Ethnographic and Documentary Cinema

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

Total expected time commitment is 170 hours across the semester, including class time.

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in screen studies or screen and cultural studies, Master of Arts and Cultural Management (Moving Image).

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject investigates the place of documentary and ethnographic film in contemporary film theory. Students should become familiar with postmodern debates surrounding documentary film-making and realism, and the critique of ethnographic cinema as linked to nationalism and imperialism and what we might describes as the filming of the ‘other’. A central issue for discussion will be that of the ethical challenges which face documentary filmmakers.

We will study a wide range of classic works such as Nanook of the North (Flaherty, 1922), The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (Field, 1980), The Thin Blue Line (Morris1988), Bowling for Columbine (Moore, 2002) and Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man (2005). There will be a focus on recent forms of documentary film that have taken up contemporary social issues such as sexuality, gender, race, the environment, social violence and the plight of non-human animals. Students should develop a knowledge of various forms of documentary cinema, including self-reflective modes, 'cinema verite', direct interview, surrealist documentary, docufiction and mockumentary. Also important will be an understanding of aesthetic issues such as the ethnographic gaze,realism, point of view and haptic visuality.

Students who complete this subject will:

• have a broad knowledge of ethnographic and documentary cinema from its inception to the contemporary period; and
• have a detailed knowledge of the theoretical debates surrounding ethnographic and documentary film making and its reception.

A 5000 word research essay 100% (due in the examination period). Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% (or 10 out of 12) classes in order to qualify to have their written work assessed. Any student who fails to meet this hurdle without valid reason will not be eligible to pass the subject. All required written work must be submitted in order to pass the subject. Essays submitted after the due date without an extension will be penalised 10% per day. Essays submitted after two weeks of the assessment due date without a formally approved application for special consideration or an extension will only be marked on a pass/fail basis if accepted.

A subject reader will be available.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• be skilled in research;
• possess advanced skills of critical thinking and analysis;
• possess an ability to communicate knowledge intelligibly, economically and effectively; and
• have an understanding of social, ethical and cultural context.