Film 305.13 L20
The Ghost and Cinema
Spring 2008

SB148
MW 11:00-2:00; MW 2:00-4:00

 

 

Instructor:	Murray Leeder
Office Location:	SS209
Office Phone:	NA
E-Mail:	murray.leeder@nucleus.com
Web Page:
Office Hours:	By appointment please

Additional Information

Each week we will view a film relevant to the thematic study of ghosts as it relates to the cinema. We will then analyze it with reference to the given readings of that week. The given films have been chosen to illuminate aspects of the depictions of ghost on film, but scarcely constitute an exhaustive list. Students are encouraged to seek out other ghost films through other means.

Course Description

This course studies the figure of the ghost and its relationship with the cinema. It looks at
onscreen depictions of ghosts in its comedic, romantic and horrific forms, with a special
emphasis on the haunted house archetype. It also attempts to pin down the cinema's specific relationship with the idea of "ghostliness," looking at sources from early cinema to modern special effects cinema.

Objectives of the Course

The objective of this course is to follow a history of the depiction of ghosts in (primarily western) culture, with special emphasis on how it manifests in cinema. In particular it will examine the specific relationship of ghosts have historically been related to new communications technologies (the telegraph, the photograph, the telephone, the television and the Internet). More broadly, the course aims to generate and hone critical skills for the analysis of cinema in its students

Textbooks and Readings:

Jeffrey Sconce. Haunted Media: Electronic Presence from Telegraphy to Television. Durham: Duke University Press, 2000.

In addition, there will be a course pack containing most of the other readings.

Assignments and Evaluation

Two in-class presentations/hand-in assignments - 20% each.

 

For each of these assignments, students may opt either to do an in-class presentation on a given reading, of roughly 10-15 minutes length followed by a question period, or turn in a paper of 4-5. One of the two assignments must take the form of a presentation. Either way, the assignment entails a response to an essay contained on our course list. This should be approximately 1/3 summary of the essay's main arguments followed by 2/3 of your own reaction to it, your evaluation of its effectiveness. Bear in mind that this is still an essay and must follow proper essay format, including the importance of a clear thesis statement. If you are presenting on an essay, be sure to end with a few questions to conclude with, that can lead into class discussion.

 

No two students may present on the same essay.

 

One is due June 6, the other June 25.

 

Final paper - 40%

 

This paper should run 6-8 pages in length and involve combining your own ideas with some material we've read about in the course. It may or may not deal with one or more of the films we've viewed in the course, or can deal with other films so long as they deal, generally speaking, with ghosts. The student will be expected to do some research on the subject other than what is contained in the course readings.

 

Attendance and participation - 20%

 

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.

Note: Please hand in your essays directly to your tutor or instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox. Due June 25

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination:   No

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Ethics

Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines.  Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and supervise your research.  For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see

The Faculty of Communication and Culture Research Ethics site: http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/ethics

or the University of Calgary Research Ethics site: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/ethics/info/undergrad/

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

 

CLASS ONE  May 14                                 Taking Up the Ghost

 

Stir of Echoes (David Koepp, 1999) 99 mins.

 

Gorky, Maxim. "The Kingdom of Shadows." appendix 3 to Jay Leyda, A History of the

Russian and Soviet Film. London: Unwin House. 1960. 407-9.

 

Introduction to Sconce, Jeffrey. Haunted Media: Electronic Presence from Telegraphy to Television. Durham: Duke University Press. 2000.

 

May 19 - No Class for Victoria Day

 

CLASS TWO  May 21                                 Ghosts of Proto- and Early Cinema

 

Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau 1922) 94 mins.

Supernatural (Victor Halperin, 1933). 65 mins.

 

Abbott, Stacey. "Spectral Vampires: Nosferatu in the Light of New Technology." The

Horror Film: Creating and Marketing Fear. Ed. Steffen Hantke. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press. 2004.  2-30.

 

Ruffles, Tom. Chapter 1, Ghost Images: Cinema of the Afterlife. Jefferson, N.C.:

McFarland and Co. 2004. 11-33.

 

Chapter 1, Haunted Media

 

CLASS THREE    May 26                           Ghosts and Communication Technology

 

White Noise (Geoffrey Sax, 2005) 101 mins.

 

Peters, John Durham. Chapter 4: "Phantoms of the Living, Dialogues with the Dead."

Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1999. 137-145.

 

Chapter 2: Haunted Media

 

CLASS FOUR May 28                      Ectoplasm and Full Materialization

 

The Legend of Hell House (John Hough, 1973) 95 mins.

 

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward. "The Haunted and the Haunters, or The House and the Brain." http://www.bartleby.com/166/6.html

 

Gunning, Tom. "Phantom Images and Modern Manifestations." Fugitive Images: From

Photography to Video. Ed. Patrice Pietro. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1995. 42-71.

 

Schoonover, Karl. "Ectoplasms, Evanescence and Photography." Art Journal. Fall 2003.

30-41.

 

CLASS FIVE             June 2                        The Romantic Ghost

 

Ghost (Jerry Zucker, 1990) 128 mins.

Chapter 2: "The Masochistic Contract." Fowkes, Katherine A. Giving Up the Ghost: Spirits, Ghosts and Angels in Mainstream Comedy Films. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. 1998. 31-53.

 

Chapter 8: "Ghost." Kovacs, Lee. The Haunted Screen: Ghosts in Literature and Film. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc. 1999. 147-159.

 

CLASS SIX               June 4                        The Comic Ghost

 

Ghost Dad (Sidney Poitier, 1990) 83 mins

The Ghost Breakers (George Marshall, 1940) 85 mins

 

No readings this week. We continue to focus on the Fowkes reading from the week before.

 

The first in-class presentation/hand-in assignment is due this week.

 

CLASS SEVEN         June 9                        The Haunted House I

 

The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1960) 112 mins.

 

Freud, Sigmund. "The ‘Uncanny'." The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological

Works of Sigmund Freud. Vol. XVII (1917-1919). London: Hogarth Press. 1955 rpt. 1964. 219-256.

 

Smuts, Aaron. "Haunting the House from Within: Disbelief Mitigation and Spatial

Experience." Dark Thoughts: Philosophic Reflections on Cinematic Horror. Eds. Steven Jay Schneider and Daniel Shaw. Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. 2003. 158-173.

 

CLASS EIGHT          June 11                      The Haunted House II

 

The Others (Alejandro Amenabar, 2001) 104 mins.

 

Brummett, Barry. "Electric Literature as Equipment for Living: Haunted House Films."

Critical Studies in Mass Communications 2. (3) 1985. 247-261.

 

Bailey, Dale. Chapter 3. American Nightmares: The Haunted House Formula in

American Popular Fiction. Bowling Green State University Popular Press: Bowling Green. 1999. 25-45.

 

CLASS NINE            June 16                      The Marvelous Mode: Spectral Effects

 

The Frighteners (Peter Jackson, 1996) 122 mins.

Todorov, Tzvetan. Chapter 1, The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre.

Cleveland: Press of Case Western Reserve University. 1973. 40-57.

 

Badley, Linda. Chapter 2, "Spectral Effects: Postmodern Ghosts." Film, Horror, and the

Body Fantastic. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. 1995. 39-63.

 

CLASS TEN              June 18                      Spiritualism and the New Age

 

Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982) 114 mins.

 

Kellner, Douglas. "Fear and Trembling in the Age of Reagan: Notes on ‘Poltergeist.'"

Socialist Review. No 54. 1983. 121-131.

 

Chapter 4, Haunted Media

 

CLASS ELEVEN       June 23                      The Asian Ghost and Cyber-Anxiety

Pulse (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001) 118 mins.

Wada-Marciano, Mitsuyo. "J-Horror: New Media's Impact on Contemporary Japanese

Horror Film." Canadian Journal of Film Studies Vol. 6, no 2, Fall 2007.

 

Walters, Sarah. "Ghosting the Interface: Cyberspace and Spiritualism." Science as

Culture. 6-3, no 28 (1997). 414-443.

 

CLASS TWELVE      June 25

 

The screening for this class will be determined by the students.

 

The final paper and the second hand-in assignment are due today.

 

Chapter 5, Haunted Media