FS 339 - Hollywood’s Greatest Year: 1939

Sophomore standing. First-year students are encouraged to enroll in this course, but must receive instructor consent to do so This course examines the Hollywood high point in concrete cultural terms: what was the Hollywood system and what sorts of films did it produce and how and to what effect? Students explore topics such as studio style, structure, and operations, institutional regulation (censorship), film technology, genre and stardom, the role of critics, and audience taste. While this class will draw on important secondary studies, some readings will be drawn from primary sources of the time in order to establish the historical context of how the Hollywood system functioned during its presumed pinnacle of artistic achievement and when cinema was the mass medium in the U.S. Doing so will enable students to see the extent at which the media industry practices of studio era Hollywood continue to influence/inform those of present-day Hollywood. FS 339 and FS 539 will be held together. Letter grade with Pass/No Pass option. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits