Eastern Illinois University Film Studies Minor Newsletter
If you know of students or prospective students interesting in learning more about the Film Studies Minor, point them to our table at Open House on April 19. We will have flyer, Q and A documents, film posters and films, and games for film lovers.
Hands-On EIU: Film Studies Minor Activities
At the first Hands-On EIU Open House, seven incoming freshmen experimented with film genres. Here’s an overview of the process they followed:
This activity is meant to introduce the idea of genre, a seemingly difficult concept that students actually understand more than they know. This activity will serve as grounding for writing about film (including reviews and evaluations), but also serves as a stepping off place for reading and writing genres from memoir to editorials.
After completing this activity, students will demonstrate an understanding of the notion of genre by writing a synopsis of a particular film genre.
For this activity we will need only the hand-outs provided, an overhead or computer projector, and paper and pen or pencil.
An easy way to come to an understanding about the concept of genre and genre analysis is to apply the term to movie choices.
- First think of a favorite movie and consider where it would be placed in a video/dvd rental store, if it were not a new release: It could be categorized as a comedy, a romantic comedy, an action/adventure film, a drama, a horror film, or a science fiction/fantasy film. It might also be an animated film/children's film, a documentary, or a classic or a foreign film.
- Once you determine the category heading under which the movie would be placed in the store, you can get together with peers who have favorite films in the same category and begin analyzing the characteristics films in your category share, plus ones that seem unique to your particular film.
- In groups arranged by genre, or movie category, answer questions like the following to outline the characteristics of your movie's genre:
1.What is the setting (time and place) of the film like?
2.What is the plot like? Is there a happy ending? Is there an indication that a sequel might be possible? Are there recurring storylines?
3.What are the characters like? Are there stock characters? If so, what are they like? Are the characters well developed? Or is the movie more driven by the plot or story?
4.What kind of special effects are there in the movie? What purpose do they serve?
5.How does the cinematography contribute to the film and its content?
- Once you and your group have determined the movie’s genre characteristics (and deviations from them), write a synopsis of your film and make references to how it does or does not meet expectations for your film’s genre.
After completing your synopsis, discuss it in your group with questions like the following:
1. How well received would a film be if it deviated too greatly from those expectations? For example, how would audience members react if they went to a movie billed as a comedy, and the film did not have a happy ending?
2. How important are audience expectations? How much should writers consider their audience(s), when they are beginning to write?
Whatever your answers to these questions, it should be clear from responses to the above genre exercise, that each genre does share some characteristics. We can analyze other popular, public, professional, and academic genres in similar ways, building a repertoire of genre descriptions, analyses, and critiques, as well as writing in the genre under analysis.
In March Women’s Studies held its first annual Feminist Film Festival for Women’s History and Awareness Month. The following outlines the films highlighted:
Directed by Adrienne Shelly.
Jenna (Keri Russell) is trapped in an unhappy marriage with a controlling and jealous husband and the last thing she wants is a baby, so when she discovers she has fallen
pregnant, she’s terrified of what the future holds.
Directed by Ellen Spiro.
At Hilltop Prison in Gatesville, Texas, a unique Girl
Scout troop, Troop 1500, unites daughters with mothers who are serving time for serious crimes, giving them a chance
to rebuild their broken bonds. Facing long sentences from the courts, the mothers struggle to mend their fractured relationships
with their daughters.
Directed by Diane Zander Mason.
This documentary follows a year
in the life of Tara Neal, a Texas teenager who rocks the establishment by insisting that girls and boys should be able to
wrestle on the same mat.
Directed by Anne Lewis.
The documentary is a pointed meditation on the working poor. Lewis constructs an insightful of women who fry chicken, make pizzas, and flip burgers at four fast food restaurants in eastern Kentucky. She documents the increase of low wage, no benefits jobs in America’s new service economy and the consequences for the lives of working women.
At the end of the festival, the following candidates for our first feminist film contest were screened:
By: Melissa Coleman
A film that discusses both the local, global, and societal issues of bigotry towards homosexual women.
By: Camille Schumacher
This film comments on the commodification and objectification of women through the use of advertising, modeling, and stereotypes.
By: Joseph S. Valle
An exploration of the complexities of language, its deep effects, and the danger of labeling minorities.
By: Beyondmedia Education
In this video, the Empowered Fe Fes, a group of girls with all kinds of disabilities educate themselves about sex.
By: Lilly Boruszkowski
A true story about the challenge of making nutritional choices while under hormonal siege. What the medical establishment won’t tell you.
By: Joe Mabus and Wade Pacak
A work uncovering the lengths women will go to conform to standards of beauty.
By: Chris Larsen
This film shows the effects the media can have on our self esteem.
By: Greg Anderson and Kraig Koch
A video that uncovers the multiple ways contemporary young women identify with and define feminism.
By: Beyondmedia Education
This film tells the stories of people involved in sex trade and their efforts to raise awareness of systemic injustice and promote needed reforms.
By: Beyondmedia Education
The Young Women Action Team asks young and adult men to reflect on issues of violence, including street harassment, relationship violence, and the media.
By: Melissa Coleman
This film discusses the issue of abortion and the factors that are a part of a woman’s decision in getting an abortion.
November 4-8, 2008
Doudna Fine Arts Center
3:00 PM: Film Festival Opening
7:00 PM: Film
(Joe Heumann and Ruth Hoberman possible Discussants)
3:00 PM: Workshop—
Director/Filmmaker/Artist
7:00 PM: Film
(Lynne Curry and Jonelle Dipetro possible Discussants)
3:00 PM: Workshop—
Director/Filmmaker/Artist
7:00 PM: Film
(Robin Murray, Angela Vietto, and Joy Kammerling possible Discussants)
9:00 AM: Film
(Ann Boswell, Fern Kory, and Bill Searle as possible Discussants)
11:30 AM: Lunch
1:00 PM: Film
(Mary Maddox and John Allison as possible Discussants)
3:30 PM: Film
(Library of Congress Presentation)
6:30 PM: Dinner
Will RogersTheatre
Charleston Square
Saturday: Possible Films
Pleasantville
Ice Storm
Off the Map |
