Course Objectives

• • We want to learn to watch films the same way we read books - look at the details, find the symbolism, trace the arc of the story and the development of characters.

  • We want to understand common techniques of filmmaking and analyze how directors use those techniques to achieve different results.

  • We want to recognize archetypes and tropes that are commonly used and abused.

  • We want to develop a vocabulary to speak knowledgeably about film and filmmaking.

• We want to use writing to process all of this and form our own arguments.