PSY 250: The Psychology of Film (Spring, 2001)
Dr. Stephen Dine Young
Classroom: 102 Horner Center
Class Times: M, T, W, Th -- 9-1
Office: Science Hall 311
Office Hours: M, T, W -- 1-2 & by appointment
Phone: 866-7319
e-mail: youngst@hanover.edu
Course Description & Goals
Movies can be approached by psychologically-minded investigators from a number of different directions. From one direction, film is a representational medium that is capable of symbolizing an enormous range of human actions using such cinematic/narrative devices as character, action, plot, theme, editing, etc. The actions in the film are then analyzable from the perspective of variety of psychological theories.
From another direction, motion pictures are technical and artistic objects created by groups of individuals working collaboratively within particular social and historical contexts. These film-makers can be thought of as having identifiable “psychological characteristics” (e.g., conscious beliefs and attitudes, behavioral predispositions, unconscious complexes, etc. ) that shape the outcome of their work.
From final direction, one can make the assumption that there are a number of psychological mechanisms operating within audience members as they watch films. These mechanisms can be understood at different levels: perceptual (e.g., the perception of motion even though film is actually a series of still images), behavioral (e.g., the impact of violent films on behavior) and interpretative (e.g., the complex meaning making process that occurs while watching every movie from Citizen Kane to The Waterboy).
The primary goal of this course will be to engage students in the process of approaching narrative fiction film from each of these three directions. Through the use of representative movies, critical commentaries and empirical studies, students will come to be familiar with the basic orientation of each perspective.. Hopefully, students will come to see movies as “psychologically alive”--creations of the mind that are capable of representing the full range of human concerns through perceptual, cognitive and symbolic process occurring within viewers.
In order to accomplish the goals of this course, an interdisciplinary approach will be used; we will draw relevant work from psychology, film studies, sociology, literary criticism and mass communications. Some attempt will also be made to compare and contrast film with other representational and artistic media such as literature, television, painting, theater etc.
Reading Materials
In order to help present this course as an exploration rather than a survey, no complete books will be used. However, assigned reading will be of central importance. These readings will be in the form of article, chapters, and excerpts from a variety of magazines, journals and books. These materials are listed with the class schedule and will be reserved at the library.
Class Attendance & Participation
Class room participation will be absolutely essential in this course for at least two reasons. Since the format will be primarily discussion based, your contribution will have a large impact on how much you and the other students learn. Therefore, for every unexcused absence (either film or discussion/lecture), you will have 5 points subtracted from your final grade.
In addition your classroom participation will be worth 25 points and will be assigned a grade as follows:
Outstanding participation 25 points
Good participation 20 points
Average 15 points
Below average participation 10 points
Poor participation 5 points
Daily Assignments
There will be an assignment due almost every day of class, starting the second day. Usually, these assignments will simply involve writing out 5 to 6 critical/reflective questions in reference to the readings for that day. Sometimes however, there will be special exercises that will be discussed in class the day before the assignment is due. Each assignment will be worth 10 points. There will be 15 assignments.
Class Projects
You are required to do 4 projects (one due each week). These project are designed to promote student involvement in similar types of intellectual investigations that are being discussed in class that week. The will involve applying the readings, watching additional movies, collecting data, doing library research and other activities. Each project will be discussed in detail the week before it is due. They will be worth 75 (x1) to 100 (x2) points. Late projects will be deducted 10% for every day they are late.
You will also give one 15 minute class presentation based on one of your projects. This presentation will be worth 50 points.
Exams
There are no exams. Have a nice spring.
Grading
(Total of 600 points)
540-600 A
480-539 B
420-479 C
360-419 D
359 & Below F
Class Schedule & Readings (Psychology of Film)
WEEK 1--THE ART OF INTERPRETING FILM
April 30
Topic: Introduction to course; Psychology in the movies
Reading: None
Film: Good Will Hunting (Van Sant, 1997)
May 1
Topic: Interpreting The Wizard of Oz
Reading: Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment (pp 3-19; 159-183);
Film: The Wizard of Oz (1939)
May 2
Topic: Feminist interpretation; stylistic interpretation
Reading: Mulvey, “Visual pleasure in narrative cinema”; Flitterman-Lewis, “Point-of-view in Notorious”
Film: Notorious (Hitchcock, 1946)
May 3
Topic: None (no discussion/lecture)
Reading: Bordwell, Making Meaning (pp. 1-18, 36, 40-42, 145)
Film: Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960); Mystery film
WEEK 2--FROM THE MINDS OF THE MOVIE MAKERS
May 7 (Class project #1 due)
Topic: Psycho & the process of interpretation; Class project presentations
Reading: Bordwell, Making Meaning (pp. 224-248)
Film: None
May 8
Topic: Auteurs
Reading: Wollen, “The auteur theory”; Freud, “Creative writers and day-dreaming”
Film: Red River (Hawks, 1948)
May 9
Topic: Analyzing Woody Allen
Reading: Various reviews of Husbands & Wives (Corliss; Rafferty; & Simon)
Film: Husbands and Wives (Allen, 1992)
May 10
Topic: Analyzing Alfred Hitchcock
Reading: Spoto, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock (pp. 263-299) & Spoto, The Dark Side of Genius (pp. 384-402)
Film: Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
WEEK 3--THE AUDIENCE RESPONDS
May 14 (Project #2 due)
Topic: Class project presentations; The effects of film
Reading: Wilson & Hunter, “Movie-inspired violence,”; Bozzuto, “Cinematic neurosis following The Exorcist”
Film: The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973)
May 15
Topic: The effects of film (continued)
Reading: Bandura, Ross & Ross, “The imitation of film-mediated aggressive models; “Linz Donnerstein & Penrod, “The effects of long-term exposure to violent and sexually degrading depictions of women”; Molitor & Sapolsky, “Sex, violence and victimization in slasher films”
Film: TBA
May 16
Topic: Viewer response
Reading: Radway, Reading the Romance (Introduction, 1st ed.; Ch. 3)
Film: Thelma & Louise (Scott, 1991)
May 17
Topic: Viewer response (continued); The perception of film
Reading: Lindlof & Grodin, “When media use can’t be observed: Some problems and tactics of collaborative audience research”
Film: TBA
WEEK 4--SELF AS VIEWER
May 21 (Project #3 due)
Topic: Class project presentations; The functions of film
Reading: Tesser, Millar & Wu, “On the perceived functions of movies”; McMillan, “The Wizard of Oz”
Film: Northern Exposure, “Rosebud” episode
May 22
Topic: Movies as equipment for living
Reading: Burke, “Literature as equipment for living,”; Dine Young, “Movies as equipment for living”
Film: Star Wars (Lucas, 1977)
May 23
Topic: Movies as equipment for living, continued; Movies in therapy
Reading: Berg-Cross, Jennings & Baruch, “Cinematherapy: Theory and application”; Turley & Derdeyn, “Use of a horror film in psychotherapy”
Film: Class choice
May 24 (Project #4 due)
Topic: Class project presentations; Movies and politics
Reading: Wilson, Linz & Randall, “Applying social science research to film ratings”
Film: None
Psychology of Film--Reading List
Bandura, A., Ross & Ross, D. Imitation of Film‑Mediated Aggressive Models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66 (1), 3‑11.
Bettleheim, B. (1976). The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairytales. Knopf, Inc.
Berg‑Cross, L., Jennings, P., & Baruch, R. (1990). Cinematherapy: Theory and Application. Psychotherapy in Private Practice, 8 (1), 135‑156.
Bordwell, D. (1989). Making Meaning; Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema. Harvard University Press.
Bozzuto, J.C. (1975). Cinematic Neurosis Following "The Exorcist." Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 161 (1), 43‑48.
Burke, K. (1967). The Philosophy of Literary Form: Studies in Symbolic Action.
Corliss, R. (1992, August 31). Scenes From a Marriage. Time, 54‑58.
Donnerstein, E., Linz, D., & Penrod, S. (1988). Effects of Long Term Exposure to Violent and Sexually Degrading Depictions of Women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55 (5), 758‑768.
Freud, Sigmund. Creative Writers and Day Dreaming. In Peter Gay (Ed). The Freud Reader (pp. 436‑443). New York: W.W. Norton.
Flitterman‑Lewis, S. (1951). To See and Not to Be: Female Subjectivity and the Law in Hitchcock's Notorious. Literature and Psychology (pp. 1‑15).
Greenberg, Harvey (1975). The Wizard of Oz‑Little Girl Lost and Found. The Movies on Your Mind, (pp. 13‑33). New York: Saturday Review Press.
McMillan, T. (1991). The Wizard of Oz. In David Rosenberg (Ed.) The Movie That Changed My Life (pp.253‑265). New York: Penguin.
Molitor, F., & Sapolsky, B.S. (1993). Sex, Violence and Victimization in Slasher Films. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 37 (2), 233‑242.
Mulvey, L. (1986). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In Philip Rosen (Ed.), Narrative, Apparatus, Ideology (pp.198‑209). New York: Columbia University Press.
Radway, J. (1984). Reading the Romance. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Rafferty, T. (1992, September 21). The Current Cinema; Getting Old. The New Yorker, 102‑105.
Simon, J. (1992, October 19). The Road to Stockholm. National Review, 57‑59.
Spoto,D. (1992). The Art of Alfred Hitchcock. Anchor Books.
Spoto, D. The Darkside of Genius.
Tesser, A., Millar, K., & Wu, C. On the Perceived Functions of Movies. The Journal of Psychology, 122 (5), 441‑449.
Travers, P. (1992, October). Trouble in Paradise: Husbands and Wives. Rolling Stone, 71‑72.
Turley, J.M., & Derdeyn, A.P. (1990). Use of a Horror Film in Psychotherapy. Journal of The American Academy of Child Adolescence and Psychiatry, 29 (6), 942‑945.
Wilson, W., & Hunter, R. (1983). Movie Inspired Violence. Psychological Reports, 55, 435‑441.
Wollen, P. The Auteur Theory. In Bill Nichols (Ed.), Movies and Methods (pp. 529‑542). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Young, S. D. (2000). Movies as Equipment for Living. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 17 (4), 447‑468.