Course Syllabus

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FM331: Independent American Film

The term “independent film” is a chameleon, with a shifting meaning to suit different purposes. It can represent moviemaking within the constraints of a small budget; a more artistic cinematic style; a distinctly counter-culture political message; or simply films produced by non-commercial or non-Hollywood entities. Ultimately, we will consider “independent film” synonymous with alternative cinema – one that responds to and deviates from mainstream Hollywood films.

In this course, we will examine American independent films from the 1980s and 1990s that, with modest budgets and often new directors, have garnered critical and/or commercial success and have articulated or initiated transformations in recent cinema history. Through either their unconventional approach to narrative, subject matter, cinematography, or even marketing and distribution methods, each of these films represents a cinematic shift initiated in the margins.

Course Requirements:

  • Quizzes/Film Responses 20%
  • Class Presentation 10%
  • Attendance, Participation, and Citizenship 15%
  • Scene Analysis/Argument Essay 20%
  • Final Project Proposal 10%
  • Final Project 25%

See course policies and course materials below.

Contact Information

Instructor: Michele Meek, mm@michelemeek.com
Dept. Phone: 617-552-3895 | Dept. Mailbox: Devlin 434
Meetings by appointment, email anytime!

Course Schedule

Generation X

January 13

  • Bottle Rocket short film (1994, Wes Anderson)

January 20

January 27

  • Clerks (1994, Kevin Smith)
  • Slacker (1991, Richard Linklater)
  • Excerpt from Richard Linklater’s book Slacker
  • Interview with Kevin Smith

Indie Adolescence

February 3

  • The Virgin Suicides (1999, Sofia Coppola)
  • River’s Edge (1986, Tim Hunter)
  • “’You’re my friend’: River’s Edge and Social Spectatorship” (Vicky Lebau, Camera Obscura, 1991)
  • Excerpt from The Tactile Eye: Touch and the Cinematic Experience (Jennifer Barker, 2009)

February 10 - No class

February 17

  • Boys Don't Cry (1999, Kimberly Peirce)
  • Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995, Todd Solondz)
  • “Characterization as Social Cognition in Welcome to the Dollhouse” (Michael Z. Newman, Film Studies, 53-67)
  • “Performing Gender in Boys Don't Cry”(Linda Dittmar from Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: Cinemas of Girlhood)

February 24

Due: Scene Analysis & Argument Essay 

  • Do the Right Thing (1989, Spike Lee)
  • Boyz in the Hood (1991, John Singleton)
  • “Spike Lee and the American Tradition” (Colette Lindroth, Literature Film Quarterly, 26-31)
  • “Superflies into Superkillers: Black Masculinity in Film from Blaxploitation to New Black Realism” (Katharine Bausch)

March 3 – No Class Spring Break

Producing Truth: The Rise or the Documentary

March 10

  • Paris is Burning (1990, Jennie Livingston)
  • “Imitation and Gender Insubordination” (Judith Butler, 1991)
  • “Venus is Burning: The Transubstantiation of the Transsexual” (Jay Prosser from The Transgender Studies Reader)

March 17

  • Hoop Dreams (1994, Steve James)
  • Roger & Me (1989, Michael Moore)
  •  “Working-Class Hero: Michael Moore’s Authorial Voice and Persona” (Louise Spence, Journal of Popular Culture, 368-380)
  • “Hoop Dreams, Hollywood Dreams”

The Marketing of Sex and Class Struggles

March 24

  • sex, lies, and videotape (1989, Steven Soderbergh)
  • “sex, lies and marketing: Miramax and the Development of the Quality Indie Blockbuster” (Alisa Perren, Film Quarterly, 30-39)

March 31

  • High Art (1998, Lisa Cholodenko)
  • Jeffrey (1995, Christopher Ashley)
  • “Gays and Queers: From the Centering to the Decentering of Homosexuality in American Films” (James Joseph Dean, Sexualities, 363-386)

American Families

April 7

  • Smooth Talk (1985, Joyce Chopra)
  • American Beauty (1999, Sam Mendes)
  • “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” (Joyce Carol Oates)
  • “Riding in Cars with Boys: Reconsidering Smooth Talk” (Peter Dickinson, Literature Film Quarterly, 2008)

April 14

Due: Final Project Proposal

  • Raising Arizona (1987, Joel & Ethan Coen)
  • Hannah and Her Sisters (1986, Woody Allen)
  • “Raising Arizona as an American Comedy” (Richard Gilmore, from The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers)

Violent Visions

April 21

  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, Wes Craven)
  • The Blair Witch Project (1999, Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez)
  • “The ‘Witchcraft’ of Media Manipulation: Pamela and The Blair Witch Project” (Martin Harris, Journal of Popular Culture, 75-107)

April 28

  • Reservoir Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)
  • El Mariachi (1992, Robert Rodriguez)
  • “Violence: The Strong and the Weak” (Devin McKinney, Film Quarterly, 16-22)
  • Excerpt from Rebel without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez

Final Projects Due via Email on May 5 by midnight

Course Materials

In addition to watching films, this course incorporates a selection of readings that include academic essays, filmmaker theoretical texts, and industry analyses.

All readings will be available in course content on our Blackboard site. All films are on reserve at the BC Media Center Services on the 2nd floor of the O’Neill Library. Many are also available on Amazon, iTunes and Netflix if you prefer.

Course Policies

As we meet only weekly, attendance is absolutely mandatory. At the start of each class, we will have a short, simple quiz or response exercise based on the day’s films and readings. You should come to class having watched both the films and read the texts assigned and ready to participate actively in our class discussions. I expect you to think critically and creatively about the films and texts; to contemplate your impressions and analyses; and to come with insightful questions.

On the first day, we will schedule group class presentations for each of our meetings. Each group presentation should be limited to 10-15 minutes. For this presentation, you will:

  • Give a brief overview of the film’s production (no film summaries!) and distribution
  • Find an interview with one of the writers, directors or actors from one of the week’s assigned films. Pick 1-2 particularly relevant, provocative or illuminating quotes to share.
  • Launch our class discussion with 2-3 leading questions.
  • Submit a written presentation summary and MLA bibliography of any sources. 

A few weeks into the semester, you complete a clip breakdown/analysis and short argument paper (2-3 pages) on one of the films that we have discussed (your choice). This assignment does not require external research.

For your final research paper, you will submit a proposal for your final project of 200-300 words with two outside sources, with a title and proposal of what you plan to investigate.

At the end of the semester, you will complete a substantial final project, which will serve as the culmination of your class work. This project will be discussed and determined as a group in class.

All assignments must be completed to pass course.

Format: All papers should be formatted in Times New Roman (12-point font) with 1-inch margins and should use MLA documentation style.

Plagiarism & Academic Integrity:  It is your responsibility to understand plagiarism and its consequences. Consult the BC Student Handbook about academic honesty and related issues. Plagiarism consists of using someone else’s work as your own (even if you have paraphrased it) without a citation. Cases of plagiarism warrant failure for the assignment and possibly the course and will be reported. For more information, see www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/academic/resources/policy/#integrity.

Attendance: Attendance for this course is mandatory and counts directly towards your grade.  If you notify me in advance, absences for religious holidays, athletic participation, or other university-sanctioned events are excused. Other absences (for illness, accident, or personal tragedy) must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Generally, absences will negatively affect the attendance portion of your grade (as well as your quiz grade), and students who miss a total of three weeks of classes (3 classes) may fail the course.

Courtesy:  If you must come in late, please do not disrupt the class. Please turn off all cell phones and laptops except when explicitly approved for an in-class activity.

Note on Access: Any student with a documented disability should feel free to notify me for special accommodations.  Please also contact Disability Services Office at bc.edu/offices/dos/disabilityservices.html 

Other Issues: Please know that I am always available to discuss any issues you are having with your coursework. I can be reached between classes via email and can be available to meet or talk via Skype as necessary.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due