Film Studies Pedagogy

In a cultural moment when professors experience a debilitating hesitancy about initiating difficult conversations with undergraduate students, and the imperative of trigger warnings sometimes outweighs our will to navigate controversial materials, the fate of "violent films," as worthy of academic study, hangs precariously in the balance. 1 Designing undergraduate film courses that are culturally and politically sensitive to the power structures replicated in cinematic representations, often entails, and understandably so, the excising of explicitly violent cinema. With this essay, however, we contend with ways in which cinematic violence can and, perhaps, should be incorporated into the undergraduate classroom. Our essay, then, might be thought of as a response to the profound question that Zoe Brigley Thompson (2018) asks: "What avenues … are open to the university instructor who seeks to combat oppressive narratives without closing down discussion?" (p. 1). What follows is a detailed illustration of, perhaps even a discursive template for, how to lead a conversation about violent cinema, and an exploration of possible questions that help direct such a conversation. We recognize that this undertaking asks considerably more from our readers than the average film or pedagogy essay might. In a sense, this essay asks readers to endure some of the same things that our class lecture and discussion asks of our students: namely, to dare to not look away from things we would rather not see. Although unpleasant, we believe the discussion to be more than worthwhile given its relevance to large scale conversations about cultural sensitivity and censorship, and innovative film education. Our pedagogical arguments are drawn from our own experience of co-teaching a unit titled "Cinematic

A unique survey of the new horizons of film and media theory. " In the wake of the post-theory wars, this collection stakes a bold claim for the relevance, importance and centrality of theory for film and screen studies. […] This book represents not merely a survey of the field, but a rich and open foray into current and future debates, often raising points that are challenging and controversial. " —Richard Rushton, Senior Lecturer, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University, UK " Whoever claimed that film theory is dead should read The Anthem Handbook of Screen Theory. This excellent collection of essays forcefully demonstrates that film theory is well equipped to face the challenges of the digital age of moving images. " —Sulgi Lie, Visiting Professor of Media Aesthetics, University of Basel, Switzerland The Anthem Handbook of Screen Theory offers a unique and progressive survey of screen theory and how it can be applied to a range of moving-image texts and sociocultural contexts. Focusing on the " handbook " angle, the book includes only original essays from established authors in the field and new scholars on the cutting edge of helping screen theory evolve for the twenty-first-century vistas of new media, social shifts and geopolitical change. This method guarantees a strong foundation and clarity for the canon of film theory, while also situating it as part of a larger genealogy of art theories and critical thought, and reveals the relevance and utility of film theories and concepts to a wide array of expressive practices and specified arguments. The Anthem Handbook of Screen Theory is at once inclusive, applicable and a chance for writers to innovate and really play with where they think the field is, can and should be heading.