Course Description for American Film Survey

Description: This course will survey the history of American Film from the silent films of D.W. Griffith and Charlie Chaplin, to Classical Hollywood and Film Noir, to the Hollywood Renaissance of the 1970s and contemporary American cinema. The course will examine the emergence of genre films, including the musical, western, melodrama, comedy, and science fiction. Throughout, special attention will be given to the cultural and historical contexts within which film is formed.