CMS 321 A: Oppositional Cinema/Media

Autumn 2024
View in MyPlan View in Time Schedule
Meetings:
T 4:30pm - 5:50pm / OUG 141
T 6:00pm - 7:20pm / OUG 136
SLN:
12934
Section Type:
Lecture
Joint Sections:
CMS 397 D
Instructor:
QUEER FEELINGS & VIDEO ESSAYS
Syllabus Description (from Canvas):

CMS 321/397–Queer Feelings and Video Essay Production 

Fall 2024, Tuesdays 4:30-7:20 (OUG 141 and OUG 136).  We will begin every class session in OUG 141 and will shift midway through to OUG 136.

PLEASE NOTE: Odegarrd Library now requires your student id/Husky pass in order to enter the building.  Make certain you always have your student card with you, or you will not be able to access the building/classroom!

Professor Jennifer M. Bean.

Office: 525-C Padelford.  As you may know, Padelford Hall can be confusing.  My office is on the 5th floor, immediately to your right when you exit the elevator (in the C wing).

Office hours: TBA, but probably right before class (no appointment necessary—please drop in!) and by appointment; please allow some lead time for appointments, I am often heavily booked but would be happy to see you.

Mail: jmbean@uw.edu or through Canvas.  If your email requires a long reply, I may ask you to arrange an appointment  If you have a question that is easily answered on the course website or in course materials, I will direct you there.  If I don’t reply to you in 24 hours, please ping me again (unless it’s a long weekend—I try to take time away from work email).

Description

This course is a hybrid of critical film studies, feminist and queer theory, and video production, requiring participants to engage both conceptually and creatively.  Our approach will employ a feminist, queer, de-colonial and antiracist framework for studying and producing new videographic forms of criticism often known as “video essays,” considering how such work produces knowledge and also creates a poetic impact.  [If you want to know more about these approaches in advance of class, you can read my essay here, "Feeling Videographic Criticism", from Feminist Media Histories 9.4 (fall 2023)].

Assignments will consist of weekly videographic exercises (weeks 2-7), a videographic abstract, and a final video essay on a topic of the student’s choosing.  No preexisting knowledge of editing software is required, although class members who lack any familiarity with editing programs will need to allot additional time for acquiring basic skills in the initial weeks of the quarter.  We will also view and discuss many examples of video essays, working to both understand the increasing prominence of videographic criticism in Cinema and Media Studies over the past decade, and to envision new possibilities for the future.

Please know that this is an experimental workshop class. Though we will read critical scholarship in the first 6 weeks to form a historical and theoretical foundation, we will be watching and producing short video essays in rhetorical forms that are likely new to all of you. For this class to succeed, it is important that everyone is willing to take chances with their work (sometimes you will not succeed) and provide feedback to others that is constructive and supportive as well as honest.  Although your video projects will be created individually, it is best to think of the class as a collaborative group experiment.

Every member of the class is required to have an external hard drive to store their video projects, and I recommend at least 1TB of space.  You do not need to have a personal computer equipped with advanced editing software, however.  Our classroom is located on the first floor of Odegaard Library (OUG 141 and OUG 136) and you are welcome to use the computers and Adobe Premiere editing software on the second floor of the library for your projects.  All supplemental readings and screenings will be provided on the course Canvas site. 

 

 

Class Credos

  1. Attendance, attention, participation, listening and careful viewing and reading (of required texts and of your peers' video projects). I expect the very best you can give.  
  2. Good faith and good humor towards your peers in the classroom. For both: disagreements are expected and encouraged, but personal attacks and intimidation are not acceptable under any circumstances. Follow the Golden Rule (see #10 below). Encourage basic questions as well as advanced ones.
  3. Your job as an active class participant is to listen actively to what others say and advance the discussion.  If you are a confident contributor use your confidence for good and not evil.  Help bring others into the discussion, refer to your classmates by name, and be positive about the contributions of those who do not say as much. In like manner, if you are a confident video editor, use your skills to help those less familiar rather than to show off your mastery of technique.
  4. While personal anecdotes are allowed and even encouraged, keep in mind this is an academic seminar. Others may disagree with your interpretation of your experience.  This is also encouraged and allowed.  If you are not comfortable with this credo, do not share your story.  If you share your story and then decide you are uncomfortable with others discussing it, just ask us to stop and we will move the discussion along.
  5. Awkward silences and hesitation are okay. Don’t feel you need to rush to speak and don’t worry if you need a little time to articulate something.  Contributing to class discussion is more than the frequency of the times your hand goes up and the number of words you say. If you are struggling to articulate something, that’s probably a sign that you are saying something that is new and not obvious.
  6. Difficult subject matter: as your professor, I will never do anything intentionally to shock or traumatize you. At the same time, we will discuss difficult subjects in this class, and nobody can predict the effect some materials may have on someone.  I will try and give previews of the kinds of content you will encounter before you encounter it.  If I forget, feel free to ask.  If you are having difficulty dealing with a class discussion or a reading or viewing, you may raise the issue as part of the discussions, or contact me separately as needed.
  7. It is everyone’s job to imagine a better world: any critique of how something is raises the question of how it ought to be. You will be asked to think carefully and imaginatively about alternatives to the way things are.
  8. More than one thing can be true: cultural and aesthetic analysis only works if it is possible to hold onto apparently contradictory ideas at once and explain how they can both be true in specific circumstances.
  9. You have the right to be wrong: part of learning is changing one’s own perspective. This is only possible in a community where ideas can be expressed and challenged, and when people are able to change their minds.  
  10. Follow the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.

Finally, a word of advice.  (Perhaps this is credo #11?)  To quote Oscar Wilde: "Be Yourself.  Everyone else is taken."

Assignments and Grading

Class Participation and Peer Reviews: 30% of final grade

In general, our Tuesday class sessions (in weeks 2-7) will be devoted to digging into required films by considering the videographic exercises you made related to those films/concepts.  We will also be discussing the diverse modes of existing videographic criticism, so make certain to watch the required video essays listed in the respective module each week.  Closer to the end of the quarter we will screen rough cuts of your final projects and discuss them together.

There are two forms of preparation that will enable you to participate actively.  First, bring a QUESTION about a film or an assigned videographic essay for that day.  Be specific.  Jot down your idea, or bring a time cue for a scene or moment in the video essay you want to discuss.  What did you find interesting?  Useful? Provocative?  Compelling?  Concerning?  etc etc.  

The second form of preparation will be to watch the videographic exercises for that week made by members in your assigned peer group, and be prepared to engage your peers' projects both critically and constructively.  At times, I will offer you specific questions to address when watching your peers' work; at other times, you will be asked more generally for feedback.  See "Class Credos" above.  Together, we can form a powerful, collaborative community.

Videographic Exercises: 35% of final grade

There are 6 videographic exercises in this course (weeks 2-7), which you will create to learn the respective editing technique and also to explore the required films for the course.  Many of your exercises in the first 5 weeks will be screened/discussed in class.  They are due on Canvas each Monday evening by 4:30 p.m.   See weekly schedule below for details.

You will not receive written feedback on your videographic exercises, although we will have time to discuss many of them together.  You will receive an evaluation between 0-5.  Here’s how the numbers break down:

5  Excellent.

4  You’re doing well, but stay focused.  Remember the formal parameters for each exercise.

3  Your video exercise is incomplete. 

2  Are you watching/reading the required materials?  If you’re confused, please schedule an office hour visit.

1 You may be guessing what the assignment is supposed to be, or you missed the deadline.

0 Not submitted.

Final Videographic Project 35% of final grade

A detailed overview of the parameters for your final project will be posted on the course canvas assignment page by week 5 of the course.  The grade for your final videographic project will be based on the Rough Cut (the first 'draft', which we will all watch together and discuss) as well as the final, polished Video Essay (which you will submit at the end of the quarter).

 

Academic Integrity

Unless otherwise directed by your instructor, you must complete all assigned work on your own. You are expected to be familiar with the University’s policies concerning Academic Misconduct. as outlined in the Student Conduct Code.

Evidence of plagiarism or academic dishonestly will result in an automatic failure of the assignment, and may result in further disciplinary action.

UW Statement on Access and Disability Resources

If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to your professor at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.

Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructors, and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Religious Accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations..  Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.

CMS Content Warning 

Some of the material for this course may represent complex and difficult subject matter, including depictions of sex and violence as well as homophobia, racism and misogyny. In the interest of our collective learning and growth, we should do our best to make this classroom a space where we can engage bravely, empathetically, and thoughtfully with difficult content.

The Department of CMS prepares students to critically analyze a range of topics and media forms, including challenging or controversial materials.  CMS courses contextualize and historicize these materials in ways that promote thoughtful and sensitive engagement.  The materials for this class have been chosen carefully and with intent, based on the most recent and relevant research and scholarship in this discipline and in related fields.  If you have questions about the material, please make an appointment to speak with me.

I urge you to take care of yourselves however and whenever it becomes necessary.  If you know that you are consistently triggered by any of the elements listed above, please familiarize yourself with the material on the syllabus in advance.  Be aware that the University of Washington has mental health and psychological counseling resources available for students.  Please visit this website for the UW Counseling Center for details. 

Weekly Module Schedule 'At-A-Glance'

This schedule/syllabus is subject to revision throughout the quarter.  There are a few links in the below, but you will find all the reading/viewing materials as well as exercise descriptions and other prompts for you in the MODULE page.  As of week 2, the home page for our Canvas site will be MODULES.

 

Week 1 Intro to Course

October 1

****please complete the assignment for this first class in advanced of our session; it is designed simply for you to introduce yourself.  Also complete the following readings and watch the video essays below, all of which can be found under Modules.

Readings

  • Read Sarah Ahmed, “Queer Feelings” (2014)
  •  Read “Has the Video Essay Arrived?.” (Monaghan)
  • “Read “Feeling Videographic Criticism” (Bean)
  • Recommend, "Samantha Close, "Feeling Our Way through the Spectrum of Videographic Criticism"

Videographic Materials

  • Importantly, take some time before our first class meeting to watch the following video essays, which I've curated to showcase how this form of critical-creative work "analyzes" films in ways that are likely familiar to you from more traditional film studies classes, (e.g. sequence analysis; compare/contrast analysis; historical or cultural analysis) but which look (and feel) differently in this audiovisual mode.  All of the below have been published in the past 4 years.  We will talk about these--and more--on Tuesday, October 1.  

    —As Shot/Sequence Analysis

    Barbara Zecchi, "Queering Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"

    Dayna McLeod, "Wild at Heterosexuality"

    Catherine Grant, "Un/Contained: A Video Essay on Andrea Arnold's 2009 Film Fish Tank"

    —As Compare/Contrast Analysis

    Ken Provencher, "Wong Kar-wai's Sleepers"

    Evelyn Kreutzer, "Footsteps"

    Maria Hoffman, "Maria's Maria"

    —As Historical and Cultural Analysis

    Liz Greene, "Spencer Bell, Nobody Knows My Name"

    Emilija Talijan, "Mediated Auscultation"

  • If you do not have experience with Adobe Premiere, you might want to start working on the Lynda.com tutorials.to help learn the platform. Or you can google "Adobe Premiere Pro" tutorials choose a basic introductory session--Premiere Pro editing software is available on many computers in Odegaard Library; feel free to wander over there and get a feel for the software.
  • Assign PechaKucha Exercise, intro to the "razor cut"

 

Week 2 Joy (and PechaKuchas)

October 8

Watch/Read

  • Watch Paris is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1991, US) and But I’m a Cheerleader (Jamie Babbitt,1999, US)
  • Optional, Like a Virgin (Lee Hae-jun & Lee Hae-young, 2006, South Korea); this film is optional because it is only available on Apple TV.  It is highly recommended if you have a subscription to that streaming platform.    
  • Read Celiany Rivera-Velásquez, “The Multimedia Joy of Afro-Caribbean ‘Cuir Bliss’ (2008-2024)

Videographic Materials

  • Discuss Pechakucha exercises; assign Voiceover exercise.

 

Week 3 Shame (and Voiceovers)

October 15

Watch/Read

  • Watch Velvet Goldmine (Todd Haynes, 1998) and Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
  • Optional, Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai, 1997, Hong Kong)
  • Read Sally Munt, intro to Queer Attachments: The Cultural Politics of Shame
  • Watch A. Daigle, Todd Haynes + Negative Space (2019)

Videographic Materials

  • We will screen and discuss a variety of your Voiceover exercises during class.
  • In the latter part of class, we will prepare for the Epigraph exercise, due next week. Because you want to think about where, and how, to incorporate written text in your next assignment (and also “what” to incorporate!), it's good to have a few examples that we can discuss.  Hence, before class please watch these three short video essays: 1) Forte-Piano.   (Catherine Grant, 2021, 3 min); 2) Once Upon a Screen: Radical Elsewhere. (Philip Jozef Brubaker, 2021, 7 min) and 3) Synced.  (Johannes Binnoto, 2022, 3.5 min)

 

Week 4 Longing (and Epigraphs)

October 22

Watch/Read

  • Watch Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015, US) and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2020, France)
  • Optional, The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016, South Korea) and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2022, Aitch Alberto, US).
  • Watch Allen Daigle, Of Love and Longing. (2018)

Videographic Materials

  • Watch selected video essays, Céline Sciamma and Todd Haynes’ Negative Space
  • Epigraph Exercises due; assign Multiscreen exercise

 

Week 5 Anger (and Multiscreens)

October 29

Watch/Read

  • Watch Memento Mori (Kim Tae-yong & Min Kyu-dong, 1999, South Korea), and  Hedwig and the Angry Itch (John Cameron Mitchell, 2001, US)
  • Optional: Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson, 1994) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
  • Read Susan Stryker, “My Words to Victor Frankenstein, on Performing Transgender Rage” (1993)
  • Read Audre Lorde, “The Uses of Anger” (1981)

Videographic Materials

Catalog Description:
Approaches film and related media as socially and politically engaged practice, with focus on screen media produced or received in "opposition" to dominant cultural and entertainment industry norms. Topics vary.
Department Requirements Met:
Cinema & Media Studies Core
GE Requirements Met:
Diversity (DIV)
Arts and Humanities (A&H)
Credits:
5.0
Status:
Active
Last updated:
October 17, 2024 - 10:25 pm