FIL-20001 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2023/24

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2023/24

This module will explore and evaluate the significance of gendered representation in film focusing specifically on theories of gendered spectatorship, voyeurism and the dis/pleasure of looking. Students will be introduced to a number of significant theorists such as Laura Mulvey, Richard Dyer and Judith Butler in order to gain an understanding of gender as a cultural and social construction (differentiated from biological `sex¿) and influenced by political movements such as feminism. Students will consider if, how and to what extent notions of gender are culturally determined. In addition, they will consider the complexities associated with representations of gender on-screen and study how filmic audiences have traditionally identified with specific gender positions leading to a consideration of notions of subjectivity and objectivity in film spectatorship. Via analysis of a range of films which may include Double Indemnity (1944), Vertigo (1958), and Cape Fear (1991) and Magic Mike (2012), this module will explore the ways in which gender representations are negotiated over time, examining works from Hollywood, independent film and European cinema.
Through theoretical and illustrative lectures and contextualised screenings, this module will allow students to explore the ways in which notions of self are linked to social and cultural representations of gender on-screen. Students will question gender identities on-screen as representations that may shape and organise the ways in which we see and find pleasure in seeing.

-to explore how filmic theories relate to constructions and conceptions of gender;
-to critically analyse the representation of gender in relation to constructions of identity, sexuality and race;
-to enable students to explore the ways in which these areas relate to socialisation;
-to critically analyse representations of gender and sexuality through close analysis of specific filmic texts.

Intended Learning Outcomes

explain theoretical concepts in relation to representations of gender on-screen and apply them to selected filmic texts: 1,2
describe and analyse a range of visual texts that represent and negotiate gender identities in various ways: 2
apply cross-cultural and inter-textual methods of reading film, taking into account different theoretical and ideological approaches to gender: 1,2
outline and critically assess at least one model of film spectatorship: 1,2
evaluate how gender discourse, representations and spectatorship relate to social and material practice: 1,2

Study hours

12 hours lectures
11 hours seminars
39 hours seminar preparation
60 hours assessment preparation
28 hours film viewing

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment