Period 1:
During period 1, please work on the following:
During period 1, please work on the following:
- Work on your documentary project. These finished film projects will be due next week.
- Work on your journal paper #1. These journal papers will be due next week.
- Read the article handout on The Edison Monopoly Decision & The Hollywood Studio System.
- For extra credit, please write a comment about the Academy Awards. Did the films you thought might win, win? What did you learn about the film industry by watching? Were there films that should have won or should have been nominated? Why should they have won instead of the ones that did? Explain or defend your answer.
Period 2: Classroom
Minority Voices in Film History:
While most of the pioneers of early film were male Caucasians, the lack of minority voices in film was filled by two very important filmmakers: Alice Guy Blache and Oscar Micheux. While we will focus on these two primarily, they are far from the only minority voices around. Gay & Lesbian, Asian, Latino, and other influential filmmakers begin working in this time period.
Today, we will watch a few of their film clips and take notes of important details. By the end of the lesson you should begin to ask yourself the question: why is minority cinema important? What is the future of minority cinema? How does knowing a little history help minority artists?
Bert Williams' films: Fish (1916) and A Natural Born Gambler (1916) predate Oscar Michaeux as the first African American comedic actor to also write, direct, and star in his own films. Learn more about him here at this link.
Oscar Michaeux is credited as the first black film director. Within Our Gates (1919) (music underscore added recently) and his film in its entirety for those interested Within Our Gates (full film). Evelyn Preer was one of the early black actresses. She was also a popular singer. Here's one of her songs: It Takes a Good Woman to Keep a Good Man at Home. You can hear the rhythms of the jazz age (late 1920's). Think of the book Ragtime.
Zora Neale Hurston, writer and folklorist, made several film documentaries in the 1920's. Here's an example of some of her fieldwork (1928).
Sadly, in American film, the early work of female directors/writers is hard to find (or no longer exists). You can read about African American women's contribution to the film industry here. There's just not much to view. It is, also sadly, not until 1991 that the first African-American female director (Julie Dash) is allowed to make the first studio produced and widely distributed film Daughters of the Dust. However, since then, more black female directors have joined the ranks.
The first female director is:
Alice Guy Blache
The Cabbage Fairy (1896)
The Life of Christ (1906) (our first religious epic depicted in film, predating Cecil B. DeMille)
The Consequences of Feminism (1906)
Falling Leaves (1912)
Algie The Miner (1912)
Lois Weber, an American female, was also a silent film actress and then director. She invented the first use of the split screen technique in her film Suspense (1913).
Other films include the Blot (1921) and Hypocrites (the first full frontal nudity depicted in film outside of "art film" like Edweard Muybridge's work.) She, too, is important.
As for gay and lesbian films of the early silent film era, there are a few. Apart from two men dancing in the film by Edison, the first depiction of one of the sissy stereotype characters is Algie the Miner (1912, sound track added). The first butch male-to-male kissing scene is the fall of Babylon sequence in D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916). It also features a pretty kick-ass heroine: mountain girl.
A little gender bending: Vitagraph's A Florida Enchantment (1914); Here's Sidney Drew's full film: A Florida Enchantment (1914).
German film was one of the first to tackle gay subjects head-on. Here's the film Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others, 1919) by Richard Oswald. Here's a little about the significance of the film. It stars Conrad Viedt (more on him soon).
The lesbian film Madchen in Uniform was made in 1931 (and is a talky, so we won't but mention it here). If you're interested in this film, you may also like the 1933 film Anna und Elisabeth. (This is only a clip, sound is not original, of course.)
Recently, Barry Jenkins' film Moonlight (2016) just won best picture and best adapted screenplay.
Latino silent film information can be found here. There is little on line to watch (sorry about that). Bronco Billy and the Greaser (1914), directed by Gilbert Anderson (Bronco Billy). By far one of the most famous Latin actors was Antonio Moreno, a Spanish-born actor/director, who often played the now stereotypical "Latin lover" role. Ramon Navarro (gay Mexican-American actor) was also popular during the 1920's was rumored to be Rudolph Valentino's secret lover. He ended up tragically murdered in 1968. Here's a link to a short amateur biography of the actor. He starred as Ben Hur in MGM's 1925 historical epic.
And Asian film star Sessue Hayakawa starred in such films as The Typhoon (1914) and The Dragon Painter (1919). He signed on with Paramount Pictures (Famous Players Lasky) where he worked with Cecil B. DeMille in such movies as The Cheat (1915). The first Japanese feature film was made in 1912, the Life Story of Tasuke Shiobara. Here is the Japanese film Jiraiya the Hero (20 min) in 1921.
Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922) is one of the most important early documentary films ever filmed. It follows the life and times of the Inuit hunter Nanook and his family. It is considered the first feature-length ethnographic documentary. Flaherty shot over 50k feet of film to make the film--which he shot on location in the cold north of Hudson Bay, Canada over the period of 55 days, traveling with the Inuit over 600 miles.
The director Dadasaheb Phalke is considered the father of Indian film, although Asian film begins in the late 1890's. It is interesting to note that the first optical toy (a primitive zoetrope) was invented by Ting Huan in 180 AD in China. By the end of the silent film era, most countries have begun to make films. Of particular note are the directors we will look at next class: Sergei Eisenstein & Robert Wiene and F.W. Murnau (German Expression films).
HOMEWORK: Please read the chapter handout on "Das Kabinett Des Dr. Caligari" and identify/note the characteristics of German Expressionism at this link, the article, and fill out the graphic organizer. Hand in the graphic organizer next class as participation credit.
Minority Voices in Film History:
While most of the pioneers of early film were male Caucasians, the lack of minority voices in film was filled by two very important filmmakers: Alice Guy Blache and Oscar Micheux. While we will focus on these two primarily, they are far from the only minority voices around. Gay & Lesbian, Asian, Latino, and other influential filmmakers begin working in this time period.
Today, we will watch a few of their film clips and take notes of important details. By the end of the lesson you should begin to ask yourself the question: why is minority cinema important? What is the future of minority cinema? How does knowing a little history help minority artists?
Bert Williams' films: Fish (1916) and A Natural Born Gambler (1916) predate Oscar Michaeux as the first African American comedic actor to also write, direct, and star in his own films. Learn more about him here at this link.
Oscar Michaeux is credited as the first black film director. Within Our Gates (1919) (music underscore added recently) and his film in its entirety for those interested Within Our Gates (full film). Evelyn Preer was one of the early black actresses. She was also a popular singer. Here's one of her songs: It Takes a Good Woman to Keep a Good Man at Home. You can hear the rhythms of the jazz age (late 1920's). Think of the book Ragtime.
Zora Neale Hurston, writer and folklorist, made several film documentaries in the 1920's. Here's an example of some of her fieldwork (1928).
Sadly, in American film, the early work of female directors/writers is hard to find (or no longer exists). You can read about African American women's contribution to the film industry here. There's just not much to view. It is, also sadly, not until 1991 that the first African-American female director (Julie Dash) is allowed to make the first studio produced and widely distributed film Daughters of the Dust. However, since then, more black female directors have joined the ranks.
The first female director is:
Alice Guy Blache
The Cabbage Fairy (1896)
The Life of Christ (1906) (our first religious epic depicted in film, predating Cecil B. DeMille)
The Consequences of Feminism (1906)
Falling Leaves (1912)
Algie The Miner (1912)
Lois Weber, an American female, was also a silent film actress and then director. She invented the first use of the split screen technique in her film Suspense (1913).
Other films include the Blot (1921) and Hypocrites (the first full frontal nudity depicted in film outside of "art film" like Edweard Muybridge's work.) She, too, is important.
As for gay and lesbian films of the early silent film era, there are a few. Apart from two men dancing in the film by Edison, the first depiction of one of the sissy stereotype characters is Algie the Miner (1912, sound track added). The first butch male-to-male kissing scene is the fall of Babylon sequence in D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916). It also features a pretty kick-ass heroine: mountain girl.
A little gender bending: Vitagraph's A Florida Enchantment (1914); Here's Sidney Drew's full film: A Florida Enchantment (1914).
German film was one of the first to tackle gay subjects head-on. Here's the film Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others, 1919) by Richard Oswald. Here's a little about the significance of the film. It stars Conrad Viedt (more on him soon).
The lesbian film Madchen in Uniform was made in 1931 (and is a talky, so we won't but mention it here). If you're interested in this film, you may also like the 1933 film Anna und Elisabeth. (This is only a clip, sound is not original, of course.)
Recently, Barry Jenkins' film Moonlight (2016) just won best picture and best adapted screenplay.
Latino silent film information can be found here. There is little on line to watch (sorry about that). Bronco Billy and the Greaser (1914), directed by Gilbert Anderson (Bronco Billy). By far one of the most famous Latin actors was Antonio Moreno, a Spanish-born actor/director, who often played the now stereotypical "Latin lover" role. Ramon Navarro (gay Mexican-American actor) was also popular during the 1920's was rumored to be Rudolph Valentino's secret lover. He ended up tragically murdered in 1968. Here's a link to a short amateur biography of the actor. He starred as Ben Hur in MGM's 1925 historical epic.
And Asian film star Sessue Hayakawa starred in such films as The Typhoon (1914) and The Dragon Painter (1919). He signed on with Paramount Pictures (Famous Players Lasky) where he worked with Cecil B. DeMille in such movies as The Cheat (1915). The first Japanese feature film was made in 1912, the Life Story of Tasuke Shiobara. Here is the Japanese film Jiraiya the Hero (20 min) in 1921.
Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922) is one of the most important early documentary films ever filmed. It follows the life and times of the Inuit hunter Nanook and his family. It is considered the first feature-length ethnographic documentary. Flaherty shot over 50k feet of film to make the film--which he shot on location in the cold north of Hudson Bay, Canada over the period of 55 days, traveling with the Inuit over 600 miles.
The director Dadasaheb Phalke is considered the father of Indian film, although Asian film begins in the late 1890's. It is interesting to note that the first optical toy (a primitive zoetrope) was invented by Ting Huan in 180 AD in China. By the end of the silent film era, most countries have begun to make films. Of particular note are the directors we will look at next class: Sergei Eisenstein & Robert Wiene and F.W. Murnau (German Expression films).
HOMEWORK: Please read the chapter handout on "Das Kabinett Des Dr. Caligari" and identify/note the characteristics of German Expressionism at this link, the article, and fill out the graphic organizer. Hand in the graphic organizer next class as participation credit.
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