FILM 401.08 L01

CELEBRITY

FALL 2008

LECTURES: THURSDAY, 12:30 - 2:20 PM

SCREENINGS: WEDNESDAY, 10:00 - 12:50 PM

 

Instructor:	Dr. Rebecca Sullivan
Office:	SS344
Office Phone:	403-220-3397
E-Mail:	rsulliva@ucalgary.ca
Web Page:	See Blackboard
Office Hours:	Tuesdays, 10 AM - 12 PM

 

Additional Information

 

Some of the materials and topics presented in class may include explicit sexual or violent content. If these materials make you uncomfortable, you are encouraged to speak with the professor. You will not be exempt from any assigned work but we will work together to accommodate your concerns. This class respects difference and diversity while welcoming thoughtful, critical discussions about their representations and discourses in film and popular culture.

 

Responsibility for attending and fulfilling the requirements for lectures, screenings, readings and assignments resides with the student. The professor will not give out lecture notes, repeat information, nor provide replacement copies of material that was provided during regular class hours. Use of recording technologies in class is prohibited.

 

Students are expected to attend the weekly assigned screenings. There is no guarantee that you'll be able to find copies of the film in video stores or on the web, and Com Media does not have the resources to schedule individual screening times.

 

A Blackboard portal has been set up for this course which allows for group correspondence, course announcements, assignment submissions, and other forms of communication. Students are expected to check Blackboard before the course for any last minute changes or cancellations.

 

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to explore the cultural phenomenon of celebrity as it relates to cinematic cultures, with a particular emphasis on American and Hollywood productions. An examination of noteworthy stars and their cinematic representations will be accompanied by close analysis of the political economic conditions of celebrity.

Objectives of the Course

Through the readings, screenings and lectures students will develop (a) insight into the structures of celebrity and how the reflect and inscribe everyday life; (b) an understanding of the historical evolution of the cinematic star system; (c) important strategies for deconstructing popular cultural texts and deducing multiple levels of meaning; (d) critical thinking skills that can be applied to issues of personal interest.

Textbooks and Readings:

Course readings are available in PDF format through Blackboard. There may be some delay in posting all readings, and past readings may be removed to make room for new ones, but they will be available at least two weeks before and two weeks after the lecture for which they are assigned.

Assignments and Evaluation

Weekly                    Participation                  10%

Weekly                    Film Journals                5% X 10 = 50%

December 15          Take Home Exam          40%

Participation

 

Regular attendance at screenings and lectures is expected but it's your active participation in debates and discussions that really matters. 10% of your total grade will go toward your contributions in class. Quality, not quantity, is what counts. A few well-chosen, thoughtful, reflective observations and questions throughout the term are better then a flurry of off-handed remarks and flippant comments every week.

 

Film Journals

 

Following the screening and lecture, you are required to write a brief analysis of the film based on what you have learned that week. This is not to be a film review - seriously, I don't care if you thought the film was "good" or not. Neither is it to be a meditation on the psychological motivation of the characters. They're not real people. Rather, you are to critically reflect on the sociological conditions of the film: its production and marketing, its significance to social and cultural debates ongoing at the time, and the iconic meaning of the stars. Pick one clearly identified issue and focus your analysis accordingly. It could be on one scene or even one shot. You could focus on one element - lighting, camera work, set design, costume - or reflect on a particular moment in a character's lives in the context of celebrity as a social phenomenon. What you can't do is everything, so don't even try.

 

The analysis should be between 900 - 1200 words and follow a scholarly format. See Course Documents in Blackboard for a grading rubric and notes on research skills.

 

The analysis is due the following Tuesday by 9AM. Please submit through the Blackboard Digital Dropbox. If your Internet connection is not working, you may either e-mail the attachment to me directly through another account or, as a last resort, submit a hard copy through the faculty office, SS110.

 

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

Note: The preference is for you to hand in your assignments electronically. 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. Do not slide assignments under the professor's office door, they will not be counted as submitted.

 

Take Home Exam

 

The screening for the last week of term will form the basis of a take-home exam question that will be distributed and discussed at the last lecture. The question will encompass other films, readings and lectures from the course. Students will be expected to undertake independent research of their own and write a sound, scholarly response in essay format. Your answer should be between 4000 - 5000 words. See Course Documents in Blackboard for a grading rubric and notes on research skills.

 

Please submit through the Blackboard Digital Dropbox. If your Internet connection is not working, you may either e-mail the attachment to me directly through another account or, as a last resort, submit a hard copy through the faculty office, SS110.

 

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

Note: The preference is for you to hand in your assignments electronically. 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. Do not slide assignments under the professor's office door, they will not be counted as submitted.

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:

(Revised, effective September 2008)

 

	Grading Scale
A+	96-100
A	90-95.99
A -	85-89.99
B+	80-84.99
B	75-79.99
B-	70-74.99
C+	65-69.99
C	60-64.99
C-	55-59.99
D+	53-54.99
D	50-52.99
F	0-49

 

Where a grade on a particular assignment is expressed as a letter grade, it will normally be converted to a number using the midpoint of the scale.  That is, A- would be converted to 87.5 for calculation purposes.  F will be converted to zero.

 

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

 

Sept 11 - Introduction (no screening)

 

 

Early Stars and the Beginning of the Studio System

Sept 16/17

Daddy Long Legs (1919, Mary Pickford)

 

Eileen Whitfield. "Olympus." Mary Pickford: The Woman who made Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky, 1997. 182-205.

 

Gaylen Studlar. "Oh, ‘Doll Divine': Mary Pickford, Masquerade, and the Pedophilic Gaze." A Feminist Reader in Early Cinema, edited by Bean and Negra. Duke University Press, 2002. 349-373.

 

Richard deCordova. "The Emergence of the Star System in America." Stardom: Industry of Desire, edited by Gledhill. Routledge, 1991. 17-30.

 

 

Icons

 

 

Sept 23/24

Gilda (1946, Rita Hayworth)

 

Richard Dyer. "Stars as a Social Phenomenon." Stars. BFI, 1979. 1-37.

 

Adrienne McLean. "I told you not to move - I mean it!" Being Rita Hayworth: Labor, Identity and Hollywood Stardom. Rutgers University Press, 2005. 144-171.

 

Mary Ann Doane. "Gilda: Epistemology as Striptease." Femmes Fatales. Routledge, 1991. 99-118.

 

 

Oct 1/2

Professor away - class and screening cancelled

Oct 8/9

The Seven Year Itch (1955, Marilyn Monroe)

 

Pam Cook. "Fashion and Sexual Display in 1950s Hollywood." Screening the Past: Memory and Notalgia in Cinema. Routledge, 2005. 205-217.

 

Richard Dyer. "Monroe and Sexuality." Film Stars and Society, 2^nd Edition. Routledge, 2003. 17-63.  **NOT AVAILABLE AS PDF. ON 1-HR RESERVE AT LIBRARY**

 

 

 

Hollywood Deconstructs Celebrity

 

 

Oct 15/16

All About Eve (1950, Bette Davis)

 

Charles Affron. "All About Acting." Star Acting: Gish, Garbo, Davis. E. P. Dutton, 1977. 292-314.

 

Barry King. "Articulating Stardom." The Celebrity Culture Reader, edited by Marshall. Routledge, 2006. 229-251.

 

Martin Shingler and Christine Gledhill. "Bette Davis: Actor/Star." Screen 49:1, 2008. 67-76.

 

 

Oct 22/23

A Star is Born (1954, Judy Garland)

 

Richard Dyer. "A Star is Born and the Construction of Authenticity." Stardom: Industry of Desire, edited by Gledhill. Routledge, 1991. 132-141.

 

Richard Dyer. "Judy Garland and Gay Men." Film Stars and Society, 2^nd Edition. Routledge, 2003. 137-191. **NOT AVAILABLE AS PDF. ON 1-HR RESERVE AT LIBRARY**

 

 

Masculinity

 

 

Oct 29/30

Red River (1948, John Wayne, Montgomery Clift)

 

Steve Cohan. "Why Boys are not Men." Masked Men: Masculinity and the Movies in the Fifties. Indiana University Press, 1997. 201-263. (Cohan-Red River.pdf)

 

Garry Wills. "Howard Hawks." John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity. Simon & Shuster, 1997. 129-148.

 

 

Nov 5/6

Oceans 11 (1960, The Rat Pack)

 

T. H. Adamowski. "State of Grace: Frank Sinatra and American Charisma." Frank Sinatra: History, Identity, and Italian American Culture, edited by Pugliese. Palgrave, 2004. 101-118.

 

Karen McNally. "Male Performance and Swinging Bachelors." When Frankie Went to Hollywood: Frank Sinatra and American Male Identity. University of Illinois Press, 2008. 131-169.

 

 

The Ensemble

 

 

Nov 12/13

The Women (1939, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford)

 

Kathryn H. Fuller-Seeley. "Dish Night at the Movies." Looking Past the Screen: Case Studies in American Film History and Method, edited by Lewis and Smoodin. Duke University Press, 2007. 246-275.

 

Charlotte Cornelia Herzog and Jane Marie Gaines. "'Puffed Sleeves Before Tea-Time': Joan Crawford, Adrian and Women Audiences." Stardom: Industry of Desire, edited by Gledhill. Routledge, 1991. 74-91

 

Jackie Stacey. "Feminine Fascinations." The Celebrity Culture Reader, edited by Marshall. Routledge, 2006. 252-85.

 

 

Nov 19/20

8 Femmes (2002, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart, Fanny Ardant)

 

Andrew Asibong. "The Killing of Sister Catherine: Deneuves Lesbian Transformations." From Perversion to Purity: The Stardom of Catherine Deneuve, edited by Downing and Harris. Manchester University Press, 2007. 144-160.

 

Guy Austin. "The Star of the 1990s: Emmanuelle Béart." Stars in Mondern French Films. Arnold Publishers, 2003. 122-132.

 

Ginette Vincendeau. "The French Star System." Stars and Stardom in French Cinema. Continuum, 2000. 1-41.

 

 

Contemporary Celebrity

 

 

Nov 26/27

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie)

 

Kathy Davis. "Beauty and the Female Body." The Celebrity Culture Reader, edited by Marshall. Routledge, 2006. 557-580.

 

Steve Neale. "Masculinity as Spectacle: Reflections on Men in Mainstream Cinema." Feminism and Film, edited by Kaplan. Oxford University Press, 2000. 253-264.

 

Joshua Gamson. "The Assembly Line of Greatness: Celebrity in 20^th Century America." Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 9(1992). 1-24.

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

Dec 3/4

Exam film and discussion