Film Courses Aim to Educate On-Screen

by Rashad Mulla

Film Courses Aim to Educate On-Screen

 

Film Courses Aim to Educate On-Screen
By Rashad Mulla
Several college departments are offering classes focusing on film and media
in which students will examine niche on-screen topics and engage in analysis
with highly decorated film experts. Students in the College of Humanities
and Social Sciences will get a chance to learn about what they watch this
fall.
Mystery and international film buff Michael Jeck will both teach International
Mysteries on Film (FRLN 330-003) and War and Film (FRLN 330-002) in the
fall. Jeck, the former host of International Mystery on MHz and the audio
commentator on the DVDs of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s Seven
Samurai and Throne of Blood, will show clips from dozens of English and
foreign language films during the course. In both classes, he will focus on
critical analysis of the presented material, including acting performances,
historical accuracy, and bias.
In the Mysteries on Film class, Jeck will focus on the transition from
mystery novel to film, and one among the film clips he will show is the
Russian version of Sherlock Holmes. In War and Film, Jeck and the class
will discuss the context in which various war films were made and examine
their factual accuracy and cinematic value. He hopes students will gain a
basic understanding of the war films genre and military history, and he will
present a variety of views to help his students make informed decisions.
“We will look at different adaptations and examine how a character comes
across in a very faithful or unfaithful adaptation,” Jeck said. “If my students
are assigned clips from Waterloo, then I will also show them clips from two
different versions of War and Peace.”
Religious studies professor Chad Seales will also examine his subject
matter on film in Religion and Film (RELI 362-001). The class will focus
on the portrayal and imagination of religion as depicted in film, and how
it contributes to a wider societal view of religion today. By the end of the
course, students should be prepared to identify significant religious practices
in films and decide whether or not they are represented correctly and
accurately, compare them and discuss them within the larger context of
American history.
“This course examines how religion has been depicted in Hollywood film,”
Seales said. “It gives students a chance to use the vehicle of the silver
screen to reflect on how a shared religious imagination has shaped the way
we understand ourselves as Americans.”
Cynthia Fuchs, director of film and media studies and a decorated film and
documentary expert, will teach a class on Sports Documentary (ENGL 490-
001) in the fall. In addition Introduction to Documentary, which she will
teach this fall, Fuchs has taught classes covering war documentaries, sports,
race and media, crisis media, politics and popular culture during her time at
Mason. She is currently the film and TV editor of PopMatters magazine.
Sports documentaries, Fuchs said, used to be formulaic and standard,
with simple storytelling methods, such as heartwarming feel-good stories
and tragedy-to-triumph journeys, being used repeatedly. Now, with the
emergence of media powerhouses such as ESPN, the sports documentary
has become an artistic genre, Fuchs said. In the class, students will learn
about the trajectory of the sports documentary genre from its early days as
a novelty to its current status as art, she said.
“We will focus on sports documentary filmmaking as a field that reflects
cultural, political and social concepts,” Fuchs said. “Documentary filmmaking
is a field that is developing at hyperspeed at this point.”
While these four classes span vastly different on-screen genres, the
expertise and knowledge of the faculty allow the College of Humanities and
Social Sciences to offer an even wider range of film classes.

Several college departments are offering classes focusing on film and media in which students will examine niche on-screen topics and engage in analysis with highly decorated film experts. Students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences will get a chance to learn about what they watch this fall.

Mystery and international film buff Michael Jeck will teach both International Mysteries on Film (FRLN 330-003) and War and Film (FRLN 330-002) in the fall. Jeck, the former host of International Mystery on MHz and the audio commentator on the DVDs of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Throne of Blood, will show clips from dozens of English and foreign language films during the course. In both classes, he will focus on critical analysis of the presented material, including acting performances, historical accuracy, and bias.

In the Mysteries on Film class, Jeck will focus on the transition from mystery novel to film, and one among the film clips he will show is the Russian version of Sherlock Holmes. In War and Film, Jeck and the class will discuss the context in which various war films were made and examine their factual accuracy and cinematic value. He hopes students will gain a basic understanding of the war films genre and military history, and he will present a variety of views to help his students make informed decisions.

“We will look at different adaptations and examine how a character comes across in a very faithful or unfaithful adaptation,” Jeck said. “If my students are assigned clips from Waterloo, then I will also show them clips from two different versions of War and Peace.”

Religious studies professor Chad Seales will also examine his subject matter on film in Religion and Film (RELI 362-001). The class will focus on the portrayal and imagination of religion as depicted in film, and how it contributes to a wider societal view of religion today. By the end of the course, students should be prepared to identify significant religious practices in films and decide whether or not they are represented correctly and accurately, compare them and discuss them within the larger context of American history.

“This course examines how religion has been depicted in Hollywood film,” Seales said. “It gives students a chance to use the vehicle of the silver screen to reflect on how a shared religious imagination has shaped the way we understand ourselves as Americans.”

Cynthia Fuchs, director of film and media studies and a decorated film and documentary expert, will teach a class on Sports Documentary (ENGL 490-001) in the fall. In addition to Introduction to Documentary, which she will teach this fall, Fuchs has taught classes covering war documentaries, sports, race and media, crisis media, politics and popular culture during her time at Mason. She is currently the film and TV editor of PopMatters magazine.

Sports documentaries, Fuchs said, used to be formulaic and standard, with simple storytelling methods, such as heartwarming feel-good stories and tragedy-to-triumph journeys, being used repeatedly. Now, with the emergence of media powerhouses such as ESPN, the sports documentary has become an artistic genre, Fuchs said. In the class, students will learn about the trajectory of the sports documentary genre from its early days as a novelty to its current status as art, she said.

“We will focus on sports documentary filmmaking as a field that reflects cultural, political and social concepts,” Fuchs said. “Documentary filmmaking is a field that is developing at hyperspeed at this point.”

While these four classes span vastly different on-screen genres, the expertise and knowledge of the faculty allow the College of Humanities and Social Sciences to offer an even wider range of film classes.

 

Photo: Michael Jeck is one of many faculty members teaching film courses this year. He is teaching two film courses in the fall.