Consuming Film and Television

Code

CULT1025

School

Cultural, Media and Visual Studies

Level

1

Credits

20

Semesters

Spring UK

Summary

This module engages students with the intellectual and historical questions surrounding the consumption—viewing and listening, in public and private environments including theatres, homes and more—of film, television and other screen media. The module addresses critical paradigms and cases surrounding different viewing contexts, including public spaces such as cinemas, private spaces such as homes, and emerging hybrid spaces. The module addresses too the international variations among viewing environments and experiences, along with censorship and other regulatory practices that relate to media consumption. To understand not only consumption environments but also media users, the module conceptualises and investigates screen audiences, addressing key oppositions such as active vs. passive and mass vs. fragmented audiences. The module exposes students to historical as well as contemporary cases, with each week offering one dialectic (e.g. public vs. private) and one case study for consideration. Students completing the module should gain an understanding of how screen media offer not static texts but components of experiences dependent on consumption environments and on audiences’ attitudes, cultural backgrounds and other activities.

A single coursework assessment will replace all failed assessment components at the reassessment stage.

Target Students

Only available for Film and Television Studies students, Liberal Arts students and Exchange students

Classes

• One 3-hour workshop each week for 11 weeks
• One 1-hour seminar each week for 11 weeks

Assessment

• 100% Coursework: Coursework - 3,000 words portfolio of written work and equivalent

Assessed by end of spring semester

Educational Aims

Learning Outcomes

A: Knowledge and Understanding of: 
Al the place and roles of film in everyday life both as industry and as cultural practice
A2 the political, economic and cultural contexts from which cinema and institutional practices have emerged
A3 the role of technology in shaping the development of practices in film production, distribution and consumption
A4 the historical development of film as a cultural and industrial practice
A5 the structures and dynamics governing the relationships between cinema and other cultural industries
A6 the wide range of film and television aesthetics, the way their judgment is constructed and their processes experienced

B: Intellectual Skills
B1 reason critically and independently
B2 apply theoretical approaches to specific case studies
B3 identify and solve problems
B4 organise and present relevant research material
B5 engage with and contribute to ideas and views generated in group work
B6 be reflective about the strengths and weaknesses of their own work and the learning process

C: Professional/Practical Skills
C1 identify, plan and undertake research involving the gathering and selection of relevant material from a variety of sources
C2 manage time and resources effectively by drawing on planning and organisational skills
C3 produce work that is informed by, and contextualised within relevant theoretical concepts and debates
C4 employ relevant technical and analytical vocabularies in writing and talking cogently about film
C5 carry out various forms of research involving substantial independent enquiry
C6 identify and explore new or emerging areas in the study of film

D: Transferable/Key Skills
D1 plan and carry out work in an independent, self-reliant manner
D2 put to use a range of relevant IT skills, such as word processing and using the Internet as a resource for research
D3 communicate effectively in written form
D5 manage time and work to deadlines
D6 reflect upon and assess own progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and act to rectify possible problems

Conveners

• Dr Kieran Foster