Module overview
Linked modules
FILM1001 or FILM2006
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The latest research on women’s production and representation in Hollywood and contemporary theories of women’s popular cinema.
- Key approaches to reception studies
- Selected feminist film theories and feminist film histories of Hollywood.
- Key women filmmakers and stars of Hollywood and key Hollywood films that have been popular amongst female audiences.
- The genres most associated with female audiences: romantic comedies, the woman’s film, melodrama.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Evaluate critically the theoretical and methodological approaches to spectatorship and reception studies
- Articulate, evaluate and apply feminist film theories of authorship, genre and representation.
- List key women filmmakers, female stars of Hollywood and discuss the significance of their films.
- Differentiate amongst and compare representations of women in Hollywood cinema and alternative (independent/art) cinemas.
- Synthesize an analysis of a women’s film with the historical and cultural context.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Analyse and synthesize primary and secondary research materials.
- Organise and structure materials and knowledge to write clearly and confidently.
- Analyse and critique other media, both print and audiovisual, in relation to a primary text's reception.
Syllabus
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Independent Study | 90 |
Teaching | 60 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
The Blot (Lois Weber 1921). Film
Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott 1991). Film
Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren 1943). Film
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawkes 1953). Film
Making an American Citizen ( Alice Guy Blaché 1912). Film
*Dance Girl Dance (Dorothy Arzner 1940). Film
*Erin Brokovich (Steven Soderbergh 2001). Film
Now Voyager (Irving Rapper 1942). Film
*Funny Girl (William Wyler 1968). Film
*In the Cut (Jane Campion 2003). Film
*Bridesmaids (Paul Feig 2011). Film
*Jeanne Dielman (Chantal Ackerman 1975). Film
Journal Articles
Grant, Catherine (2001). Secret Agents: Feminist Theories of Women’s Film Authorship. Feminist Theory, 2(1), pp. 124.
Blodgett, Bridget and Anastasia Slate (2018). ‘Ghostbusters Is for Boys: Understanding Geek Masculinity’s Role in Alt-Right. Communication, Culture and Critique, 11(1), pp. 133-146.
Textbooks
Thornham, Sue (1999). Feminist Film Theory: A Reader. London: Routledge.
Mayne, Judith (1990). The Woman at the Keyhole: Feminism and Women’s Cinema. London: Routledge.
Kuhn, Annette (1982). Women’s Pictures. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Rich, B. Ruby (1998). Chick Flicks: Theories and Memories of the Feminist Film Movement. London: Routledge.
Negra, Diane (2008). What a Girl Wants: Fantasizing the Reclamation of Self in Postfeminism. London: Routledge.
Bean, Jennifer M. and Diane Negra (2002). A Feminist Reader in Early Cinema. London: BFI.
Brunsdon, Charlotte, ed (1986). Films For Women. London: Routledge.
Lane, Christina (2000). Feminist Hollywood: From Born in Flames to Point Break. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Tasker, Yvonne (1998). Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Radner, Hilary (2010). Neo-Feminist Cinema: Girly Films, Chick Flicks, and Consumer Culture. Durham: Duke University Press.
Margaret Tally. The Limits of #MeToo in Hollywood: Gender and Power in the Entertainment Industry.
Stacey, Jackie (1993). Stargazing: Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship.
Basinger, Jeanine (1994). A Woman’s View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women, 1930-60. London: Chatto & Windus.
Kaplan, E. Ann (1983). Women and Film: Both Sides of the Camera. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, Ltd..
Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
Assessments designed to provide informal feedback: • You will engage in small group exercises, focusing on specific formative tasks, which will be reviewed in class • You will be encouraged to discuss preparation for your formal assessment with your tutor • You will have the opportunity to seek individual advice on your work in progress from your tutor • Guidance and advice in class on preparation, completion and presentation of assignments will be available to you The formal assessments will promote skills of analysis and critical thinking. They will also reinforce organisational, planning and writing skills.Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Essay | 60% |
Essay | 40% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Essay | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Essay | 60% |
Essay | 40% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External