** TENTATIVE SYLLABUS - SUBJECT TO CHANGE UP UNTIL JAN 22, 2001 **

Latino Culture through Film

            This course uses an anthropological approach to study Latino culture in the United States through the medium of film.  We take a two-pronged approach.  First, we examine the content of the Latino experience as depicted in film and the accuracy of that content in describing the diversity and truth of the Latino experience in the United States, particularly in regard to gender, race, and class.  We consider the different experiences of Puerto Ricans and Chicanos in the United States in films, film criticism, and social science readings.  Most films have been made in the United States, some by Anglos and some by Latinos.  We examine the differences between outsider and insider perspectives on Latino culture and gender and the ways they emerge in film. 

            The second approach we take is to examine how the medium of film communicates the Latino experience.  We examine type and stereotype; plot and characters; the narrative structure; and especially gender roles and relationships in the films we view.  We compare style, plot and characters to uncover the hidden ways of communicating cultural difference and to learn how to think and write critically about film. 

Course goals:

1. To teach students about Latino culture and to uncover and challenge stereotypes.

2. To teach students to think critically about films and about other forms of popular culture.

3. To improve students’ writing by considerable practice.

Readings

Fregoso, Rosa Linda.  1993.  The Bronze Screen: Chicana and Chicano Film Culture.  Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Paredes, Américo.  1994.  With a Pistol in His Hand: A Border Ballad and Its Hero.  Austin: University of Texas Press.

Rodriguez, Clara, ed.  1998.  Latin Looks: Images of Latinas and Latinos in the U.S. Media.  Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Wilson, Michael and Deborah Rosenfelt.  1978.  Salt of the Earth: Screenplay and Commentary.  New York: Feminist Press.

Film List (in order of their showing in the course and subject to change without notice):

Martyrs of the Alamo (1915)

West Side Story (1961)

Chicana (1979)

Salt of the Earth (1953)

Después del Terremoto--After the Earthquake (1979)

El Norte (1983)

Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1984)

Break of Dawn (1988)

Born in East L.A. (1987)

Zoot Suit (1981)

La Bamba (1987)

I Like It Like That (1994)

Mi Familia/My Family (1995)

Selena (1997)

Buena Vista Social Club (1999

Course requirements:

1. Write three film essays (20%, 25%, and 30%). 

            The first essay is due February 24 and will be three pages, typed double spaced (20%).  It will address stereotype, oppression, and resistance in Salt of the Earth and either Martyrs of the Alamo or West Side Story.  It must cite and integrate at least four different readings.  See handout for details.

            The second essay is due April 5 and it will be four pages typed double spaced (25%).  See handout for details.

            The third essay is due on May 9 and will be five pages typed double spaced (30%).  See handout for details.

            Essays will be graded on:

a. clarity, coherence and intellectual rigor of thesis and argument

b. quality and relevance of details, examples, and citations used to support thesis

c. clarity, conciseness, and grammaticality of writing

d. thorough fulfillment of assignment

2.  Attend class faithfully, take detailed notes on each film and class discussion, and keep a portfolio of notes (25%).  Keep your notes in an 8 and 1/2” by 11” folder (not notebook) and hand them in as directed on the syllabus.  Class attendance is mandatory and your overall course grade will be dropped by 3% for every absence greater than two. You must view and take notes on at least twelve total films and you may make up only one missed class by watching the film on your own; it is your responsibility to procure and watch the tape.  (Some are available in Ganser library; some at video-rental outlets).

Film notes: Take notes on the following topics in each film while you are viewing it:

            a. Setting: time, place, context

            b. Story: Describe plot, central events, main symbols, and from whose point of view the story is told.

            c. Major characters and actors: pay attention to the gender and ethnicity of main actors and characters.  Do Latina/o actors play Latina/o characters?  Are Latinas/os good, neutral or evil?  Is their status high, middle or low?  What are their roles?  Are they valued or devalued roles?  Are they stereotyped or authentically portrayed?

            d. Gender, race, and class: How does the film portray relationships between Latinas/os and others, between men and women, and between different socio-economic groups? Does the film have progressive messages?  Does the film normalize or challenge oppression and hierarchy?

            e. The overall intent, message or meaning of the film

Syllabus