Media Criticism (Fall 07)

Week 1 3rd Sept (M) - Labour Day – no class
5th Sept (W) Introduction to the class What is time?
7th Sept (F) What is time? (cont.) View in class: Segments from Fallen Angels (1995) top
Week 2 10th Sept (M) What is time? (cont.) Topic 1: Time and Narrative Structure For this topic, we examine how time is “coded” in three different media: photograph, comics, and film; and how time is an important element in film narrative. Photograph class note
12th Sept (W) Photograph Read: Moores Ch.4 “signification” - Fallacy Read: Barthes, Roland. (1984). Camera Lucida: Reflections on photography. London: Fontana. [distributed in class]	In-class writing 1 Exercise 1
14th Sept (F) Comics Read: Eisner, Will. (1985). Comics and sequential art. Tamaras, FL: Poorhouse Press. (Ch.3 Timing) Read: McCloud, Scott. (1993). Understanding comics: The invisible art. New York: Harper Perennial (Ch.4 Time frames) [distributed in class] top	In-class writing 2
Week 3 17th Sept (M) Comics Analysis of code in comics	Exercise 2 [complete in class]
19th Sept (W) Film Read: Denby, David. (March 5 2007). “The new disorder: Adventures in film narrative”. The New Yorker, pp. 80-85. [distributed in class] View in class: Toy Story 1 (81 min.) (1995)
21st Sept (F) Film Read: Bordwell, David, and Thompson, Kristin. (2003). Film art: An introduction (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. (Ch. 3 Narrative as a formal system) (pp. 68-76) [distributed in class] Pay attention to: - narrative - story - plot - plot/story/screen duration View in class: Toy Story1 (cont.) top
Week 4 24th Sept (M) Film Read: Bordwell and Thompson Ch.3 (pp. 77-91) pay attention to: - omniscient/restricted narrative - narrator View in class: Toy Story 1 (cont.)	In-class writing 3
26th Sept (W) Film Analysis of film in relation to time view in class: Pulp Fiction (154 min.) (1994)
28th Sept (F) Film Analysis of film in relation to time view in class: Pulp Fiction (cont.) top
Week 5 1st Oct (M) Film Analysis of film in relation to time view in class: Pulp Fiction (cont.)
3rd Oct (W) Film Analysis of film in relation to time view in class: Pulp Fiction (cont.)
5th Oct (F) Topic 2: Time and Television Genre Under a capitalist system, time is a commodity and a resource for media institutions. Economic interests constrain the variety of television genres and the contents of different genres. Soap Read: Moores Ch.1 “Cyclicity” - routines - seriality - ordinariness Read: Geraghty, Christine. (2005). The study of soap opera. In Janet Wasko (ed.), A companion to television (pp. 308-323). Malden, MA: Blackwell. View in class: The 70s Show (or the like) top	In-class writing 4
Week 6 8th Oct (M) - Columbus Day – no class
10th Oct (W) Class cancelled	Paper 1 due before 2:00 p.m. at the instructor's office
12th Oct (F) National culture / national television Read: Moores “Ch. 1 Cyclicity” - tradition - lifetime - eventfulness View in class: The Simpsons (or the like) top	In-class writing 5
Week 7 15th Oct (M) Broadcast News Read: Moores “Ch. 1 Cyclicity” - dailiness - hourliness View in class: Daily Show	In-class writing 6
17th Oct (W) Discussion of Topic 2 Group 1 (11:00 – 11:25 a.m.) Group 2 (11:25 – 11:50 a.m.)	Discussion 1
19th Oct (F) Discussion of Topic 2 Group 3 (11:00 – 11:25 a.m.) Group 4 (11:25 – 11:50 a.m.) top	Discussion 1
Week 8 22nd Oct (M) Topic 3: Time and Space Time and space are not fixed entities but are relational to each other. Communication technologies, old and new, have shortened physical distance. New technologies such as e-mail, digital media are said to erase space altogether. Read: Moores “Ch.2 Extensionality” - globalisation - stretching - medium View in class: A trip to the moon/Le voyage dans la luna (14 min.) (1902) Mid-term grade released. Students who score C minus or lower are advised to see the instructor.	In-class writing 7
24th Oct (W) View in class: A trip to the moon (re-watch) Join: The second life, MySpace/Facebook if you have not.
26th Oct (F) Read: Moores “Ch. 2 Extensionality” - shrinking - unevenness - network - flow - empires View in class: The Terminal (119 min.) (2004) top	In-class writing 8
Week 9 29th Oct (M) View in class: The Terminal (cont.)
31st Oct (W) View in class: The Terminal (cont.)
2nd Nov (F) Read: Moores “Ch.2 Extensionality” - permeability - virtuality View in class: You've Got Mail (119 min.) (1998) top	In-class writing 9
Week 10 5th Nov (M) View in class: You've Got Mail (cont.)
7th Nov (W) View in class: You've Got Mail (cont.)
9th Nov (F) Class cancelled Paper 2 consultation top
Week 11 12th Nov (M) Veterans Day – no class
14th Nov (W) Topic 4: Time and identities Media technologies make non-face-to-face communication possible. Mediated communication has transformed social relations, and has challenged traditional social identities. Read: Moores Ch. 5 “Identity” - trust - inattention - reflexibity - dwelling Read: Hill, Annette. (2005). Reality TV: Audiences and popular factual television. Oxon, England: Routledge. (Ch. 4 Performance and authenticity)	Paper 2 In-class writing 10
16th Nov (F) Read: Marchetti, Gina (2007). Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs – The trilogy. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. View in class: Reality TV View in class: Infernal Affairs (101 min.) (2002) top
Week 12 19th Nov (M) View in class: Infernal Affairs (cont.)
21st Nov (W) View in class: Infernal Affairs (cont.)
23rd Nov (F) Thanksgiving – no class top
Week 13 26th Nov (M) Class cancelled Make sure that you have visited Second Life and MySpace/Facebook recently	Paper 3 due before 2:00 p.m. at the instructor's office
28th Nov (W) Read: Moores “Ch.5 Identity” - labour - performativity - MUDding - community - diasporas Read: Alter, Alexandra, (August 10, 2007). Is this man cheating on his wife? Wall Street Journal, p. W1. Autoethnographic analysis	In-class writing 11
30th Nov (F) Autoethnographic analysis
Week 14 3rd Dec (M) Catch-up, if needed
5th Dec (W) Wrap up Examination revision Class evaluation If there is no need to catch up, we will meet on the 3rd Dec, but 5th Dec class is cancelled top
Exam week 10th-15th Dec Discussion 2 Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 meets at the same place	Discussion 2
19th Dec (W) Grade due; check grade at sail. top