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Unit outline_

FILM1001: Hollywood: Art, Industry, Entertainment

Semester 2, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

Since the early 20th century, Hollywood has dominated film screens around the world. This unit considers America's 'dream factory' as profit-oriented industry, mass entertainment, and cinematic art form. It covers key historical developments including the star system, Production Code censorship, New Hollywood, and the franchise film.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Film Studies
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
ARHT1003
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Nicholas Hannan, nicholas.hannan@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Assignment hurdle task Take-home Exercise
Essay plus critical reflection
45% -
Due date: 13 Nov 2022 at 23:59
2500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Participation Participation: individual
Participation in tutorials and online.
10% Ongoing Weeks 1-12.
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO4 LO3 LO2
Assignment Critical commentary - initial analysis
Film sequence analysis
15% Week 04
Due date: 04 Sep 2022 at 23:59
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1
Assignment Critical commentary - final analysis
Voiceover critical commentary of selected film sequence
30% Week 07
Due date: 25 Sep 2022 at 23:59
1500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO2
hurdle task = hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

More information can be found in Canvas

Assessment criteria

More information can be found in Canvas

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Entertainment and Everyday Life Tutorial (1 hr)  
Taking Hollywood Seriously - Get Out Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 02 Taking Hollywood Seriously - Get Out Tutorial (1 hr)  
Hollywood's Commercial Aesthetic: Focus on Genre - Stagecoach Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 03 Hollywood's Commercial Aesthetic: Focus on Genre - Stagecoach Tutorial (1 hr)  
Narrative, Style and Emotion - His Girl Friday Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 04 Narrative, Style and Emotion - His Girl Friday Tutorial (1 hr)  
The Studio System - Gilda Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 05 The Studio System - Gilda Tutorial (1 hr)  
Stars and the Star System - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 06 Stars and the Star System - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Tutorial (1 hr)  
The Production Code and its Breakdown - Psycho Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 07 The Production Code and its Breakdown - Psycho Tutorial (1 hr)  
From New Hollywood to Blockbusters - Rocky Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 08 From New Hollywood to Blockbusters - Rocky Tutorial (1 hr)  
From Blockbusters to Franchises - Star Wars Episode VII Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 09 From Blockbusters to Franchises - Star Wars Episode VII Tutorial (1 hr)  
The Turn to Animation - Coraline Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 10 The Turn to Animation - Coraline Tutorial (1 hr)  
Genre Revisited - Starship Troopers Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 11 Genre Revisited - Starship Troopers Tutorial (1 hr)  
Hollywood and Celebrity Culture - La La Land Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 12 Hollywood and Celebrity Culture - La La Land Tutorial (1 hr)  
It's a Wrap! Lecture (2 hr)  

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Required and recommended readings will be available in eReserve.

Films are available in different formats, online streaming via eReserve, or on DVD in the Fisher 2 Hour collection (and now available to borrow for extended periods).  DVD’s are also available for individual or small group viewing from the SCHAEFFER LIBRARY in the Mills Building.  Appointment required.  

Depending on public health orders, there will also be some limited on-campus screenings – more details are available on the Canvas unit of study site.

The library has made every effort to make titles available in streaming format, however some titles are only available in physical formats. There are different reasons for this, but they include the lack of availability on commercial streaming platforms such as Kanopy, due to licensing restrictions. In addition, the university is not able to rely on copyright exemptions under statute law that would allow copying of films and streaming via Canvas Studio.

If you prefer to access a streaming version of those titles available as DVDs in Fisher 2 Hour, you will have to rent or purchase those film titles through the relevant online platform or service provider.  If you are purchasing physical items, please bear in mind that delivery times may be slow due to the impacts of COVID-19.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Identify elements of Hollywood’s classical style and commercial aesthetic, and analyse their effects in terms of narrative and symbolic meaning, audience experience, and ideology;
  • LO2. Demonstrate an understanding of the history of Hollywood cinema across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and its most significant technological, industrial, and aesthetic transformations;
  • LO3. Critically reflect on Hollywood cinema as mass entertainment and cinematic art form;
  • LO4. Draw on the concepts and issues explored in the unit, as well as further independent research, to construct arguments and perspectives on Hollywood cinema.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Minor changes have been made to assessments in response to feedback from students in 2019 and due to the turbulent situation of Covid 19 in Sydney in July-August 2021. The group presentation assignment has been removed for the reason that face-to-face classes may have to be moved online. There will be no on-campus weekly film screening.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.