This trimester will end very soon, so please let me know how you feel/felt about this course. You could write here, for example, about particular content you did not know at the beginning and have learned about in this class, moments in the class you were surprised about or felt challenged with, points you think that could be improved or just simply look back at all films and how you think about them now, etc. I personally would be also very interested about your opinions concerning full length screenings vs. many different clips. Which did you prefer? Which were the most memorable ones? Also, this semester I have introduced the group discussions between students. This was leading to a bit of a delay which resulted that I had to cut one full-length screening. Do you think these group sessions were effective for you? Your feedback will be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for this semester, your blogging and making this course better and better!!!
American Film
Be proactive!!
In order to pass this class, you need to work hard. Especially, blogging is the most important part. You need at least 65 blogging points to pass.
The blogging points occupy 50% of all grade.
Please blog!!!!!
Blog when you wake up, blog during eating lunch, blog before you sleep.
Then you can pass.
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Although I was fairly familiar with the majority of the topics in the course, I did appreciate that there were less popular films to be seen. My own suggestion to get more movies into the course would be possibly making a list of 2 or 3 additional ‘side films’ per topic/era and have blog points for those films be worth two points per 80 words, in order to cover the additional watching. This means that people who don’t have much to say about some topics don’t need to stress too much because they have this buffer of additional films. Not only will this expose people to other films in these eras that otherwise wouldn’t be seen, but it will also make blogging even easier. I’ve been in film classes before where we have had to watch films from a list outside of class and then write about them. Although I feel like this would be more approached like a ‘breakout session’, where you don’t lose points for not blogging, I still think it will be an attractive alternative to some individuals, as it gives more fresh topics to blog about. I personally find it easier to write all of my thoughts in one (or maybe two) posts, and find it hard to continue from there, so more blogging topics would have been nice.
I also wish that in general we did see more films. I personally don’t mind having to read some of the information on my own, if it means we can spend more class time watching films, especially because more films means more blogging topics.
One more suggestion would be that since this class is so information-specific (dates, names, etc rather than basic information), I wish the high-stakes quiz were to be broken down into two sections, one midway through and one at the end, to lighten the load a bit.
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I really enjoyed this class, I learned a great deal and really liked the movies as well. However, I think having a more organized set of terms would make it easier to understand what we have to truly memorize from each era. I think it would make it easier for the exam, and it would make it easier when studying instead of looking at a whole bunch of information and not knowing what’s the most important.
Having a study guide or at least a list of the main terms were supposed to study would be very helpful. I think learning about it in class and trying to look over the information on the slides just like that makes it hard to really understand what we’re supposed to really focus on. I can read over the slides, and the notes I took during class, but a lot of the information we’re supposed to memorize tends to be more detailed, so I feel I didn’t learn everything I needed from that specific topic.
The mini quiz we took made me realize I wasn’t as prepared for the final quiz and now I am scared of how well I will do. Since topics that I thought I knew, seem to not be so specific or fresh in my memory. Therefore, I think having a more specific study guide or more organized slides would make it easier.
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I enjoyed the class a lot and really respect Karl’s teaching methods, so there are not too many things that need improvement. I will say that I agree with Wally in that I wish there was more film screenings. Sometimes I felt like the screenings were only 2-3 lecture classes apart and some screenings felt like 5-6 lectures apart so during those times of more lecture classes, I wonder if there could be some room for more movies.
Another thing that I noticed in this class is that there were far less extra credit opportunities than in the media and society class. Of course I know that these are two different classes and they are different levels but I also feel that the easier class, media and society, had more opportunities for points than this more difficult or intense class, American film. I think there would be a lot of material to work with for subjects of extra credit as there were many movies that Karl mentioned throughout his lectures but did not screen. Perhaps there could be extra topics for blogging on those movies or optional reports or presentations on some of these movies. I feel that this class really makes you think about movies and how they reflect society. It really changes what you notice in movies. Going back to the subject of extra credit, I think one really interesting extra assignment could maybe be to make a Karl-style presentation of your personal favorite movie. I think if would be really fun to analyze our favorite movies the way we did with the movies Karl showed. Through this class, I found out that my favorite movie was actually a huge flop. It would be so interesting to present what I liked about this movie versus what the audience’s reaction was and hypothesize why it didn’t do well over all. I think maybe other students have also now begun looking at their favorite movies differently so, maybe if this would be a possible way to gain extra points, many people would participate. These kinds of extra credit projects could also give something to do on the day of the final as well.
As for feedback on the group discussions: personally I love group discussions, but I don’t think my groups were ever shuffled well so I personally never really benefited from the group discussions in class. I usually ended up with the same 3 people with usually only the addition of one person. Also the usual members of my group often had a hard time understanding some of the movies, so they had a little less to contribute and often I also would have to explain certain parts of the movie. This is not a complaint against who I was paired with. I just sometimes wished that the groups would’ve been mixed better so that they would not always only have to listen to me and so they could hear other people and opinions. Maybe one solution would be to allow students to choose what group topic they want to discuss. For example, ask which students want to discuss aesthetics and create a group from who raises their hand.
Those are just some recommendations but really and truly I enjoyed the class and I felt like I was able to learn a lot and I am very grateful to the professor for making this class so fun and easy to understand.
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I learned a lot from this class especially about the theories and roots of American films. Before taking this class, I have only been exposed to Post modern films and some classic Japanese films, although I have seen few American classic films before, I havent really had the chance to know further about its background and how it was relevant during the time it was released.
Before, when watching films, I always just analyze its misce-en-scene and directing but haven’t really analyzed or discussed about the historical background, the types of equipment used, and the motivation, inspiration, and the life background of the director. I am glad that I was able to learn all of these in this class. The side movies we have seen were also helpful to further know more about a particular era and style of filmmaking.
If there are somethings that I would like to change or improve, first, I agree with Wally about adding more side films after each major screenings and have a group discussion about it in class. It would help the students remember more about that particular time of filmmaking and the facts about that film genre. Also, I think Adding more screening days for major films will be helpful. I felt that the western genre week was super long, that we could have had another western film instead of watching short clips of several films. But overall, I think the choices of films were nice.
In terms of lectures and discussions, I think it would be better if there will be specific questions in the slides at beginning of each lecture so that all the students will have an idea about the objective of the lectures. The slideshows look great, but since there are lots of dates, titles, and happening, I think make it more simplified by putting on date charts or even just using 2-3 colors will make it much easier to understand. For discussions, I noticed that only few and same students are participating in class, thus by adding questions, it is easier for students to have an idea of what to ask during Q&A sessions. About the group discussions, I feel like not all the students are talking, especially the Japanese students, so maybe asking for their personal opinion during the whole class discussion would help them to speak up a bit and gain communication points. Compared to 3 other film analysis classes I have taken before in TUJ, I think this class is the most silent one or maybe it was just a matter of luck. I remember whenever the professor throws a political related questions in other film analysis classes, students tend to be more active and talk in class. I think challenging the students will make them talk more.
For the quiz, I think this is the part where most of the students actually learn because we have to remember a lot, which I think is good. But maybe splitting it into 2 parts or having review every week (e.g on screen mini quiz) will be helpful and will push the students to read the handouts every week and not cram on the night before the quiz. I also agree with Sauce that more options for extra credit will be helpful for students who are not really strong with communication and participation. Doing a presentation about one’s favorite American film and connecting it to the topics we’ve done in class will be helpful.
But overall, I think I learned a great deal of lessons about American film in this class. It does not only make me think further about the roots and background when I watch films, but also applicable to anything we see and experience and even meet. I think this class helped us students to learn not to judge solely by the appearance but learning what behind the curtain is also very important when analyzing things in life.
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I could enjoy the class in this whole semester. Actually, I did not have much interests to the American films because I had not had watched these kinds film so much. However, through this class, I really interested in American film and also actors. In addition, I could learn a lot about American film history. I did not know anything about American film history. Therefore, I was very surprised when I learned about the beginning of the American film. Edison made the first machine, Kinetoscope, and it was only for one person, and also it could have only 30 to 60 seconds of the film. I am not good at history, but I could learn a lot in this class, so I have interests for it. If I have a chance to learn more, I want to learn about the history. In addition, I had not watched the film in the past without the class session, so I really want to try these films such as Woody Allen’s film without the class.
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When I first registered for this course, I honestly didn’t fully know what I was getting. All I wanted was the credits I needed to graduate so I basically signed up for this class with little to no intent of truly learning anything. I was so used to taking classes that I knew I wouldn’t be useful in my chosen career and life in the long-term, so I just went with it. The title of the class also gave me a solid idea of what was to be studied: Hollywood movies throughout history. However, considering that Karl is the instructor, I had a feeling that I might actually enjoy the class since he’s great from my past experience. And it turns out that I did.
There are way too many interesting things on the material that I’ve learned from but one of them was about the significance of the infamous Hays Code. And then the backgrounds of genres such as westerns e.g. preserving traditional values, the importance of brotherhood, their fierce the 2nd amendment, etc. Most of the topics we covered were fun but the most fun one was about handsome and great American men. It’s good that there were plenty of references to historical events because they were the ones that heavily affected the evolution of conservatism, freedom of speech, and tolerance in American films.
One of the things I liked about Karl’s teaching was that he would update our grades as often as he could just so we were able to see whether or not we needed to hurry and write more blog posts before our blogging deadline drew closer. The fact that he did this contributed a lot to my blogging because I knew I was lagging a bit, resulting in me pushing myself to catch up. As for discussions and consultations, I thought it was weird that something as simple as emailing Karl would earn you points. But that kind of gives you an idea that he wants to make life a bit easier for demotivated students like me. As a visual learner, reading from the charts he designed made studying easier. What I think needs to be improved is the timelines on the handouts. The different eras were crammed next to each other so the pages were overcrowded with texts, despite being placed in chronological order. So, I say maybe one page per era? I know that this suggestion might be a little too extreme because all the timelines fell under very specific topics.
Overall, I don’t regret taking this course. I learned heaps of new things about Hollywood. I hope that what I studied from the lectures and handouts will always stick with me. The next time I’ll vacation back home to Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, I’ll definitely have a sense of appreciation when visiting places like the Walk of Fame, Madame Tussauds Museum, and studios like Universal and Paramount. I’ve always taken interest in old Hollywood films but never really wanted to study them in depth. Luckily, I made the right choice because even though we still had to read and write a lot, this class sometimes felt like a hobby.
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First of all thank you for teaching this semester.
I was studying Japanese film history before but this was my first time studying American Film. I thought I should have studied American Film first because there are lot of relation and mainly Japanese film history is influenced by American film. The film I had most fun was Ed Wood and Gold Digger. Great choice of sense. I personally think if we have more time to discussion with classmate is better because at the last discussion I heard really interesting opinion and I think there are more like that. But anyway I had great time. Thank you
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Through this class, I had learned a lot of things that I did not know about American Film. The professor clearly explained what American Film is and also how it was changing in different era. The movies really helped me to understand the class by actually seeing, what we learned from the lectures, in films. I used to watch the movie without thinking about any strategies and how they made it. So it was my first time watching the films carefully with thinking about many things such as camera angles, locations, and scripts. In addition, it was interesting to see the improvement of the films since we started from the silent movie to the movie in 1970’s. Aside from screenings, this class was so informational. That is not to say, however, that it was always an easy class. Some films portray themes that may conflict with the audiences views (for example, racism and sexism in earlier films). From one perspective it is frustrating to watch these films and shocking that so many audiences enjoyed films that represent and condone such beliefs, but at the same time it is a realistic reflection of the society at the time- similarly to how some renowned older books use incorrect language or terminology that would be offensive in modern times. I am impressed by how well informed the professor is on the film industry. It was interesting hearing about how American society’s beliefs (and fears) caused strict codes and blacklists, and how changes in society cause change in what was viewed as acceptable and being produced. The most interesting topics for me were the Hayes code, Hollywood blacklist, and the change of control from director to producer. I enjoyed many of the films, but I would have liked to see more romance films, so we can truly the actor’s sensitive sides, and learn about the huge influence of romantic comedies these American Films had on the rest of the world and our society.
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I could enjoy this class. You thought many films which are important on the history of American films. There are many films which I never knows in films that you told us. They are so interesting because there are some genres which I never watched before such as western films, and silent films and so on. Even though I did not have any interest in these genres, I became to have interest in these genres through your class. Also, I learned how film industry work. For example, the connection between each jobs such as producer, theater, actors, and so on. I did not know the system of film industry even though I like to watch films. It was so excited, and I was happy to know about this topic. Also, I could learn the history of American Film. today, we watched films without any thinking, but there are a long history, and many people who struggle with film to develop what need for making great films such as technology. I never thought about the history, but I felt the importance of history. There are many people who faced to many problems to produce films which people can enjoy, and we can enjoy films through their works. I thought we should not forget about it. I learned how importance of films on society and I felt how great of films. I could enjoy this class, and I felt the greatness of films through this class. I want to know more about American films, so I think I want to study more.
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I think that taking this course was really good for me. Because I was able to know the deepness of movie and to have some knowledge about movie. Before I took this course, I watched a movie just as an entertainment without really knowing about the greatness of movie. So, it was nice to know that the Hollywood movie has a history and has evolved while changing their style or taste with the times.
The table which summarized the history of Hollywood movie did not come into my mind at first, but I was able to understand little by little while studying the test. Moreover, the movie and the Hollywood film history reflected the social situation at that time, so I could be able to know that both were connected to this day.
Personally, I like to watch movies so I was looking forward to the day of watching full length screenings. So, I expected that I could watch a movie a bit more during class, but I was sorry a little less than I thought. Professors showed us several short clip movies, but I wanted to see a full movie than that:) In movies during the class, my most favorite movie was “Ed Wood”. Originally, I do not like black and white movies, and I do not particularly like old movies. However, Ed Wood was very easy to watch. Probably, Ed Wood was mede in not so much past, so the black and white was very beautiful. The reason why I like Ed Wood’s movie is because I can have hope and dream for life through this movie. I am very pleased to know one thing important in my life through the way I keep my passion Like him even thought his movies did not recieve an evaluation.
One thing my suggestion in this couse is that if you can put the subtitling in a movie, non-native students may more easily watch this video togehter. Although native speakers did not need the subtitle, it would be better for Japanese students to understand the content of the movie with subtitles.
We had a group discussion several times during class, and I think it was very good. Because discussion makes it possible to understand by talking about movies that can not be analyzed alone by the group. Also, by listening to a different viewpoint from other classmates, I could learn new ways of thinking.
Thank you very much for your all of help during this course. I really enjoyed your class!
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I could spend great time with you and all classmates in the whole semester. This is my first time to learn American film, so I did not have much knowledge about it. However, I could enjoy learning American film through this course. This course gives me an opportunity to watch classical movies in the United States. As we studied historical background of America, it was interesting for me to connect movies and knowledge what I learn through this course. I will never watched these kinds of old films we watched in the class, if I did not take this course. As you showed good movies, I have more interests towards American films and I want to learn more about them.
It was really helpful for me to have discussion time with group members. I could understand the content of movies more deeply and it was interesting to hear other students’ opinion. As they have different opinions and perspectives with me, I could see things from other new perspectives. I like your teaching style. You always encourage students to learn and has passion to teach.
Thank you so much for all of your support.
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