LFU:online

Department of American Studies Department of American Studies

Mag. Dr. Erwin Feyersinger Mag. Dr. Erwin Feyersinger

610011

Discourse/Identity: American Cultures: Film Narratology: Climactic Scenes

PS 2

5

weekly

each semester

English

The aim of this course is to familiarize students with methods of analyzing and contextualizing dramatic structures in American cinema.

This course takes an in-depth look the most prominent scene of a film: its climax. It is the main turning point that merges the film's plotlines and offers a resolution of its conflicts. A climax aims at satisfying the viewers' emotional and cognitive involvement in the film in a skillful way. It is usually an elaborate scene that compresses the film's style and themes. We will closely analyze the form and function of some of the most memorable climactic scenes in American film history. Films in this course will include _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_ (1937), _12 Angry Men_ (1957), _The Godfather_ (1972), and _Memento_ (2000). We will also compare climaxes in feature films with those in short films, television series and other media. Further points of discussion include anticlimaxes and unusual dramatic arcs, plot points, twist endings, genre-specific uses, remakes, filmmaking techniques, the scene before the climax (the calm before the storm), and many more.

Lecture inputs, research, presentations, discussion

Active participation, written analyses, presentation, research paper (10–15 pages) OR making a climactic scene of an inexistent film (with storyboard/script and report)