FILM 197 Hollywood in the 1970s

This course will focus on the film history of the 1970s as one of the most creative periods in Hollywood film history. The course will discuss the introduction of independent-minded young producers and directors who came of age in the 1960s who now started to assert their presence in mainstream filmmaking, including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, and Peter Bogdanovich, as well as seasoned directors such as Robert Altman who made movies that freely criticized American society during a decade in which Vietnam, Watergate, and other troubling political developments provided an abundance of source material.

Credits

3

Hours Weekly

3 hours weekly

Course Objectives

1. Develop a general knowledge of the films, directors, and actors of the 1970s.
2. Compare and contrast films from the 1970s.
3. Analyze and discuss thematic connections between Hollywood movies from the 1970s and
   American culture as a whole during that decade.
4. Identify predominant themes, stories, character types, and devices commonly used in movies
   from this period.
5. Analyze and discuss the styles of the most important and influential directors of the 1970s.
6. Compare and contrast the depiction of the ways demographic groups change on screen in ways
   reflecting larger societal changes.
7. Analyze and discuss the use of films set in the 1970s to make political statements about events
   current at the time of production.
   

Course Objectives

1. Develop a general knowledge of the films, directors, and actors of the 1970s.
2. Compare and contrast films from the 1970s.
3. Analyze and discuss thematic connections between Hollywood movies from the 1970s and
   American culture as a whole during that decade.
4. Identify predominant themes, stories, character types, and devices commonly used in movies
   from this period.
5. Analyze and discuss the styles of the most important and influential directors of the 1970s.
6. Compare and contrast the depiction of the ways demographic groups change on screen in ways
   reflecting larger societal changes.
7. Analyze and discuss the use of films set in the 1970s to make political statements about events
   current at the time of production.