CINEMATOGRAPHIC GENRES

Degree course: 
Corso di First cycle degree in STORIA E STORIE DEL MONDO CONTEMPORANEO
Academic year when starting the degree: 
2023/2024
Year: 
2
Academic year in which the course will be held: 
2024/2025
Course type: 
Basic compulsory subjects
Credits: 
6
Period: 
First Semester
Standard lectures hours: 
52
Detail of lecture’s hours: 
Lesson (40 hours), Seminar (12 hours)
Requirements: 

No prerequisites are required

Final Examination: 
Orale

The final assessment consists solely of an oral exam. Students will be asked specific questions designed to assess their acquisition of the knowledge and skills described above (‘Educational objectives and expected learning outcomes’). The final mark will be determined by the degree of acquisition of these knowledge and skills, with the following criteria, which also take into account the interdisciplinary perspective that characterises the degree programme: knowledge of the subject matter (40%); ability to summarise and analyse during the presentation (20%); ability to independently formulate a critically reasoned judgement (20%); mastery of expression and language (20%).

Assessment: 
Voto Finale

Learning objectives The course aims to explore the main historical, theoretical and social issues relating to the evolution of the prevailing film genres since the 1970s, particularly in the national cinemas of the United States, France and Italy, using a comparative approach. There will be two main areas of investigation: - film genres: a comparative analysis of the main film genres, noir, western, comedy, science fiction, melodrama and horror. Their development, social function, and the psychological, aesthetic and production mechanisms that have characterised their evolution - dystopian science fiction: characteristics and social role of a specific strand of the genre through the analysis of films but also by drawing on literary works, in order to identify the authors (filmmakers, writers) who have allowed the contamination of languages for the representation of a dark but plausible vision of the future The content of the course is particularly relevant to the learning area of audiovisual and media storytelling. Expected learning outcomes At the end of the course, students will be able to: - understand the historical, linguistic and editorial developments of the genre system - analyse film texts in linguistic and semantic terms - place filmic texts within their genre - understand the indicative value of texts and genres in the contemporary socio-cultural and cultural industry system

The course will specifically analyse the following topics: - basic elements of film history from 1950 to the present day - general characteristics - formal and thematic - of the main genres of the period in question in-depth analysis of the formal and thematic characteristics of the genres that constitute the area of investigation - trends in contemporary film genres - comprehensive analysis of several films considered seminal in the dialectic of the genres that constitute the area of investigation (at least one title per genre)

Convenzionale

The educational objectives of the course will be achieved through lectures (for a total of 40 hours of lessons + 12 hours of in-depth seminars). The following teaching methods will be used during the lessons: - presentation of the content by the teacher - analysis of film texts by the lecturer or the class, individually or in groups - in-depth monographic study in the seminar part of the course The course may include the participation of guest speakers in the classroom to explore particular aspects and content in greater depth.

The titles of the films to be analysed will be announced at the beginning of the course.

Professors