Film Studies BA (Hons)

This module introduces you to film history, theory and analysis, as well as some of the technical and commercial aspects of film. You will explore these themes with a focus on key moments in the evolution of film, through the words of filmmakers past and present. We will also introduce you to some of the major approaches used to study and analyse film, such as:

• Auteur theory
• Genre
• Subject positioning
• Psychoanalysis
• The gaze
• Montage

On this module you will explore the idea of cult cinema in the context of its history, the film industry and contemporary culture. You will consider how historic examples of legislation around films have affected the status of cultism and cult cinema. This includes investigating how screen and entertainment developments have played a part in enhancing certain filmic cult movements. You will also explore ideas about genre and authorship, subcultures and subversion.

On this module you will explore how Britain has been represented on screen, both internationally and within the British film industry. We will start at a regional level, looking at portrayals of Yorkshire on film, moving towards a wider view of the national film industry. You will consider historical and industrial developments in film history and explore how different eras, ideologies and identities have been represented through this medium.

This module will help you to build the skills you need to succeed in higher education, and specifically for researching and analysing media. This includes skills in:

• Researching
• Referencing
• Critical thinking
• Academic writing
• Presenting
• Group work

We will make sure you are ready to take on the challenges of degree level study.

This module will introduce you to important cornerstones of film and cinema history, that provide fundamental context for many other modules you will encounter throughout your course. We will also introduce you to Film Studies research methods such as critical reception studies, audience studies, and distribution analysis, so that you can start to conduct your own historical film research. We will encourage you to identify your own areas of historical interest, and use the research methods we explore to question and move beyond the predominant historical narratives of cinema.

This module is your introduction to the use of film as a source of historical evidence for cultural, social and political change. American Studies is always interdisciplinary in its approach, and film is 1 of the many mediums we use to explore American history, identity and culture. You will learn the skills of cinematic analysis which will allow you to make the best use of this important medium, as well as discussing the importance of cinema within American society.

On this module you will use different academic subject areas to approach to the Gothic such as film, art and literature. Topics covered will include:

• The origins and influence of the Gothic
• Dopplegangers
• Nightmares of science
• Normality and abnormality
• Metamorphosis
• Gender in horror and the overlap of romance and horror

On this module you will engage in debates about the production, reception and contexts of media and cultural products that have caused controversy. This includes debates about taste and the reception of text in different traditional, new and emergent media. We will introduce you to the terminology of aesthetic discussion and dispute, defining and discussing terms such as:

• Propaganda
• Artistic licence
• Canonical status
• Acceptability
• Pornography
• Censorship

On this module you will develop your research skills in preparation for the more extensive independent research project you will complete in your final year. You will focus on selected science fiction primary texts as well as related theoretical, philosophical, inter-textual and historical secondary material. You will also develop important academic skills through research. Our focus on science fiction includes major discussions within the genre, including:

• Race
• The environment
• The relationship between human and machine
• What it is to be human.

On this module you will explore how America has imagined itself through film, identifying historical patterns, trends and continuities. We examine how American myths and ideologies have dominated attempts to define the national imagination. This could include:

• The mythology of the frontier
• The myth of the open road in the countercultural 1960s
• Regional identities of the south, California, the midwest or New York

This module is an opportunity to engage with the more vocational elements of working with media and explore your entrepreneurial This module is an opportunity to engage with the more vocational elements of working with media, and explore your entrepreneurial potential. You will work in groups to produce a creative portfolio and will eventually pitch your idea to a panel. This could be, for example, a magazine, a film festival, or an exhibition. You must take into account:

• Marketing and advertising
• Business cases
• Product development
• Effective communication of ideas

On this module we will consider the significance of various European cinemas, and explore the histories and evolutions of these national cinema traditions as indicators of wider cultural change. You will consider cinema’s potential for social, political and cultural critique, and contextualise film within counter cultural production, innovation, reception and distribution. This will include discussions about high culture vs low culture, and an investigation of the different audiences, institutions and practices that occur within different cultures.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate your abilities as an independent learner through an extended piece of research. You will produce an extended critical and analytical examination of your chosen topic, engaging with the existing literature surrounding it and offering your own original take on the subject. Through this you will apply many of the analytical and research skills you have developed over the course of your degree. A dedicated academic tutor will support you through throughout the research process.

On this module we will explore and analyse different forms of animated film and video games. This will include analysis of the different visual styles and genres in animation. You will examine the production, distribution and consumption of animated films and video games in contemporary culture. Our discussions will include both large media companies like Disney and Studio Ghibli and smaller, independent studios, as we engage in debates about realism, hybridity and ideology in animation.

This module will deepen your understanding of the history, theory and practice of documentary film. You will learn about the production and consumption of documentary film through various cultural and historical contexts. Discussions will explore how ideas about reality, realism and representation can be expressed through documentary film, as well as considering the impact of new and emergent communications technologies.

On this module you will examine how transnational film can articulate themes of displacement, nomadism, cosmopolitanism, border-crossing, homelessness, diaspora, and hybridity. This includes exploring how transnational cinema, both as a cultural form and a mode of production. We will consider cinematic representations of marginalised groups such as immigrants, exiles and asylum seekers, as well as considering  a diverse range of film makers as case studies. This module will also include a field trip relevant to the study of transnational cinema.

On this module we will explore issues surrounding gender and sexuality. We will debate whether various elements of gender are natural or cultural, as well as how different genders and sexualities are presented in film and literature. We will investigate how do different cultural groups use popular culture and literature to reinforce, challenge, transgress or disrupt traditional gender expectations. This module challenges you to draw on all of the skills, theories and approaches encountered throughout your degree to interrogate the representation of gender roles and sexuality in popular culture.

On this module you will approach contemporary popular culture as a site of ideological, political and cultural expression. You will assess the ways in which popular forms such as animation, comic books, movies, television, music and social media react to the social and cultural conversations of their time. This includes everything from discussions around race, class and gender to concerns about security and politics. We also consider how popular culture can draw from, make use of and subvert ideas and imagery from the cultural past.