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2010/11 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
GERM3560 German Cinema into the New Millennium
20 creditsClass Size: 20
Module manager: Dr Chris Homewood
Email: C.J.Homewood@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2010/11
Pre-requisites
| GERM2030 | German Core Language 2 |
This module is not approved as an Elective
Objectives
On completion of the module, students should be able to have a greater understanding of how to 'read' a film. They will be aware of key shifts in German film aesthetics, and how these are related to broader cultural and social developments.Syllabus
This module aims to introduce students to three key moments in German film history, in order to explore the pivotal role cinema has had since the medium's invention. Students will be encouraged to examine films both as aesthetic and as historical documents. On completion of the module, students should have a greater understanding of how to 'read' a film, as well as the cultural and political debates surrounding its development in Germany.
The course focuses on three moments in German film history when its cinema achieved international recognition. We begin with 'Weimar film', often seen as Germany's 'Golden Age' of cinema, exploring the extent to which these tales, dominated by vampires, underworld crime bosses and femmes fatales, reveal a crisis at the heart of Germany's first democracy. We will also discuss their impact on Hollywood, looking at why they should have helped to invent American genres such as Film Noir a decade or so later.
Next, we turn to the 'New German Cinema' of the 1960s and 1970s. These are films that had a huge 'art-house' presence internationally, and were radically different in style to the mainstream Hollywood blockbusters that dominated the domestic scene. They were also radical in terms of the subject matter they dealt with, marking a turning point in the way cinema examined both present social issues ('multiculturalism', the changing role of women in society) and the legacy of the Nazi past.
Finally, we turn to the renaissance of international interest in German film at the start of the new millennium. We will look at how some filmmakers are now attempting to shake off the 'art house' label and to turn away from the social criticism of the New German Cinema. In so doing, we will examine how far recent German cinema reflects a broader turn towards the 'normalisation' (ie westernisation or even Americanisation) of the country since unification.
Prescribed films:
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1919), Nosferatu (1920), Der letzte Mann (1924) M (1931), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Der Amerikanische Freund (1977), Die Sehnsucht der Veronica Voss (1982), Die bleierne Zeit (1981), Good Bye, Lenin! (2003), Der Untergang (2004).
Introductory Reading:
Paul Cooke, The Pocket Essential to German Expressionist Film (Pocket Essential Press)
Siegfried Kracauer, From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film (Princeton University Press)
James Monaco, How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia - Language, History, Theory (OUP)
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Film Screenings | 10 | 3.00 | 30.00 |
| Lecture | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
| Private study hours | 150.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 50.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 | ||
Private study
- Preparation for seminars- Background reading
- Preparation for assessment.
Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay | 2,000 words | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 50.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Exams
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
| Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 2 hr 00 mins | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 50.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 04/03/2011
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