American Cult Cinema

General data

Course ID:	4219-SD0046
Erasmus code / ISCED:	08.9 Kod klasyfikacyjny przedmiotu składa się z trzech do pięciu cyfr, przy czym trzy pierwsze oznaczają klasyfikację dziedziny wg. Listy kodów dziedzin obowiązującej w programie Socrates/Erasmus, czwarta (dotąd na ogół 0) – ewentualne uszczegółowienie informacji o dyscyplinie, piąta – stopień zaawansowania przedmiotu ustalony na podstawie roku studiów, dla którego przedmiot jest przeznaczony. / (0229) Humanities (except languages), not elsewhere classified The ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education) code has been designed by UNESCO.
Course title:	American Cult Cinema
Name in Polish:	American Cult Cinema
Organizational unit:	American Studies Center
Course groups:	all classes - weekday programme - 1st cycle all classes - weekday programme - 1st cycle - 2nd year all classes - weekday programme - 1st cycle - 3rd year Elective courses - humanities - BA studies elective courses - weekday studies - first cycle
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores):	(not available) Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles: the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS; the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h; 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes; weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS; work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load. view allocation of credits
Language:	English
Type of course:	elective courses
Short description:	This course will offer an analysis of American cult cinema and outline the role of B-Z class movies for the development of American culture and its aesthetic identity. It will focus on selected movies from American most prominent cult directors to examine the histories and criticism of cult cinema in the US – from Jack Arnold to Russ Meyer to John Waters (and others). As such, this course aims to explain the influences that different forms of popular culture and cinematic practice have employed to interpret the American way of life and how they viewed cultural reality to later represent it away from the mainstream imagery.
Full description:	Breaking down to thematic blocs, each of which is going to be dedicated to one movie and one director, this course will analyze American cult cinema and outline the role of B-Z class movies for the development of American culture and its aesthetic identity. As such, it will offer an insight into various areas of American fringe culture to show the mechanisms behind the formation of American taste, American representation, American cinema and off culture. It will try to explain what “off” means in relation to the mainstream in the American context, explaining the inspirations behind American cult cinema and their related phenomena. Among directors discussed in the course, there will be Jack Arnold, Russ Meyer, John Waters, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Lloyd Kaufman and others. The discussion will also tap into theoretical developments around the cinematic tradition, its related genres, and its role in the formation of postmodern aesthetics. Genres examined in that course will include gore, camp, pulp, peplum, spaghetti western (and other).
Bibliography:	The Routledge Companion to Cult Cinema, E. Mathijs and J. Sexton (2019) Cult Cinema: Introduction, E. Mathijs and J. Sexton (2012) Cult Films: Taboo and Transgression, A. Havis (2008) Cult Cinema as a Guide to Life: Fandom, Adaptation, and Identity, I. Q. Hunter (2016)
Learning outcomes:	Upon the completion of the course, students: • have a basic knowledge of the tradition of American Cult Cinema (ACC) • are aware of the cultural influences of ACC and its historical conditioning. • has a systematic knowledge of notion, trend and terms related to ACC as well as its criticism. • can use critical terms related to ACC. • can use critical theory to analyze ACC. • is aware of the cultural importance of ACC. • is open to new ideas about culture and its practices.
Assessment methods and assessment criteria:	written assignment (critical essay)

This course is not currently offered.

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Copyright by University of Warsaw.