|
Rather
than covering the waterfront, this course plays only with the most
dynamite films. In Part I, we'll travel with the trailblazers to
Philadelphia, Guadalcanal, into the trenches of World War II, to the
heart of Africa and the heart of America. We'll meet citizens and
kings, comedians and kids, journalist heroes and editorial scoundrels,
socialites, politicians, crime-fighters, crusaders and just plain folks.
While
we're watching, we'll address questions raised by the films: Why is
reporting such a compelling subject in film and, later, on
television? What are key elements in the public's ongoing images and
expectations of journalism?
Joe Saltzman, whose
“Image of the Journalist” course at USC sets the model for all others,
writes that “...most Americans desire, above all, a free and unfettered
press, one that is always there to protect them from authority and to
give them a free flow of diverse information. But...surveys also show
that most Americans harbor a deep suspicion about the media, worrying
about their perceived power, their meanness and negativism, their
attacks on institutions and people, their intrusiveness and
callousness, their arrogance and bias.” All of these issues are
made available to us in popular culture portrayals of journalists,
whether openly or in nuanced moments.
The course will also examine these films with issues of production
values, film theories, and basic structure of American film history.
Journalism history will also provide a backdrop for the course
material, as directors attempt to recount famous real-life cases, like
Stanley's pursuit of an interview with Dr. Livingstone across Africa or
Randolph Hearst is “biographed” in “Citizen Kane.”
“I Cover the Waterfront” (1933)
“Torchy Blaine: Playing with Dynamite” (1939)
“Blazing Trail” (1949), actually not a trailblazer, as films go.
“Philadelphia Story” (1940)
“Guadalcanal Diary” (19 43)
“The Story of G.I. Joe” (1945)
“Stanley and Livingstone” (1939)
“Deadline U.S.A.” (1952)
“Citizen Kane” (1941)
“All the King's Men” (1949)
“The Cameraman” (1928), featuring Buster Keaton
“Spanky and Our Gang: Going to Press” (1942)
“Berlin Correspondent” (1942)
“Five-Star Final” (1931)
“It Happened One Night” (1934)
“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939)
“Charlie Chan...on Broadway, at the Olympics, at the Opera, at Treasure Island, and at the Wax Museum” (1929-49)
“The Harder They Fall” (1956)
“My Favorite Year” (1982, set in 1950).
|