Academic Catalogs

FILM A100: History and Appreciation of the Cinema

Course Outline of Record
Item Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date 09/18/2024
Top Code 061210 - Film History and Criticism
Units 3 Total Units 
Hours 54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54)
Total Outside of Class Hours 0
Course Credit Status Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee Yes
Basic Skills Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable No
Open Entry/Open Exit No
Grading Policy Standard Letter (S)
Associate Arts Local General Education (GE)
  • Area 3 Arts and Humanities 3A Theory (OC1)
Associate Science Local General Education (GE)
  • Area 3A Arts (OSC1)
California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)
  • Cal-GETC 3A Arts (3A)
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
  • IGETC 3A Arts (3A)
California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth)
  • CSU C1 Arts (C1)

Course Description

Introduces the analysis of film form and content, aesthetics and meaning, and history and culture. Explores the diverse possibilities presented by the cinematic art form through an examination of a wide variety of productions, national cinemas, and film movements. Topics include modes of production, narrative and non-narrative forms, visual design, editing, sound, genre, ideology and critical analysis. Enrollment Limitation: FILM A100H; students who complete FILM A100 may not enroll in or receive credit for FILM A100H. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

  1. Analyze the historical facts, technological advancements, and significant trends in film history to understand their impact on the evolution of the film industry..
  2. Evaluate the contributions of important figures in film history and appraise their representative styles to appreciate their influence on modern filmmaking.
  3. Differentiate between various film genres by identifying their unique characteristics and historical development.

Course Objectives

  • 1. Highlight the key discoveries that led to the invention of motion pictures.
  • 2. Identify the pioneers of the motion picture industry.
  • 3. Explore the establishment of the motion picture industry on the East Coast.
  • 4. Examine the rise of the motion picture industry in Hollywood.
  • 5. Describe the elements of slapstick comedy from its origins to today.
  • 6. Explain the progression of sound technology in motion pictures.
  • 7. Identify and explore various film genres.
  • 8. Recognize the significant aspects of Citizen Kane.
  • 9. Analyze the creative elements of The Godfather.
  • 10. Identify the defining features of the other film genre.
  • 11. Explain the evolution of censorship within the Hollywood film industry.
  • 12. Describe the inception of the Academy Awards, its significance to the film industry, and other awards in the industry.

Lecture Content

Course Introduction Film before film Thomas Edison The Lumiere Brothers The First Films Film Narrative D.W. Griffith M.P.P.C. The Motion Picture Patents Council Film industry moves west Slapstick Comedy Mack Sennett Charlie Chaplin Buster Keaton Harold Lloyd The German Golden Age Expressionism UFA Studios Film Noir The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari The Blue Angel The Last Laugh Metropolis Silent Soviet Film Montage Sergei Eisenstein The Battleship Potemkin Coming of Sound Early Experiments Vitaphone system Rouben Mamoulian Busby Berkeley The Musical The Studio System Finance Studio Heads Louie B. Mayer David O. Selznick Biopics Orson Welles William Randolph Hearst Citizen Kane European Influence: Surrealism Italian Neorealism French New Wave Cinema-Verite Auteur Theory Symbolism Censorship Early Censorship PCA The Production Code Administration The Movie Ratings System Hollywood In Transition Government Monopoly Suit Against Studios Union Strikes HUAC Investigations Hollywood Ten Threat of TV Development of Wide Screen Technology s Development of the Epic Genre Alfred Hitchcock Early Hitchcock Hollywood Success Master of Suspense Hollywood Renaissance Film School Generation of Filmmakers Francis Ford Coppola Steven Spielberg George Lucas Rise of the Summer Blockbuster Film Action Film Genre Early Action Films The Great Train Robbery Early Action Stars Popular Themes Common Plot Points Influence of Asian Martial Arts Films Mainstream Stars/Action Heroes Minorities/Women in film Stereotyping Racism Contributions Black Cinema Asian Cinema Latino Cinema Women in Film Early Women Filmmakers Common themes Rise of the Female Producer Rise of the Female Studio Head Special Effects Early Special Effects Digital Effects Awards AFI American Film Institute AMPAS Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - Oscar

Method(s) of Instruction

  • Lecture (02)
  • DE Online Lecture (02X)

Instructional Techniques

Lectures, PowerPoint presentations, films, guest lectures.

Reading Assignments

40 hours per semester Students are assigned select readings from the class textbook, various online articles, web links, magazine publications and blog posts (2 2.5 hours per week)

Writing Assignments

8 hours per semester Students are assigned to complete fill-in questions from the textbook. (0.5 hours a week)

Out-of-class Assignments

56 hours per semester   Students are assigned to screen selected movies and videos to screen (3 - 3.5 hours a week)

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Multiple-choice tests, written exams

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Written projects to include but not limited to course summary and evaluation

Eligible Disciplines

Film studies: Master's degree in film, drama/theater arts, or mass communication OR bachelor's degree in any of the above AND master's degree in media studies, English, or communication OR the equivalent. Master's degree required. Media production (also see broadcasting technology): Any bachelor's degree and two years of professional experience, or any associate degree and six years of professional experience.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Hall, B. HISTORY & APPRECIATION OF CINEMA , N/A ed. Costa Mesa: Hall, B , 2014 2. Required Borwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction, Ninth ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012 3. Required Barsam, Richard and Dave Monahan. Looking At Movies, Fourth ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012 4. Required Zettl, Herbert . Sight, Sound, Motion, Seventh ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2014 5. Required Wheeler Winston Dixon Gwendolyn Audrey Foster. A Short History of Film, 3rd ed. Rutgers University Press, 2018 Rationale: This is the latest addition of the book.

Other Resources

1. Selected handout materials to be provided by the instructor