Learning objectives

The course aims at providing students with a general knowledge of the history of cinema from its beginning to the present, including major international films, artists, and movements. The students will acquire the capacity to analyse cinematic works both in their structure and topic, and in their historical contexts. They also will be able to process this knowledge in a well-argued synthesis.

Program

The course will be divided into two parts: the first will be dedicated to a general introduction to the history of cinema and cinematographic language, while in the second part the analysis will focus on the relationships between stardom and seriality in relation to particular emblematic cases between silent and sound. * PART ONE The cinema of the origins and the birth of the cinematographic language The avant-garde of the European silent film Classic Hollywood cinema: genres and gender issues. The Italian Neorealism * SECOND PART The stardom in relation to the seriality between silent and sound. Analysis of male and female cinematographic stardom. Peculiarities of European stardom, in particular Italian, and of Hollywood. Relations between stardom and cinematic seriality. The cinema of the Second World War and the crisis of the Studio System and the Star System. REFERENCE FILMS: Films will be suggested during the course, the vision of the proposed titles is to be considered mandatory for the exam. Female students and non-attending students are requested to contact the teacher via email at least one month before the exam session. NB Starting from this year it will no longer be possible to take previous programs for examination.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Frontal lesson with video projection and power point

Learning assessment procedures

There are two types of learning assessment procedures, to be understood as an alternative to the other: - 1. Written exam which is divided into three open questions. The student will have to demonstrate that they have learned the fundamentals of film and media theory. Attention: the latter is intended as an alternative to the thesis. - 2. Written paper (thesis). A written paper (thesis) may be submitted upon agreement with the teacher. Attention: the latter is intended as an alternative to the written exam. - The written papers and the term papers will be written exclusively in Italian.

Exam language

Italiano