Arts 135: Introduction to Film Studies: Medicine on Film
This course provides a critical introduction to film through the study of selected films and film genres. We will develop a vocabulary for analyzing film language—including mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, sound, performance, special effects, genre, and digital cinema—and consider how filmmakers use these elements to construct narratives and produce meaning. Through close analysis of scenes and sustained engagement with complete films, students will learn to move beyond simply watching films to seeing how films work. The course focuses thematically on the representation of medicine, illness, disability, bodies, scientific knowledge, and health crises in film. We will examine how filmmakers use formal and narrative choices to shape our understanding of medical and ethical questions, and how films reflect their historical, cultural, social, and technological contexts. Students will put this knowledge into practice by writing short analyses of film scenes and by creating, presenting, and discussing their own short film scenes. Through this combination of close analysis and creative work, students will develop the vocabulary to interpret films and the practical experience of using cinematic techniques to create meaning.
- Teacher: Noreen O'Connor