Overview

Welcome to Module 9. As we near the quarter's end, we're turning to the most recent identifiable stylistic moment in U.S. independent film: mumblecore. As usual, we'll end Thursday's live meeting by looking forward to Module 10 and Moonlight.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

Identify elements of film style and apply methods of analyzing film style to The Puffy Chair and Humpday.
Define mumblecore and explain how The Puffy Chair and Humpday serve as examples.
Respond to scholarly analyses of mumblecore's narrative and thematic concerns.
Analyze genre, gender, and sexuality in The Puffy Chair and Humpday.

Required Reading/Viewing

Textbook and Articles

David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, and Jeff Smith. Film Art: An Introduction, 12th edition. Excerpt from Chapter 8, "Summary: Style and Film Form" (pp. 303-310)
John Alberti. "Humpday as Feminist Bromance." [link removed] Masculinity in the Contemporary Romantic Comedy: Gender as Genre. Routledge, 2013, pp. 61-74.
Geoff King. “Mumblecore.” [link removed] Indie 2.0: Change and Continuity in Contemporary American Indie Film. Columbia UP, 2014. 122-128.

Films

Note: The versions of both films I had available to digitize did not include an English subtitle option.

The Puffy Chair (Duplass Brothers, 2005, 85 min.)

[video removed]

Humpday (Lynn Shelton, 2009, 94 min.)

[video removed]

Lecture and Live Class (5/28)

Goals

To review and begin working toward the essay assignment
To analyze Humpday's and The Puffy Chair's engagement with gender, genre, and sexuality, drawing on Alberti's article
To identify key aspects of Moonlight's style and outline elements to watch for while screening the film

Recording and Google Doc

Recording: [link removed]
Shared Google Doc: [link removed]

But First

The prize drawing! The winner should email me ([email address removed]) with their address.

The Essay

Essay assignment and guidelines

Discussing The Puffy Chair and Humpday

Small-group discussion and reports, using the prompts on our shared Google Doc
Notes on Alberti
- "Genre" as type of identity as well as a category with known conventions.
- Gender and sexuality identity in flux in 21st century, particularly for white men.
- Available "gender genres" (bro, "girlie man," company man, etc.) that centralize males but some of which are becoming obsolete
- Consequent anxiety, with homophobia the sign of anxiety.

Lecture: Moonlight

Introducing Moonlight: Style and Screening Cues [PowerPoint slides]

Assignments

This week, you have three assignments, one of which is optional. Note that typical due days have changed because of the Memorial Day holiday. The quiz counts toward your total quiz points, while the Puffy Chair or Humpday response counts toward your film response total. Because the holiday compresses our instructional week, I've made replies to peers' film responses optional. If you complete them, they will count toward your participation score.

Module 9 quiz due ~~Tuesday (5/26) by 11:59 p.m.~~UPDATE: Quiz now due Wednesday (5/27) by 11:59 p.m.
The Puffy Chair or Humpday response due Tuesday (5/26) by 11:59 p.m.
Optional replies to at least two peers' Puffy Chair or Humpday responses due Wednesday (5/27) by 11:59 p.m.

Sequence

Note: All times indicated are Pacific Standard Time.

Read Bordwell, Thompson, and Smith, Film Art: An Introduction, 12th edition. Excerpt from Chapter 8, "Summary: Style and Film Form" (pp. 303-310), over the weekend (5/23-5/25).
Read Geoff King, Mumblecore,” [link removed] over the weekend (5/23-5/25).
Screen The Puffy Chair and Humpday over the weekend (5/23-5/25).
Complete Module 9 quiz by~~Tuesday (5/26) by 11:59 p.m.~~UPDATE: Quiz now due Wednesday (5/27) by 11:59 p.m.. The quiz contains multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions, some of which embed images or clips and ask you to identify the elements of film style you see. The quiz covers last Thursday's lecture on mumblecore, the films The Puffy Chair and Humpday, King's article on mumblecore, and the excerpt we read from Chapter 8 of Film Art, "Summary: Style and Film Form." To prepare, review the lecture slides and recording, the textbook, and the notes you took while screening the films. Once you begin the quiz, you will have 20 minutes to complete it.
Complete The Puffy Chair or Humpday response by Tuesday, 5/26 at 11:59 p.m.
Optional: Reply to at least two peers' The Puffy Chair or Humpday responses by Wednesday, 5/27 at 11:59 p.m.
Read John Alberti's "Humpday as Feminist Bromance" [link removed] before Thursday's (5/28) live meeting.
Attend the live course meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 5/28. Meeting link: [link removed]
Ask questions anytime or expand on our previous discussions in the Module 9 Check-In and General Discussion area, or come to my live Zoom drop-in hours [link removed] on Tuesday, 5/26, from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.