ENG 280: INTRODUCTION TO FILM: BLACKNESS IN CONTEMPORARY CINEMA

SECTION 00- ∙ (MEETING DATE ) ∙ (CLASSROOM)

SECTION 00- ∙ (MEETING DATE ) ∙ (CLASSROOM)

INSTRUCTOR: MX. LENVIEL

OFFICE: POT 1418
E-MAIL: CLAIRE .LENVIEL@ UKY.EDU
OFFICE HOURS: TBD ∙ OTHER HOURS BY APPOINTMENT.

Please read this syllabus closely. Remaining enrolled in this class means that you have read and understood
all of the content in this syllabus and that you agree to abide by all of the outlined guidelines and policies
contained within.

Course Overview:
In the current era of Black Lives Matter and #OscarsSoWhite, American moviegoers have increasingly
turned their attention to the Hollywood screen for its treatment of race. Blackness in contemporary
cinema, the subtitle of this course, sparks intellectual conversations about cultural appropriation,
representation on and behind the screen, whitewashing, Blaxploitation, historical revisionism, liberal
fantasies, and the politics of protest, pride, and love. In this course, students will watch, discuss, and
analyze contemporary films about blackness including Django Unchained (2012), Straight Outta Compton
(2015), Get Out (2017), and BlacKkKlansman (2018), all with the end-goal of developing our individual and
collective knowledge about the current landscape of race in Hollywood cinema. Student will also learn
introductory terminology and techniques of film studies, including how to formulate arguments grounded
in visual analysis.

Student Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
• Analyze films through a close reading of visual media, both in class discussion and on written
assignments
• Examine and reflect on contemporary depictions of race in film
• Formulate arguments grounded visual analysis
• Use primary textual evidence to support claims, both in class discussion and on written assignments
• Understand key terminology of film studies and employ them in written assignments
• Compose papers that reveal a mastery of the conventions of academic writing (thesis, organization,
paragraph formation, grammar, and mechanics)

Required Material: Each student must make arrangements to view to following films either by purchasing
them, renting them, or borrowing them from a library or a friend. Students are encouraged to split costs by
viewing the films in groups.
• The Help, dir. Tate Taylor (2011)
• Django Unchained, dir. Quentin Tarantino (2012)
• Fruitvale Station, dir. Ryan Coogler (2013)
• 12 Years a Slave, dir. Steve McQueen (2013)
• Dear White People, dir. Justin Simien (2014)
• Straight Outta Compton, dir. F. Gary Gray (2015)
• Moonlight, dir. Barry Jenkins (2016)
• Hidden Figures, dir. Theodore Melfi (2016)
• Get Out, dir. Jordan Peele (2017)
• Detroit, dir. Kathryn Bigelow (2017)
 • Mudbound, dir. Dee Rees (2017)
• Black Panther, dir. Ryan Coogler (2018)
• A Wrinkle in Time, dir. Ava DuVernay (2018)
• BlacKkKlansman, dir. Spike Lee (2018)
• Green Book, dir. Peter Farrelly (2018)

Course Policies:
Attendance: You are allowed three unexcused absences without penalty, but your final course grade will be
lowered by a half-letter grade for each unexcused absence thereafter. With a sixth unexcused absence (20%
of the course), you will automatically fail the course. Please see University Senate Rules
http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/part2.html for an explanation of excused absences. I will not
accept Tier I forms as an excused absence.

Late Submissions: I will not accept late submission of weekly discussion posts, and only quizzes missed due
an excused absence or excused tardy can be taken at a later date. For all other assignments, each late
submission will receive a lowered letter grade on that assignment for each day (not class) that it is late.

Academic Integrity: Part II of Student Rights and Responsibilities states that all academic work‚ written or
otherwise‚ submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors‚ is expected to be the
result of their own thought‚ research‚ or self–expression. See section 6.3.1 online at
http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/Section%20VI.pdf for more information on plagiarism or consult
with me.

Accommodations Due to Disability: If you have a documented disability that requires academic
accommodations, please see me as soon as possible during scheduled office hours. In order to receive
accommodations in this course, you must provide me with a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability
Resource Center (DRC). The DRC coordinates campus disability services available to students with
disabilities. Visit the DRC website, email the DRC, contact them by phone at (859) 257-2754, or visit their
office on the corner of Rose Street and Huguelet Drive in the Multidisciplinary Science Building, Suite 407.

Major Assignments and Grade Breakdown:

Homework (15 pts): Throughout the semester, each student will submit weekly discussion posts (min. 300 words) on
Canvas before the first class each week. Each entry should 1) trace a specific aspect of that week’s readings and 2)
respond personally to the text. For the former, you might trace a specific theme, symbol, style, historical allusion, etc. For
the latter, you should record your personal reactions to the text, including but not limited to moments that troubled you,
why you did not care for a text, which moment in the text confused you, etc. Do not stop simply at listing the personal
reaction, but try to interrogate why the text might have elicited that response.

Still Frame Assignment (15 pts): The objective for this assignment is for you to demonstrate a close reading of
visual media by analyzing a single still frame from one of the films assigned for this course. This paper (1500
words) should be a thesis-driven argument that makes a claim about how to read the still frame within the
larger context of the film. The student will then briefly present (5-10 minutes) their analysis to the class on the day we
discuss that film. Breakdown will be 10 pts for the paper and 5 pts for the presentation.

Film Review (20 pts): For this assignment, each student will select a film assigned for class and write a film review (1500
words) that briefly summarizes the film, offers an assessment of its strengths and weaknesses, and suggests the
implications of the film’s depictions of race.

Film-in-Context Paper (30 pts): For this assignment, each student will select a film that we have watched for the course
and will analyze a particular theme or issue within the film as it relates to its cultural context. For example, a paper could
bring DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time into conversation with a particular cultural example of #BlackGirlMagic. This paper
(3000 words) should contain a thesis-driven argument, both primary and secondary sources as evidence, and key film-
studies terminology learned throughout the course.

Participation and Quizzes (20 pts): Because the course will be mostly discussion based, substantive participation is
required. By “substantive,” I mean that each class period, every student should contribute several comments that
forward the class discussion in a productive way. Additionally, students will complete regular, in-class reading quizzes to
demonstrate familiarity with the course material. Breakdown will be 5 pts for participation and 15 pts for quizzes.

Course Calendar
Week 1 (Aug. 27, 29): Intro
Week 2 (Sept. 3, 5): The Help
Week 3 (Sept. 10, 12): Django Unchained
Week 4 (Sept. 17, 19): Fruitvale Station
Week 5 (Sept. 24, 26): 12 Years a Slave
Week 6 (Oct. 1, 3): Dear White People
Week 7 (Oct. 8, 10): Moonlight
Week 8 (Oct. 15, 17): Hidden Figures
Week 9 (No class T, resume Oct. 24): Get Out
Week 10 (Oct. 29, 31): Get Out (continued)
Week 11 (Nov. 5, 7): Detroit
Week 12 (Nov. 12, 14): Mudbound
Week 13 (Nov. 19, 21): Black Panther
Week 14 (Nov. 26, no class R): A Wrinkle in Time
Week 15 (Dec. 3, 5): BlacKkKlansman
Week 16 (Dec. 10, 12): Green Book