Outline

Overview

What is cinema in the twenty-first century? This unit examines the radical transformations that cinema has undergone in the past few decades. Where the onset of the digital initially sparked fears of cinema’s impending death, we will trace the complexity of cinema's evolution from its earliest celluloid incarnations to the technologies of digital simulation. We will consider how cinema’s intersection with mobile technologies, virtual reality, and streaming services has encouraged new ways of thinking about film’s potential to intervene in the political, ethical and philosophical problems of our current era.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Film Studies
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 2000 level in FILM or 12 credit points at 2000 level in ARHT or 12 credit points at 2000 level in ARIN
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	ARHT3601
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Matilda Mroz, matilda.mroz@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Blythe Worthy, blythe.worthy@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Kaitlin Lake, kaitlin.lake@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 2 April 2024

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Research Essay Research Essay	50%	Formal exam period Due date: 06 Jun 2024 at 23:59	2300 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Special Journal Issue: Project Proposal Groups develop a structure and argument for their final project.	15%	Week 06 Due date: 28 Mar 2024 at 23:59	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Special Journal Issue: Submission Final project submission in Google Sites/Canvas Presentations: Wk 13 tutes.	35%	Week 11 Due date: 10 May 2024 at 23:59	1200 words or equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

1. Cinematic Transformations: A Special Journal Issue

This assessment has 2 components.
Weighting of your final mark: 50%

This assignment enables you to think critically and analytically about digital and posthuman cinematic transformations, and to produce material suited to a real-world context.

In groups of approx. 4, you will develop and produce a Special Issue, using Google Sites, of a hypothetical academic journal on one of the themes of the unit.

It’s important to approach this assignment as a group and work collaboratively. Each of you has strengths and various areas and levels of expertise. In this assignment, we want you to work toward these strengths in building your journal issue, helping each other, being open to ideas, holding brainstorming sessions, and generally working together to produce the best journal issue as a group.

All groups must have a clear and open platform for discussion and communication. We have allocated some time to project development in class, but this will not be enough: you will need to meet/discuss at least 2-3 times during semester to ensure your project is developing smoothly.

And remember, we are always here to help, to meet, to chat, to look at your work in progress at any stage of its development.

We have to stress: there are challenges with group work, which all of you will encounter. There are also tremendous rewards. You need to invest in your group, and take responsibility for your part in the group. Bottom line: to do well in this assignment, you’ll need to work as a group.

Some possible broad themes include:

Affect and Digital Cinema
Digital Cinema and 'New' Media
Post-Human Cinemas
Cinema and Climate Change
Gender, Ethics and Technology
Technology and Nostalgia
Digital Life and Extinction
Netflix and Streaming Platforms
A topic of your own, developed in consultation with your tutor

Stages of Development and Submission:

(1) Project Proposal (each group member submits the same document on Canvas) [1000w total]
Weighting: 15% of final mark

The proposal is due Week 6

This proposal must include your project title, group members, and contents (page numbers not required).

Each group participant will then briefly outline what their contribution to the Special Issue will be. For example:

If you are writing the theoretical article – write a thesis statement explaining your central concepts and the basic structure of your article.

If you are doing a profile/interview of a key figure – provide a rationale for the inclusion of this particular figure in the Special Issue.

If you are doing the film review – outline the direction of your review and why this particular film is relevant to the overall project.

If you are doing the introduction/overview statement – explain how the separate components of the Special Issue tie together into a coherent project, and how your group will contribute to our knowledge of the chosen topic.

Finally, the whole group needs to choose two key academic articles/books that are relevant to your project as a whole. For example, have you been inspired by scholarship on the “digital turn”, or would you like your project to contribute to our understanding of the posthuman? Name two key texts on your chosen topic, provide a full reference list for them (as you would in a bibliography) and write 2-3 sentences on each text summarising their arguments and their importance in the field.

Each student should contribute to this document. Further guidance will be provided in tutorials and lectures. Marking rubrics are on Canvas.

(2) Journal Submission
Weighting: 35% of final mark

This submission is due in Week 11.

Your Special Journal Issue must be made up of the following components with each group member assigned to and responsible for ONE component. They will be marked individually, but you must continue to work with your group to ensure that your individual piece coheres with the project as a whole. All components must be illustrated, whether with still images or embedded clips.

These are the components of the Special Issue:

Introduction (including title and contents page)
Frame the journal issue with an original title and contents page. Then lay out an overview of your topic, providing some explanation of the major historical and theoretical contexts that underpin and frame your project. You will then need to briefly introduce each section of the Special Issue – so make sure your group members keep you up to date on what they are writing!

Word count: 1200.

A Profile or Interview of a Key Figure
This person should be an artist, critic, theorist, academic or someone working specifically within the area of focus. If you are writing a profile, consider how the person’s career as a whole (rather than one book or film) contribute to our understanding of a particular topic. If you are doing a written interview, you need to write a short introductory paragraph, formulate sophisticated and appropriate questions for the person to answer, and write a concluding paragraph. If you are doing a recorded interview (voice or video) you will still need an introduction and a conclusion (you can either submit this as a word file, or you can script it and read it out as though you were on a podcast introducing a guest), with approximately 7 minutes of interview in-between (we recommend you record a longer interview and edit it for the best bits).

Word count: 1200 for written interview or profile. For a recording: 250 words introduction, 200 words conclusion, and approx. 7 minutes of recorded voice/image in between.

Analytical/Theoretical Article
In this piece, imagine you are a theorist working within the field. Offer an article in the form of an essay delving into a specific aspect of your topic. A useful prompt: start with 1-2 provocative questions posed in your general subject area, and frame your argument around those questions. You may bring in film examples, but your primary focus will be theoretical. Think of it as a micro-essay.

Word count: 1200

Film Review

Your task is to review between 1-3 films or works in related media that exemplify your topic area/approach/object of study. In terms of approach and tone, your reviews should be written for a non-academic though sophisticated cinema journal audience. The emphasis in this piece should not be on a simple evaluative judgment of the films, rather you should explore how the films are related to the conceptual issues highlighted by the course.

Word count: 1200.

Your special issue must be created and presented as a Google Sites website. It must be finalised in Google Sites in Week 11 and the link sent to your tutors by the due date (see due dates table above).

Only one group member needs to send this link. This email should say something like: 'Dear [Tutor's Name], I am submitting this link [insert link] to our Google Site [give the title of your site] on behalf of my group'. It's helpful to copy in all group members into this email so that everyone knows the job has been done.

Each student will submit their section individually to Canvas as normal.

In Week 13, all students are required to do a short presentation to the class on their Special Journal Issue submission.

2. Research Essay

Weighting: 50%
Word Length: 2300w, not including headings, notes and bibliography.

The Research Essay is due in the first Exam week.

The conceptual framework for this essay is the intersection of the major topics we’ve examined in this unit, including post-humanism and post-cinema.

Essay topics are below.

You may incorporate any material used in the unit. This is a research essay and you are expected to draw on assigned readings and your own academic research.

You need to incorporate analysis of two films set as “required viewing” in the unit. You may draw on the “recommended” films too, but your main focus should be on two films from the “required viewing” list.

Note that you can’t reproduce material from Assessment 1. You may draw on sources used in Assessment 1, but this material, formulated within an argument for the research essay, should be substantively different. Feel free to check with your tutor on this issue.

Style and Formatting

Title your essay (as if you are publishing the piece). Let the title reflect the major line of argument.
Make sure the essay is properly referenced, using Chicago, MLA or APA7. You may use footnotes or the author-date style, so long as the referencing is internally consistent and contains the key bibliographic information.
Include a bibliography/filmography of all works cited in the essay.
Edit your work for precision, clarity and continuity.
You are encouraged to use 2-3 images in your work, but make sure you refer to these images in an analytical way, rather than just using them as illustrations.
Further marking criteria will be posted on Canvas.

Essay Questions

Choose ONE of the following questions:

1/ According to Manovich (‘What is Digital Cinema?’), ‘the challenge which digital media poses to cinema extends far beyond the issue of narrative. Digital media redefines the very identity of cinema.’

Discuss this statement in relation to 2-3 films on the unit. How do your chosen films ‘let cinema tell its stories in a new way’ (Manovich) and redefine our understanding of what cinema itself is?

2/ ‘There is no life and no death without a relation to some frame’ (Butler, Frames of War).

Explore how 2-3 films on the unit frame life and death, and how the films ‘frame’ our understanding of what is and is not (fully) human. Consider how ‘framing’ is both literal (the cinematic/digital frame) and conceptual (how we ‘frame’ the idea of the human/non-human).

3/ According to Nishime (‘Whitewashing Yellow Futures’) contemporary cinema frequently creates an opposition between bodies that ‘attain subjecthood’, and bodies ‘which are destined to be used and discarded’. Explore this idea, referring to issues of gender and/or race, in relation to 2-3 films on this unit.

4/ For Hayles (How We Became Posthuman), the ‘posthuman’ evokes both ‘terror’ and ‘pleasure’, including ‘the exhilarating prospect of getting out of some of the old boxes and opening up new ways of thinking about what being human means’. Discuss how 2-3 films on the unit have negotiated the possibilities, challenges and limitations of the ‘posthuman’.

5/ Tryon points out that ‘the introduction of new technologies is often accompanied by utopian promises of greater access, broader political participation, and increased choices. But despite these promises, true choice and mobility are often greatly exaggerated.’ Discuss this statement using 2-3 films as a case study. You may choose to focus on either production or distribution if you wish, but you may also consider both production and distribution in relation to your case studies.

6/ Brown argues in the introduction of Non-Cinema: Global Digital Filmmaking and the Multitude that ‘non-cinema, then, involves an attempt to challenge the limits of cinema’ and asks us to see ‘those who are not seen or who are invisible, and who as a result are cast as unreal, barbarian, useless and/or as not valid.’ Discuss this statement in relation to any 2-3 films on the unit (even if they might not fall neatly into Brown’s category of ‘non-cinema’).

7/ Abdi and Calafell have suggested that certain non-human or post-human figures in cinema might create ‘community rather than progeny’. Use this idea as a springboard to discuss the creation of post-human and non-human communities in 2-3 films on this unit. For example, you may wish to discuss reproductive futurism and the figure of the child, and/or AI/synthetic humans/non-humans/post-humans and their relationships with human figures in the films.

8/ According to Bolter and Grusin, ‘our culture wants both to multiply its media and to erase all traces of mediation: ideally, it wants to erase its media in the very act of multiplying them.’ Use this quote as a springboard to discuss how 2-3 films on the unit deploy and/or ‘remediate’ other visual technologies, such as photography, celluloid film, camcorders, DV cameras, drones, phones, etc.

Assessment criteria

Assessment Criteria

This unit uses standards based assessment for award of assessment marks. The following grade descriptors are also available online at:

http://sydney.edu.au/arts/art_history/student_resources/

This guide indicates broadly the qualitative judgements implied by the various grades which may be awarded. Evaluation is made with due consideration of the different standards likely to be achieved by students in junior and senior intermediate (2nd year) and advanced (3rd year) units.

85%+ (High Distinction)

Work of exceptional standard.

Work demonstrates initiative and originality in research, analysis and argumentation; presents innovative, insightful interpretations of specific works of art, architecture, film and/or other media, which are used throughout to demonstrate points being made; effectively integrates visual analysis and critical engagement with scholarly debates to develop a rich and thorough analysis of its object(s) of study; indicates awareness of complexities and qualifications in argumentation; demonstrates careful thought about the critical, historical and/or theoretical context; provides evidence of wide ranging reading; is properly referenced and well presented; writing is clear, fluent, and persuasive.

A High Distinction is distinguished from a Distinction by the depth and sophistication of visual analysis deployed, and by the evidence of independent, critical thinking. Work which is awarded a mark of over 90% in senior level units of study will often contain some publishable or potentially publishable elements.

75-84% (Distinction)

Work of a superior standard

Work demonstrates an intelligent understanding of, and individual engagement with, material; visual analysis is well developed and harnessed to the argument, with thoughtful, detailed visual exposition of specific works used to demonstrate points; addresses an issue and presents a well argued, coherent case; demonstrates careful thought about the critical, historical and/or theoretical context; demonstrates an independent and critical attitude to readings; written work is properly referenced and well presented, with a clear structure and coherent overall argument; writing is characterized by individuality, clarity, and independent insight.

A Distinction is distinguished from a High Credit chiefly by the quality of its analysis of the works of art under discussion, and by its level of critical understanding and intellectual enquiry.

70-74% (High Credit)

Highly competent work demonstrating clear capacity to complete Honours successfully. This level of work is considered above average.

Work provides evidence of independent reading and thinking about relevant works of art and their contexts; demonstrates capacity to undertake close analysis of works of art and develop with c independent observations; demonstrates a sound grasp of subject matter and a good appreciation of key issues and contexts; shows understanding of relevant critical and theoretical considerations and of the conceptual issues raised; avoids summary; indicates an intelligent attempt at a critical or theoretical argument; is clearly and effectively written; is well referenced.

A High Credit is distinguished from a Low Credit chiefly by the extent of independent analysis of works of art, and by some obvious attempt to interpret the outcome of close analysis.

65-69% (Low Credit)

Very competent work though not necessarily of the standard to complete Honours.

The work shows some understanding of relevant critical and theoretical considerations and of the conceptual issues raised by a unit of study; demonstrates some independent reading and thinking about key works of art and their contexts; uses close critical analysis; avoids summary; attempts a critical or theoretical argument; is clearly and effectively written; is adequately referenced.

A Low Credit is distinguished from a High Pass by the degree of independent discussion of works of art, the clarity of the writing and the extent to which it attempts a more general critical and/or theoretical argument.

58-64% (High Pass)

Work of a good, satisfactory standard

Work demonstrates a broad and reasonably accurate command of the subject matter and some sense of its broader significance; demonstrates a genuine attempt at independent reading and thinking about works of art; generally avoids summary, paraphrase or unsubstantiated assertion; arguments may contain some oversimplification or superficiality; may sometimes present quotation for illustrative purposes merely, but does also present the outcome of some critical analysis; is adequately expressed; is adequately referenced.

50-57% (Pass)

Work of an acceptable standard

Work provides evidence of having read and thought about relevant works of art and issues; attempts a coherent argument though there may be ellipses in argumentation; discussion of works of art tends towards description rather than analysis; insufficient preparation for a visual test may be indicated by missed or incorrect identifications, lack of familiarity with periods, styles, key critical issues; may paraphrase fairly extensively; tends to use quotation for illustrative purposes only; may tend towards generality in answering a question; may present simplistic comment or unsubstantiated assertions; is adequately expressed though there may be some weaknesses in this area; may contain some referencing errors.

Below 50% (Fail)

Work not of an acceptable standard

Work may fail for any of the following reasons: little or no analysis of works of art; in a visual test, an inability to correctly identify works, periods and styles; serious mistakes in identification, indicating lack of understanding of the material taught; minimal research; irrelevance of content; unacceptable levels of paraphrasing; excessive use of quotation for illustrative purposes only, without any attempt at analysis; excessive level of generality in answering a question; sloppy, inconsistent presentation; inappropriate or obscure expression; incoherent general structure; inadequate referencing; late submission of work without extension.

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.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Work not submitted on or before the due date is subject to a penalty of 5% per calendar day late. If work is submitted more than 10 days after the due date, or is submitted after the return date, the mark will be 0. Details of the Faculty Resolutions and Provisions regarding late work: http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/arts/rules/faculty_resolutions_arts.shtml

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.

Learning support

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.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to Cinematic Transformations	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	From the Index to the Digital (and Back Again?)	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Preparing for the Special Journal Issue	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 03	The Digital Turn: The Matrix	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 03	From the Index to the Digital (and Back Again?)	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 04	Digital Ethics	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 04	Group Project Proposal Workshop; The Matrix	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 05	The Posthuman: Blade Runner 2049	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 05	Group Project Proposal Workshop; Digital Ethics	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 06	Decolonisation and Posthuman Precarity: Advantageous	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 06	Blade Runner 2049	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 07	Decolonisation and Afrofuturism	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 07	Decolonisation Workshop; Advantageous	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 08	What Audiences Want: Film Distribution and Subscription Video on Demand	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 08	Decolonisation; Black Panther; See You Yesterday	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 09	Undead Cinema and The Digital Underground	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 09	What Audiences Want: Film Distribution and Subscription Video on Demand	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 10	Undead Cinema and The Return of the (Camcorder) Dead	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 10	Undead Cinema: This is Not a Film; A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 11	Drone Vision: Eye in the Sky	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 11	Undead Cinema: Aftersun; The Blair Witch Project	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 12	Phone Vision: Tangerine	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 12	Eye in the Sky; Tangerine	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 13	Reviewing Cinematic Transformations; Essay Writing Guidance	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 13	Group presentations	Tutorial (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance

According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold. If a unit of study has a participation mark, your attendance may influence this mark. For more information on attendance, see https://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/arts/rules/faculty_resolutions_arts.shtml.

Class Requirements

All lectures for this unit will be conducted in-person and online, available as recordings. All tutorials will take place in-person. There is no zoom option for tutorials and they will not be recorded.

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

Topic 1. Introducing Cinematic Transformations

Required Reading

Steven Shaviro, 'Introduction' and 'Corporate Cannibal' from Post-Cinematic Affect (Ropley: John Hunt Publishing, 2010).

Required Viewing

Grace Jones and Nick Hooker, Corporate Cannibal (2008).

Topic 2. From the Index to the Digital (and Back Again?)

Required Reading

Lev Manovich, “What is Digital Cinema?” in Post-Cinema: Theorizing 21st Century Film, ed. Shane Denson and Julia Leyda (Sussex: ReFrame, 2016), pp. 20-50

David Rodowick, “The Digital Event,” in The Virtual Life of Film (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007), 163-174.

Required Viewing

La Jetée (Chris Marker, France, 1962).

Russian Ark (Alexander Sokurov, Russia/Germany/Japan, 2002).

Waru (Ainsley Gardiner, Casey Kaa, Renae Maihi, Awanui Simich-Pene, Briar Grace-Smith, Paula Whetu Jones, Chelsea Winstanley, Katie Wolfe, New Zealand, 2017)

Topic 3. The Digital Turn: The Matrix

Required Reading

Cáel M. Keegan, Lana and Lily Wachowski (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2018), pp. 1-7.

Mike Jones, “Vanishing Point: Spatial Composition and the Virtual Camera,” Animation 2.3 (2007): 225-243.

Required Viewing

The Matrix (Lana and Lily Wachowski, USA/Australia 1999).

Topic 4. Digital Ethics

Required Reading

Judith Butler, Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? (New York, 2009) [extracts].

Moé Suzuki, "The limits of humanisation: 'ideal' figures of the refugee and depoliticisation of displacement in virtual reality film Clouds Over Sidra", European Journal of Cultural Studies (2022).

Kit MacFarlane, "Cinema for Claustrophiles: Virtual Reality at the Adelaide Film Festival and Beyond", Metro Magazine, Issue 200 (May 2019).

Required Viewing

Carriberrie (Dominic Allen, Australia, 2018).

Clouds Over Sidra (Gabo Arora, Chris Milk, Garry Pousman, USA, 2015).

Topic 5. The Posthuman: Blade Runner 2049

Required Reading

N. Katherine Hayles, 'Conclusion: What Does It Mean to be Posthuman?' in How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999), pp. 283-292.

Sue Short, 'The Synthetic Female: Cyborgs and the Inscription of Gender', from Cyborg Cinema and Contemporary Subjectivity. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Required Viewing

Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, USA/UK/Canada, 2017).

Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, USA, 1982, Final Cut version 2007).

Topic 6. Decolonisation and Posthuman Precarity: Advantageous

Required Reading

LeiLani Nishime, 'Whitewashing Yellow Futures in Ex Machina, Cloud Atlas and Advantageous', Gender, Labor, and Technology in Sci-fi Film, Journal of Asian American Cinema.

Danielle Becker, "Afrofuturism and decolonisation: using Black Panther as methodology", Image and Text, Number 33 (2019).

Required Viewing

Advantageous (Jennifer Phang, USA, 2015).

Topic 7. Decolonisation and Afrofuturism

Required Reading

Renée T. White, Ritzenhoff, Karen A, (eds.), Afrofuturism in Black Panther: Gender, Identity and the Re-making of Blackness, (Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2021). Extracts: Preface by Zeinabu irene Davis; Introduction by White and Ritzenhoff.

Mark Dery, “‘Black to the Future’: Interviews with Samuel R. Delany, Greg Tate, and Tricia Rose’”, in Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture, ed. by Mark Dery, Durham and (London: Duke University Press, 1994).

Amber M. Neal, "Black Brilliance, Untethered: (Re)viewing See You Yesterday", Journal of Futures Studies, Vol. 26 (3), 2022.

Required Viewing

Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, USA/South Africa, 2018).

See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol, USA, 2019).

Topic 8. What Audiences Want: Film Distribution and Subscription Video on Demand

Required Reading

"Distribution and Marketing in Contemporary Hollywood", Philip Drake in The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry eds Paul McDonald and Janet Wasko pp 63 - 81, 2007

"Introduction: On-Demand Culture - Digital Distribution and the Future of Cinema", Chuck Tryon in On-Demand Culture: Digital Delivery and the Future of Movies pp 1-17 2013

Required Viewing

The Dressmaker (Jocelyn Moorhouse, Australia, 2015)

Topic 9. Undead Cinema and The Digital Underground

Required Reading

William Brown, 'The Iranian Digital Underground, Multitudinous Cinema and the Diegetic Spectator', in Non-Cinema: Global Digital Film-making and the Multitude (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018).

Jay Bolter and Richard Gruisin, “Introduction: The Double Logic of Remediation,” in Remediation: Understanding New Media (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 1999), pp. 2-15.

Required Viewing

This Is Not a Film (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2011).

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, USA, 2015).

Topic 10. Undead Cinema and The Return of the (Camcorder) Dead

Required Reading

José van Dijck, “Future Memories: The Construction of Cinematic Hindsight”, Theory, Culture & Society 25, no 3 (2008): 71-87.

Jaimie Baron, “Archival Voyeurism”, in The Archive Effect: Found Footage and the Audiovisual Experience of History, London: Routledge, 2014, 81-107.

Required Viewing

Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, UK, 2022).

The Blair Witch Project (Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick, USA, 1999).

Topic 11. Drone Vision: Eye in the Sky

Required Reading

Yasco Horsman, 'Drone Bomb Me: Cinema & Warfare in The Good Kill and Eye in the Sky', The Senses and Society, 15:3, 2020.

Daniela Agostinho, Kathrin Maurer and Kristin Veel, 'Introduction to The Sensorial Experience of the Drone', The Senses and Society, 15:3, 2020.

Required Viewing

Eye in the Sky (Gavin Hood, UK/Canada, 2015).

Topic 12. Phone Vision: Tangerine

Required Reading

Ryan Alexander Diduck, “Reach Out and Touch Something (That Touches You Back): The iPhone. Mobility and Magic,” Canadian Journal of Film Studies 20/2 (2011): 55-74.

Dossier: Phone Camera at the Intersection of Technology, Politics, and Transmedia Storytelling, Frames Cinema Journal, Issue 18, Summer 2021.

Required Viewing

Tangerine (dir. Sean Baker, USA, 2015).

Learning outcomes

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.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

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

LO1. engage with current theories of cinema as text, image and new media technology
LO2. identify the key industrial, artistic and cultural coordinates of the ‘digital turn’
LO3. demonstrate complex, subtle image analysis across celluloid and digital cinema platforms
LO4. work within collaborative environments to develop independent, creative, and analytical content
LO5. demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the impact of digital and virtual technologies on contemporary social and cultural life

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
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

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

The reading list and assignments for this unit have been streamlined.

Additional information

Additional costs

Students may be required to rent or purchase films for this unit. Much of the content taught in this unit is online, and can only be rented or purchased by individuals. We have tried to keep costs to an absolute minimum and will warn students in advance where purchases might be necessary.

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.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

1. Cinematic Transformations: A Special Journal Issue

2. Research Essay

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

FILM3000: Cinematic Transformations

Semester 1, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

1. Cinematic Transformations: A Special Journal Issue

2. Research Essay

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect