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Over the past years, a number of films have celebrated 'pulp' and entertainment genres while simultaneously offering an ironic reflection on the filmic traditions they pay homage to. In their meta-reflexive approach to genres such as the superhero film, the teen slasher movie or the zombie apocalypse, these films go beyond the simplistic principle of spoof comedy. One defining feature of this type of meta-genre is a particular brand of self-referential irony. In this seminar, we will examine questions such as the following: How important are audience expectations and filmic conventions for this particular type of film? How do the films under consideration comment on, exaggerate and parody filmic traditions? Do they have a "life of their own", that is: do they offer anything beyond homage or parody? What are the narrative perspectives and strategies employed? We will also discuss questions of fan culture and the importance of specific channels of marketing such meta-reflexive genre films, in particular the annual "Comic-Con" in San Diego.
More generally, we will ask ourselves what constitutes a filmic genre and how we recognize genre conventions. This seminar is meant to teach students how to engage with film from a cultural studies perspective and to help them assemble a "tool-kit" for future film analysis.
The films examined may include "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), "Fido" (2006), "Black Sheep" (2006), "Zombieland" (2009), "Defendor" (2009), "Kick-Ass" (2010), "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" (2010) and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010). In addition to the filmic material, we will work with a selection of short texts, for instance "fairy tales" by Angela Carter and David Arnason or an excerpt from the parody novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. All texts will be provided in a reader.
All details concerning course requirements and the course programme will be discussed in our first session on 17 October. You are welcome to suggest further films that we might take into consideration in the seminar.
Requirements will include short homework pieces, an end-of-term exam and possibly a short presentation (depending on the size of the course). The seminar will be discussion-based, and all participants are expected to contribute actively. |
