Critical Studies
cinema.usc.edu/criticalstudiesloverholt@cinema.usc.edu
213.740.7515
George Lucas Instructional Building (LUC) 405
Introduction to Cinema
(CNTV & CTAN)*
Rated one of the top 6 “USC classes you cannot afford
to miss” by Saturday Night Magazine, this adventure
explores the formal properties of movies: literary design,
performance, visual design, composition, editing, sound
design, genre, style and the production process. Jaws,
Notes On A Scandal, The Heiress, The Lives Of Others,
The Sea Hawk, Go, Breakfast At Tiffany’s, A Passage To
India, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Glengary Glen
Ross and The Line-Up are only some of the films that will
enthrall you. This perennial favorite is certain to fill fast!
You must also register for a discussion section.
CTCS 190 / 4 units / Drew Casper / 18000R / 2-5:50 pm / T
Introduction to Television and Video
(CNTV)*
There is much more to TV than just tuning in. This class
will explore aspects of television as wide-ranging as
programming strategies, fan communities, advertising
and sponsorship, the rise of digital and satellite media,
modes of production, classic TV genres, narrative
structures, stardom and globalization. We will explore
how race, class and gender are represented both on
screen and behind the scenes in television production.
Shows will include: Grey’s Anatomy, Project Runway,
I Love Lucy, Arrested Development and Miami Vice.
CTCS 191 / 4 units / Miranda Banks / 18065R / 2-5:50 pm / W
Race, Class and Gender in American Film
One of the most popular classes offered at USC, CTCS
192 focuses on the relationship between film and
American society in order to address some of the pressing
political and cultural issues of our time. Specifically, this
course will focus on the representation of race, class and
gender in contemporary Hollywood cinema. This course
satisfies the university diversity requirement. Screenings
will include: Crash, Kill Bill, Syrianna, The Godfather and
Godfather II, Far From Heaven, Silence of the Lambs, 8
Mile and Traffic, among others.
CTCS 192 / 4 units / Todd Boyd / 18070R / 2-5:50 pm / Th
History of the International Cinema II
This course will examine international social history from
the Second World War to the beginning of the 21st
century as dramatized by world cinema. The goal will be
both to examine the history of national and international
cinematic conventions and to see these as cultural
responses to changes in the political and social climate.
CTCS 201 / 4 units / David James / 18075R / 2-5:50 pm / M
History of the American Film, 1925-1950
This course examines the development of the Hollywood
feature film during the “Golden Era” of the studio system.
Special attention will be paid to genres, styles, and
technological developments, business practices and to
certain exemplary films produced during the period.
Among the films that will be screened: Mr. Deeds Goes
to Town, Bachelor Mother, It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Me
Tonight, King Kong, Stagecoach, T-Men, Destry Rides
Again and Sullivan’s Travels.
CTCS 392 / 4 units / Richard Jewell / 18080R / 6-10:30 pm / M
Postmodern Hollywood
The Postmodern stew of cultural heterogeneity, commerce
and technology as driving devils, film/TV/video emergents,
the high-tech style, the rating system, the cult of celebrity,
animation/documentary ascendancy and neo-classicism,
as seen in The Weather Man, Bullets Over Broadway,
Spellbound, The Bourne Identity, The Road To Perdition,
Monsters, Inc., Gladiator, Brokeback Mountain, The Departed,
The Devil Wears Prada, Wings Of The Dove, Catch Me If
You Can, The Thomas Crown Affair and 21 Grams.
CTCS 394 / 4 units / Drew Casper / 18085R / 6-10:00 pm / T
Practicum in Film/Television Criticism
This course is a hands-on practicum designed to sharpen
the critical skills of students and apply those skills to the
analysis of television as it relates to popular culture. In
fact, television is popular culture. The course stresses
“doing,” not theorizing. Thus the ability to write clearly
is essential, as is the ability to set aside ego for the
greater purpose of communication.
CTCS 402 / 4 units / TBA / 18090R / 1-4:50 pm / M
Korean Cinema
Of recent developments in global cinema, none has
been more important than the emergence of a vibrant
national cinema in South Korea. This course will examine
this emergence, focusing on the growth of the industry
in the years after WWII; the New Korean Cinema of the
1990s; the cinema of North Korea; the blockbusters of
Hanryu (Korean Wave); and the recently released new films.
CTCS 403 / 4 units / David James / 18094R / 2-6:00 pm / T
Audio Culture—Sound Design in Film, TV
& New Media
This course will bridge the gap between the history and
theory of sound design and the various production and
industry practices that are used to create sound designs
in media. Film screenings will include: King Kong,
Singin’ in the Rain, Diva, The Birds, Alien, 300 and others.
CTCS 411 / 4 units / William Whittington / 18105R / 9-1:20 pm / T
Gender, Sexuality and Media:
Stars and Celebrity
From talk shows to the Web to The Enquirer, fascination
with celebrities permeates our culture. We can all name
favorite stars (as well as the stars we love to hate), and
our desire to learn more about them can fuel our
engagements with popular media. This course revolves
around a critical investigation of the role of the star in
contemporary and historical U.S. culture. In an attempt
to analyze the star phenomenon, we will focus on the
role of the star within the “machinery” of culture—the
ways in which stars function in the entertainment industry,
within popular media texts, within consumer practices
and at the level of individual fantasy and desire. The
class takes as a central topic the many ways in which
celebrity culture helps shape our ideas about gender,
sexuality, race and nationality.
CTCS 412 / 4 units / Tara McPherson / 18110R / 12-3:50 pm / Th
“Gotta’ Sing Gotta’ Dance:”
The American Film Musical
Bodies dance in rhythm and hearts beat in rhyme as the
boy gets the girl, the show gets on the road and name,
fame and fortune are around every corner with Al The
Singing Fool Jolson, Swingtime-d Fred and Ginger, Betty
Grable as The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, Doris Day and her
Romance On The High Seas, Bing’s Holiday Inn, Alice
Faye and Carmen Miranda as part of The Gang’s All
Here, The King (Yul Brynner) and I (Deborah Kerr), those
42nd Street gypsies along with Gypsy herself as well as
the Show Boat crowd, Judy as Manuela and Gene as The
Pirate, those On The Towners including Frank and
Audrey’s Funny Face and Danny Kaye’s Hans Christian
Anderson. All this and All That Jazz, Sondheim’s
Sweeney Todd and Gere and Lopez in Shall We Dance?
CTCS 464 / 4 units / Drew Casper / 18120R / 6-10:30 pm / W
The Gangster Film
The gangster film has been one of Hollywood’s most
durable and controversial genres. This class will examine
the evolution of gangster films from a variety of perspectives:
cultural, industrial, stylistic, mythic, ideological, etc.
Among the films to be screened: Little Caesar, Scarface,
Gun Crazy, White Heat, Point Blank, Bonnie and Clyde,
The Godfather Parts I and II, The Long Good Friday,
Goodfellas and episodes of The Sopranos.
CTCS 464 / 4 units / Richard Jewell / 18118R / 9-12:50 pm / Th
Theatrical Film Symposium
(CNTV)*
Lectures and readings on creative issues in the motion
picture industry. Screenings of current releases followed
by interviews with writers, actors, producers, directors
and other industry professionals, many of whom are
USC alumni. Films screened in past semesters include:
Lord of the Rings III, Miracle and Adaptation. Past guests
have included: Alexander Payne, Billy Bob Thornton,
Guillermo del Toro and Nicholas Cage.
CTCS 466 / 4 units / Leonard Maltin / 18125R / 7-11:00 pm / Th
Television Symposium
(CNTV)*
Modeled after the popular Leonard Maltin course, “Theatrical
Film Symposium,” the Critical Studies department now
offers an exciting counterpart focusing on the television
industry, taught by Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic
Howard Rosenberg, whose many years with the
Los Angeles Times have made him one of the most
respected critics of contemporary entertainment. Each
week, students are shown selected television programming,
followed by a moderated Q&A with guests from the
show, often including the series creator. Last year’s guests
included Damon Lindel (LOST), Marc Cherry (Desperate
Housewives), Doug Ellin (Entourage), Jenji Kohan (Weeds),
Lisa Kudrow (Friends), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld) and
Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy).
CTCS 467 / 4 units / Howard Rosenberg / 18126R / 7-11:00 pm / M
Film and /or Television Style Analysis:
The Blaxploitation Era
(CNTV)*
This course will analyze the “Blaxploitation” films from
the 1970s. The class will also consider the importance of
this often-misunderstood genre in relationship to the
music, television, sports and politics of the era. Finally,
the course will focus on the influence that this historical
genre has had on contemporary film and urban popular
culture. Screenings to include: Shaft, Super Fly,
The Mack, Foxy Brown, Wattstax, Dolemite and The
Spook Who Sat by the Door.
CTCS 469 / 4 units / Todd Boyd / 18135R / 2-5:50 pm / W
Film and /or Television Style Analysis:
Luis Buñuel & Pedro Almodóvar: Two
Spanish Maverick Filmmakers in the
Global Sphere
(CNTV)*
This course covers three interwoven subjects: an in-depth
knowledge of two of the most original and most
provocative world-class filmmakers to emerge in the
20th century, an exploration of Spanish culture from the
1920s to the present, and a critical examination of
auteurism. Films screened in class will include: Land
Without Bread, Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, What
Have I Done to Deserve This? and Tie Me Up, Tie Me
Down. This course is taught by University Professor
Marsha Kinder, author of Blood Cinema, Refiguring
Spain, Buñuel’s Discreet Charm and many articles on
both Almodóvar & Buñuel.
CTCS 469 / 4 units / Marsha Kinder / 18178R / 10-1:50 pm / M
