood’ in the 70s and 80s. We will study the cultural, technological, political and economic context of these developments alongside weekly screenings of films by directors from the 1940s to the 1990s.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2024-25 |
Module aims
The aims of this module are to understand post-war American cinema in its historical context, to appreciate its aesthetic innovations, and to develop a critical framework for the analysis both of the individual film and of the political and aesthetic cultures from which they arise.
Module learning outcomes
On completion of this module:
-
You will understand the historical relationship between post-war Hollywood cinema and the rise of independent film
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You will be able to select and apply relevant critical and theoretical approaches to the analysis of American cinema
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You will be able to close-read individual films and the film image
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Throughout the module, you will have the opportunity to pitch, road-test, and develop essay ideas. Feedback will be integrated into your seminars or the ‘third hour’ (i.e. the lecture or workshop).
You will submit your summative essay via the VLE during the revision and assessment weeks at the end of the teaching semester (weeks 13-15). Feedback on your summative essay will be uploaded to e:Vision to meet the University’s marking deadlines.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
You will receive feedback on all assessed work within the University deadline, and will often receive it more quickly. The purpose of feedback is to inform your future work; it is designed to help you to improve your work, and the Department also offers you help in learning from your feedback. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further you can discuss it with your tutor or your supervisor, during their Open Office Hours
For more information about the feedback you will receive for your work, see the department's Guide to Assessment
Indicative reading
Key Texts for this module may include the following. Current students should consult the module VLE site for the reading list:
Emanuel Levy, Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film (NYU 1999);
Geoff King, American Independent Cinema (Tauris 2005);
Geoff King, Indiewood, USA: Where Hollywood Meets Independent Cinema (Tauris 2009);
Yannis Tzioumakis, American Independent Cinema: An Introduction (EUP 2006);Christine Holmlund and Justin Wyatt eds., Contemporary American Independent Film: From the Margins to the Mainstream (NY Routledge 2004);
David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson and Janet Staiger,The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960 (New York: Columbia University Press 1985);
Bordwell and Thompson, Film History: An Introduction. (New York: McGraw-Hill 1994/2002).