Aesthetics: Style & Structure

(2 Credits)

The course begins with a review of classical Hollywood narrative convention and variations from the classical storytelling convention, as well as a brief history of film genre, including a look at the various stages of a genre through cinema history. For much of the semester, students explore the way in which a given genre impacts a movie’s theme, setting, narrative structure and plot, characters, tone, style, casting, and use of iconography. Also examined is the role of narrative form in genre film. We will look closely at beginnings and endings in light of genre conventions. Students will also analyze genre-driven screenplays. The scripts are compared to the film.