COURSE DESCRIPTION: An introduction to the close analysis of film and television texts. The course will examine broad questions of form and content, aesthetics and meaning, and history and culture. Using a wide variety of media, filmmakers and film movements, the course explores the diverse possibilities presented by the cinematic art form. Topics include modes of production, narrative and non-narrative forms, visual design, editing, sound, genre, ideology and critical analysis. As an honors course, students will be expected to complete extra assignments to gain deeper insight into the discipline of cinematic arts.