The first section of Chapter 12 describes a number of optical toys and visual devices that emerged prior to the invention of the cinema but that drew on the illusion of movement just as cinema does. Read more about these devices at http://www.earlycinema.com (click on the Technology section). According to these descriptions, in what ways did these devices prefigure the kinds of films that the cinema would produce? What do these devices have in common with cinema technology? Finally, while we usually think of inventions in terms of progress, and thus assume that cinema was necessarily a better invention than these previous devices, consider them on their own terms. What unique experiences did these devices offer to viewers?
Your textbook notes that a number of German expressionist filmmakers ended up emigrating to the United States and working on Hollywood films, thereby affecting the style of such genres as film noir. Read through the following essay about the influence of German filmmakers on film noir. Based on this and your chapter readings on German expressionism and the classical Hollywood cinema, consider how this merging affected the style, narratives and narration of the films that were made. What elements of German expressionism appeared in Hollywood films, particularly in noirs? How did these elements challenge classical Hollywood style? What does this example tell us about the influence of outside forces and filmmakers on Hollywood style? How did the style change and evolve from expressionism in Germany to noir in the United States?
Iain Morrison presents an essay about the use of close-ups in French New Wave films. Read through this essay in light of your textbook's section on the French New Wave. Can you tie what the author discusses about the use of close-ups to how Bordwell and Thompson define the French new wave? Particularly, how does this aspect relate to the "novelty and youthful vigor" displayed by French new wave films and filmmakers?
Chapter 12 provides you with descriptions of a number of historical film movements and showcases the ways in which historical circumstances affect the types of films that are made. This essay question asks you to consider this notion in relation to a historical movement that Bordwell and Thompson do not discuss, specifically Australian film in the 1980s. The following page presents an article by Tom O'Regan on developments in the Australian film industry during the 1980s. According to this article, and your knowledge of how Bordwell and Thompson consider the relationship between film history and film form, how did events in Australian film history during this period affect what kinds of films were made? Can you find any parallels between this example and the others discussed in Chapter 12?
Pretend it is fifty years from now. While doing research into some old-fashioned computer technology called the "Internet," you unearth a website that showcases popular films from the early part of this century's first decade. What would this site lead you to believe about film form and film history of the period? How would you use the information you see to describe to your colleagues the relationship between film form and film history in this period of American popular filmmaking?
The new Hollywood cinema of today seems to continuously changing. How is the term defined today? What films have been instrumental in setting new standards for filmmaking? Based on the films of the past two years that have won Academy Awards, Golden Globe, Sundance Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, and Cannes Film Festival awards, what are the current trends of film? Are these trends simply styles that will last short periods of time or are they evolving and paving the way for future cinema? Where are the traditional film movements still seen in these films? How many would be considered avant-garde?
