Arnim Alex Seelig

Moving Images and Modern WARFARE

Annotated Course Syllabus
I) Explanation of course topic This 10-week-long undergraduate course (geared towards 30-50 students) seeks to explore the relations between moving images and modern warfare in the widest sense. It focuses on the wars of the 20th and 21st centuries, while also touching on wars of earlier periods. The course materials consist of texts and films. Chosen for discussion are not only war movies understood in the traditional sense as films depicting armed conflict, but a war-related variety of filmic works and facts from film history, thus reflecting the various relationships between war and film. For example the relationship illustrated in the left-hand photograph of World War II workers lining up for entertainment at the cinema, which indicates a certain function of cinema in war, rather than the function of war as a topic in cinema. Except for short films (such as by Harun Farocki and Alexander Kluge, or WWII newsreels on YouTube), the films viewed in class are not shown in full length but in the form of seuqences, while some films, such as Apocalypse Now, are discussed in their entirety without viewing them in class it is the students responsibility to familiarize themselves with these films. The discussions are supplemented with readings from film studies, media studies, and cultural studies, as well as history and philosophy. This broad range of theoretical backgrounds allows the course to be cross-listed in German Studies, Film Studies (World Cinemas at McGill University), Cultural Studies, and History.

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The course raises the following questions: How does an awareness of issues related to modern warfare contribute to our understanding of film, and vice versa? More specifically, what can be said about moving images, from Hollywood blockbusters through documentary cinema to video art, by critically engaging with theories that deal with modern warfare? How, in turn, does film shed light on phenomena subsumed under the rubric of modern warfare, and how do moving images in cinema and television influence our perception of war? How can a discussion of film genres, styles, schools, and theories inform us as spectators not only in regard to war-related artworks on film, but also vis--vis the news media coverage of war events? When, where, and how does the history of moving images coincide with the history of modern warfare? II) Intended course level This syllabus is conceived as a second- or third-year undergraduate course (200 or 300 level). Nevertheless, it is designed to be open to students at any level in their undergraduate studies. Although it would be helpful to have some basic knowledge of German Cinema, World Cinemas, and the terminology most salient in film theory, it is not necessary to have previously taken courses in any of these areas. All the conceptual tools required to master the material will be covered in class. Thus this course is intended to offer an introduction to film studies, organized around the theme of modern warfare. Core issues in film studies are linked thematically, following the model of Elsaesser and Hagener, who articulate film theory around a leading question (4). Similarly, this course seeks to complement other introductory film courses that are structured in a classificatory fashion by film genres, styles, schools, or theories. 2

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III) Pedagogical goals The rationale of this course is to enable a deeper understanding of film studies on the one hand, in particular the history of German, British, and American cinema as well as international film theory, and on the other hand, of how we think about war, while addressing the latter topic within frameworks of epistemology, psychology, and ideology. Part and parcel of this objective is to strengthen the students command of analytic categories used in film theory as well as their familiarity with different approaches in film studies. A strong emphasis is put on original work by the students, in order to foster their critical thinking and to prepare them at an early stage in their university education for qualitatively high academic writing. For this reason, the course features a continuous research component, which leads the students through short weekly written responses and an essay to a final paper (for more information see section IV). The course is also designed to allow for a maximum of interaction between the students and the teacher. Each session thus begins with a lecture and ends with a discussion period, while of course the lecture and discussions can somewhat interlace. A series of collaborative multimedia presentations by the students, held toward the end of each class, will supply further incentives for collective discussions. IV) Course format, assignments and methods of evaluation Overall, the weekly topics of this course are in loose chronological order, going from silent film to the present. Classes are also grouped by subthemes into three modules: v Module 1: No War Without Representation Languages and Narratives of War on Film v Module 2: Deconstructing Heroics Shifting Perspectives in the Cinematic Storytelling of War v Module 3: Questioning the Ideology and Psychology of War News Media Coverage

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Per week there will be two classes of 90 min each (3 hrs per week). Since for every week two or more texts are assigned, each class can focus on at least one text. The evaluation methods of this course consist of five components, each being worth 20% of the final grade: 1. In-class participation. 2. Short written responses to the weekly readings (10 responses at each 2%, 200-300 words, submitted via a web course tool like WebCT, due before the first class of each week). Since this is an undergraduate course, the readings are limited to ca. 30-40 pages per week, in English. If the assigned texts are parts of monographs or anthologies the students will be encouraged to continue with their reading in order to prepare for the final research paper, which can of course build on these texts. The assigned texts could be made available to the students in the form of a course pack, or could be uploaded as PDFs onto the web course tool. No issue of potential copyright infringement should arise, since most selections constitute no more than ca. 10% of the total length of each respective text. Some texts are freely and legally available as online articles, while one complete monograph (by Rentschler) is available as ebook. The bibliographic references in the weekly syllabus (section V) reflect this information. The two functions of the written responses are a) to have the students demonstrate an active engagement with the readings and b), since for each week texts by more than one author are assigned, have the students articulate an informed opinion on how the different texts can be tied together. The written response also prepares the students for active participation in class. However, depending on the quality of the submitted responses, this assignment may in some weeks be replaced by a quiz held in class. 3. One collaborative multimedia presentation on one of the weekly readings (20 minutes, in groups of 3-4, preferably using Prezi or a similarly interactive software platform with non-linear navigation). No written draft needs to be submitted for the presentation. 4

Arnim Alex Seelig 4. One midterm reflective and argumentative essay (3-5 pages, due at the end of week 5, halfway through module 2), summarizing the material covered so far and elaborating on a particular aspect of choice. 5. One final research paper (6-8 pages, with any bibliography of at least 10 titles, due two weeks after the last class). The paper can be on a topic of interest, as long as it stays within the context of the course. It must follow proper citation guidelines, such as the MLA style. In the penultimate class, students will have to submit a one-page outline in keywords for their paper, together with a preliminary bibliography. There is no midterm test and no final exam. V) Weekly syllabus with justifications of the materials chosen Each class will begin with a brief lecture, which provides a concise background of the authors read and a summary of their key arguments. Then the class will discuss how the texts can be related to each other and what they have to offer in regard to the weekly topic as well as the overall course topic. N.B.: In the following, the required readings are fully cited, while all other quotes refer to the further readings in section VI; films are listed for every week simply by title and year of release. Week 1: Introduction Explanation of syllabus and course requirements; cursory introduction of the readings and weekly topics for the whole course, while situating them in a historical and theoretical framework; mentioning Carl von Clausewitzs definition of the theatre of war in Vom Kriege (1832) as a way to stimulate debate about possible relationships between war and theatre, and by extension between war and cinema; collective brainstorming and open discussion along the general questions formulated in section I; instructions on how to do the written response for next weeks readings.

Arnim Alex Seelig v MODULE 1: NO WAR WITHOUT REPRESENTATION LANGUAGES AND NARRATIVES OF WAR ON FILM The next three weeks constitute an introductory module dedicated to laying a foundation for the film analyses made later in the course, by introducing key concepts in film theory. Another goal of this module is to assess and/or create the awareness among the students that filmic depictions of war are representations and that as such they are always subject to manipulation. Week 2: Narrative Devices in Cinema from Silent Film Until Today (Key Concepts in Film Analysis) Elsaesser, Thomas, and Malte Hagener. Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses. New York: Routledge, 2010. 13-34 [ch. 1] Print. Virilio, Paul. War and Cinema : The Logistics of Perception. London; New York: Verso, 1989. 1-11 [preface to the English edition & ch. 1]. Print. Battleship Potemkin (1925); Birth of a Nation (1915). In this week, the students attention will be steered towards editing techniques in film. Invisible editing/continuity editing and the 180 rule will be discussed and contrasted with Eisensteins discussion of the various types of montage. This will be illustrated with sequences from Battleship Potemkin, giving examples of dialectically conflicting images as described by Eisenstein. Griffiths Birth of a Nation will illustrate how continuity editing and the 180 rule work as a narrative devices, for example in order to create the impression of simultaneous events. Additional examples from more recent films may be given in order to show that the same editing techniques are still at work in film today, while students are encouraged to come up with their own examples. Week 3: The Effects of WWI on Weimar Cinema Kaes, Anton. Shell Shock Cinema: Weimar Culture and the Wounds of War. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. 1-34 [introduction and parts of Ch. 1]. Print. Rickels, Laurence. The Demonization of the Home Front: War Neurosis and Weimar 6

Arnim Alex Seelig Cinema. Dancing on the Volcano: Essays on the Culture of The Weimar Republic. Ed. Thomas W. Kniesche and Stephen Brockmann. Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1994. 181-193. Print. Westfront 1918 (1930); All Quiet on the Western Front (1930); Niemandsland (1931); Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920); Wege zu Kraft und Schnheit (1925); Metropolis (1927); M (1931). By discussing some of the most exemplary films of Weimar Cinema with an eye towards their portrayal of distressed communities in a state of shock (Kaes 3), this week the class begins to look at the ways in which war has had an impact on artistic representation. The phenomenon of shell shock and the general trauma of WWI will be discussed as a historical novelty in its time and will be illustrated by viewings of Niemandsland, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Westfront 1918. The film Niemandsland, in which the characters struggle to overcome the limitations of their languages, will also serve to bring to the forefront the early 20th century notion that cinema was a new lingua franca which could transcend the other languages (Vertov 85). Pabsts Westfront 1918, on the other hand, will serve as an occasion to contemplate the innovations that sound brought to the cinema, as in this film the director made the fullest use of integrating auditory experience. The latter aspect will be the beginning of a recurring discussion of the role of special effects in filmmaking. Week 4: Propaganda in German, British, & American Cinema during WWII Fox, Jo. Film Propaganda in Britain and Nazi Germany: World War II Cinema. Oxford; New York: Berg, 2007. 1-15 [Film Propaganda and World War II: Debates and Contexts]. Print. Rentschler, Eric. The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1996. 1-24 [Introduction: The Power of Illusions]. Print. Also web [Ebook]. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/ text-idx?c=acls;idno=heb08223> Hitlerjunge Quex (1933); Triumph des Willens (1935); Jud S (1940); Der ewige Jude (1940); Die groe Liebe (1942).

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War movies as both entertainment and propaganda. Official storytelling of war accounts by the authorities. American and British newsreels and the German Wochenschau on YouTube (see for example <http://www.youtube.com/ results?search_query=newsreels+1940&aq=2> 26 Oct. 2011). The discussion of WWII war films will lead over into the period of post-war classic war movies about WWII from, or modelled on, Hollywood cinema, such as The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), A Bridge Too Far (1977), or John Wayne movies. v MODULE 2: DECONSTRUCTING HEROICS SHIFTING PERSPECTIVES IN THE FILMIC STORYTELLING OF WAR This module traces the dramatic changes in the depiction of war in cinema since the 1970s to the present. The changing socio-historical context will be laid out, from the implications of the invention and use of the atom bomb (Hiroshima and Nagasaki), the Cold War and the looming threat of nuclear annihilation, Vietnam and the counterculture movement, to the advent of poststructuralist philosophies (Foucault & Derrida). It will be shown how these developments have led to the deconstruction of authoritarian models of heroism, to an emphasis on the subjective experience of war, and to the disintegration of traditional narratives. This climate will be compared to Dadaism as a phenomenon from the post-WWI era, considering this movements experimental destruction of language and literary forms in its poems and happenings respectively, as a consequence of WWI trauma (Brill 36-97). Week 4: Heroes Were Yesterday, Its the Apocalypse Now Fertel, R. J. Vietnam War Narratives and the Myth of the Hero. War, Literature, and the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities 11.1 (1999): 268-93. Print. Wimmer, Adi. Vietnam and the Death of Heroism? Critical Approaches to a Critical Era. American Studies in Scandinavia 30.2 (1998): 30-42. Print. Vargas, German E. Narrative Mode, Mixed Images, and Adaptation in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Atenea 24.2 (2004): 91-101. Print.

Arnim Alex Seelig Catch-22 (1970); Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970); Apocalypse Now (1979). The goal of this week is to demonstrate the deconstruction of authoritarian models of heroism. The modern truism that war has no winners will be contrasted with WWII cinema and classic Hollywood war movies that either glorify or oversimplify war, as for example in numerous films with John Wayne (Fertel 269). In the 1970s, more critical tones were struck, exposing the cynicism and banal madness underlying the reality of war, as in Catch-22, or the inadequacy and incompetence of the supposedly invincible military of the victors, as in Tora! Tora! Tora! The main focus of this week will be on Apocalypse Now, while discussing it in the context of Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness (1902). Particular attention will be paid to the narrators disillusionment regarding the heroism of the colonialist in the Belgian Congo, where man becomes a beast and the jungle overpowers all of existence, eradicating every trace of civilization. The motifs of the abhorrence of (human) nature and humanitys lack of control will be related to the theme of war as encountered so far in this course. Furthermore, an attempt will be made to apply to other films the model proposed by Fertel, who utilizes the category of the universal hero from Joseph Campbells theory in order to identify and analyse the type of hero portrayed in Apocalypse Now. Week 5: Objectivity versus Subjectivity / Grand Narratives versus Fragmented Narration of the Decentered Subject Lucas, Rose. "Theatres of Extremity: War and Subjectivity in the Thin Red Line." Xchanges 4.2 (2005): [no pagination]. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. Stewart, Garrett. "Nonfictions: Screen Memory in "Waltz with Bashir"." Film Quarterly 63.3 (2010): 58-62. Print. Das Boot (1981); The Thin Red Line (1998); The Hurt Locker (2008); Waltz with Bashir (2008); Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010); Buried (2010).

Arnim Alex Seelig This week examines the cinematic explorations of subjective experiences of war and the disintegration of traditional narratives. A point of discussion will be whether the metaphor of a physically enclosed space or microcosm can be productive in the interpretation of renditions of intimate and intense subjectivity, as portrayed in the context of war in Das Boot, The Hurt Locker, and Buried. Moreover, the relationship between stream-of-consciousness, fragmented narration, and historiographic multiperspectivism will be evaluated by looking at Waltz with Bashir and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Midterm essay due in second class. Week 6: War between Realism and Experimental Film I The German AvantGarde Elsaesser, Thomas. Harun Farocki: Filmmaker, Artist, Media Theorist. Harun Farocki: Working on the Sight-Lines. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2004. 11-40. Print. Rentschler, Eric. Remembering Not to Forget: A Retrospective Reading of Kluge's Brutality in Stone. New German Critique 49 (1990): 23-41. Print. Web [JSTOR]. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/pss/488372> Brutalitt im Stein (1961); Nicht lschbares Feuer (1967); Bilder der Welt und Inschrift des Krieges (1989). The seminal avant-garde documentaries Nicht lschbares Feuer by Harun Farocki and Brutalitt im Stein by Alexander Kluge will be shown in their entirety, and sequences from Bilder der Welt und Inschrift des Krieges. Kluges employment of editing will be analysed in respect to how it conveys an emotional message through the depiction of inanimate matter. Farockis thematization and problematization of complexity and complicity in regard to war will be discussed. The relationship between editing/narration and ideological assumptions will be highlighted by discussing the implications of the selective attention portrayed in Bilder der Welt und Inschrift des Krieges, thereby leading up to next weeks session.

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Arnim Alex Seelig Week 7: War between Realism and Experimental Film II Documentaries and Historical Cinema Wees, William C., and Archives Anthology Film. Recycled Images : The Art and Politics of Found Footage Films. New York City: Anthology Film Archives, 1993. 32-48 [Ch.4 In the Domain of Montage: Compilation, Collage, Appropriation]. Print. Rascaroli, Laura. The Personal Camera : Subjective Cinema and the Essay Film. London; New York: Wallflower Press, 2009. 44-63. [Ch. 2 The metacritical voice(over) of the essay film: Harun Farocki, found footage and the essayist as spectator]. Print. Der Untergang (2004); Hitler: ein Film aus Deutschland, Wie man sieht (1977); Film is a Girl & a Gun (2009); Mein Krieg (1990); The Halfmoon Files: A Ghost Story (2007). In this week, the question will be posed, how historically accurate can film be, while keeping in mind the considerations from the previous week. The historical war film Der Untergang will be compared with found footage films, such as the collection of amateur films (Mein Krieg) or sequences from silent film (Film is a Girl & a Gun). Questions of editing/narration will remain central in this discussion and related issues like dramatic suspense and character development/identification will be taken into account. The illusions and manipulations in classic cinematic editing/narration will be once more pointed out by examining this weeks films through the lens of Farockis works and theories. v MODULE 3: QUESTIONING THE IDEOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF WAR NEWS MEDIA COVERAGE Week 8: The Entwinement of Television, Internet, Videogames, Consumer Culture, and Modern Warfare Baudrillard, Jean, and Mark Poster. Selected Writings. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2001. 169-87 [Simulacra and Simulations]. Print. Daney, Serge. Montage Obligatory: The War, the Gulf and the Small Screen. Rouge 2006. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.rouge.com.au/8/montage.html> Debord, Guy. The Society of the Spectacle. 1967. [Ch.1] Web. 13 Oct. 2011. 11

Arnim Alex Seelig <http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/society.htm> The Society of the Spectacle (1973); Auge/Maschine I-III (2001, 2002, 2003); Erkennen und Verfolgen (2003). The blurring of the line between modern warfare and videogames will be discussed using Baudrillards concepts of the simulacrum and the hyperreal. The discussion will also be informed by Debords theory of the society of the spectacle, referring both to Debords text and film, illustrating one with the other. Additional films by Farocki as well as Daneys discussion of Gulf War I news media coverage will serve as additional illustrations and to initiate further debate. Week 9: Desensitization of the Modern Spectator through Mass-Produced Images of War Sontag, Susan. Regarding the Pain of Others. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003. 3-39 [Ch. 1 & 2]. Print. Benjamin, Walter. The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. (1936). Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ ge/benjamin.htm> Reading Sontags thesis about the spectators desensitization through constant exposure to war images in conjunction with Benjamins thesis of the loss of the aura in the age of arts mechanical reproduction, this last week of lectures and discussions will be dedicated to appraising whether Sontags and Benjamins points apply to films covered in this course, and if so, to which, and why. Sequences from previous classes will be repeated and some films may be looked at more closely. Paper outlines and bibliographies due in the second class.

Week 10: Review and Wrap-up In the first class of this final week, students receive their marked paper outlines and bibliographies; in the second class, students give brief (5 min) and informal presentations of the topics for their research papers; course evaluations at the end of the 12

Arnim Alex Seelig second class; in their 10th and final response, due at the beginning of the following week, the students are to critically reflect on the course as a whole and the learning experience they gained from it. VI) Further reading Baudrillard, Jean, and Mark Poster. Selected Writings. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2001. [The remaining chapters of the book.] Print. Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968. Print. Brill, Dorothe. Shock and the Senseless in Dada and Fluxus. Hanover, N.H.: Dartmouth College Press: Published by University Press of New England, 2010. Print. Chapman, James. The British at War: Cinema, State, and Propaganda, 1939-1945. London; New York, N.Y.; New York, N.Y.: I.B. Tauris Publishers; distributed by St. Martin's Press, 1998. Print. Clarke, James. War Films. London: Virgin Books, 2006. Print. Clausewitz, Carl, Michael Howard, and Peter Paret. On War. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1976. Print. Conrad, Joseph, and Robert Kimbrough. Heart of Darkness: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. New York: Norton, 1988. Print. Dancing on the Volcano: Essays on the Culture of The Weimar Republic. Ed. Thomas W. Kniesche and Stephen Brockmann. Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1994. Print. Davenport, Robert Ralsey. The Encyclopedia of War Movies: The Authoritative Guide to Movies About Wars of the Twentieth Century. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2004. Print. Debord, Guy. The Society of the Spectacle. 1967. [The remaining chapters of the book] Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/ society.htm> Elsaesser, Thomas, and Malte Hagener. Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses. New York: Routledge, 2010. [The remaining chapters of the book.] Print. Fox, Jo. Film Propaganda in Britain and Nazi Germany: World War II Cinema. Oxford; New York: Berg, 2007. [The remaining chapters of the book] Print. Harun Farocki : Working on the Sight-Lines. Ed. Thomas Elsaesser. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2004. [The remaining chapters of the book.] Print. Kaes, Anton. Shell Shock Cinema: Weimar Culture and the Wounds of War. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. [The remaining chapters of the book]. Print. Paris, Michael. Repicturing the Second World War: Representations in Film and Television. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print. Rascaroli, Laura. The Personal Camera : Subjective Cinema and the Essay Film. London; New York: Wallflower Press, 2009. [The remaining chapters of the book] Print. Rentschler, Eric. The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1996. [The remaining chapters of the book] Print. Web [Ebook]. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/ text-idx?c=acls;idno=heb08223> 13

Arnim Alex Seelig Sontag, Susan. Regarding the Pain of Others. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003. [The remaining chapters of the book.] Print. Vertov, Dziga. Man With a Movie Camera. [1928] Kino-eye: the writings of Dziga Vertov. Ed. with an introduction by Annette Michelson; transl. by Kevin OBrien. Berkeley, CA: U of California P, 1984. Virilio, Paul. War and Cinema : The Logistics of Perception. London; New York: Verso, 1989. [The remaining chapters of the book] Print. Wees, William C., and Archives Anthology Film. Recycled Images : The Art and Politics of Found Footage Films. New York City: Anthology Film Archives, 1993. [The remaining chapters of the book] Print.

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