8216 The Cinema We Need 8217 Canadian Film from the Documentary Tradition to Auteur Cinema

The seminar tackles a difficult question: Can we speak of unique Canadian cinema with an identifiable structure and clearcut narrative techniques? Is there indeed, as George Melnyk puts it, -a distinct cinematic identity [in Canada], thematically and aesthetically-? Or can we actually find two Canadian cinemas - an English-Canadian one and a Québecois one which have developed out of different historical, social, and cultural contexts? R. Bruce Elder's controversial essay on -The Cinema We Need- (1985) can be seen as a starting point in the debate on Canadian cinematic identity. Rejecting the attempts of independent Canadian filmmakers to establish a new narrative tradition in the national cinema, Elder calls for a revitalization of the documentary roots of Canadian film: -The cinema we need, the cinema that combats technocracy will, therefore, be non-narrative.- The course wants to trace the ambivalent genealogy of Canadian cinema as a -cinema of otherness- from silent film (Ernest & Nell Shipman, Bruce Bairnsfather) and the first documentaries (John Greyson, Gordon Sparling) to cinéma vérité (Pierre Perrault, Wolf Koenig) and auteur cinema (David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Patricia Rozema, Denys Arcand). Additional sessions will deal with the birth of the National Film Board of Canada (especially Norman McLaren's experimental works), cinéma Québecoise (Claude Jutra, Michel Brault), indigenous cinema (Zacharias Kunuk), and recent animation movies (Chris Landreth). In how far do these developments represent or negotiate what can be called a 'Canadian cultural imaginary'? For an introduction to the subject, see Christopher E. Gittings' study Canadian National Cinema: Ideology, Difference, and Representation (2002). Anglistik - Amerikanistik Grading: For 5 or 7 credit points: regular attendance and lively participation in class discussions (1/3), an oral presentation as part of an expert group (1/3), and a final paper (10-12 pgs. / 17-20 pgs.) (1/3). For 2 credit points: attendance and participation in class discussions (50%), oral presentation as part of an expert group (50%). Deadline for Final Papers: Friday, August 31 (Tuesday), 2010. Note: There is no (!) extension of this deadline. Universität Siegen SoSe 2010 Priv.-Doz. Dr. Brandt Stefan L Priv Doz