The Ancient World in Film
History 495A
Spring 2010
Tuesday 3:30-6:00, Psych 205
Prof. Alison Futrell
Office hours: W 12-2 and by appt.
Soc Sci 131/626-8428
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~afutrell
Description: This course will explore the ways in which the ancient Mediterranean has been represented in film, from Ben-Hur (1925, 1959) to The Mummy (1932, 1999) to HBO’s Rome (2005, 2007). The course will begin with a brief introduction to the visual language of film, how the framing and editing of shots and the movement of camera convey particular meanings about character motivation and emotional overtones of human interactions. Successive weeks will then focus on individual movies (or groups of movies), analyzing the modern filmmakers’ perspective on historical events and narratives, and how choices made for plot and character development affect their interpretation and selection of ancient material. Specific issues to be investigated include the role of the dashing archaeologist in connecting to the past, the use of graphic violence as a mark of realism, the impact of digital effects on storytelling technique, the presentation of Egypt as a font of mystic (and doomed!) power, the aims and methods of Cleopatran seduction and the presentation of Roman spectacle as an emblem of ruthless imperialism. Readings will include both ancient authors in translation and modern analyses of specific films.
Required Texts:
All readings will be posted on the course website or on the D2L website.
All films for this course will be posted as streaming video on D2L.
Evaluation:
Participation: 20%
Response papers: 30%
Short papers: 20%
Final presentation: 30%
Week One: January 19
Reading: T. Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film (Longman, 1998), pp. 1-73.
Week Two: January 26
Film: The Egyptian (1954)
Presentation: visualizing antiquity and Egyptian context
Reading: Great Hymn to Aten; Tale of Sinuhe; D. Montserrat, Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt (Routledge, 2000), pp. 12-94.
Week Three: February 2
Film: The Mummy (1932)
Presentation: Context of the Trojan War
Reading: NYTimes extracts on Tut’s impact; E. Larsen, “Traffic in Mummies: The Mummy,” Jump Cut 43 (July 2000): 12-15; A. Lant, “The Curse of the Pharaoh, or How Cinema Contracted Egyptomania,” in Bernstein & Studlar, eds., Visions of the East: Orientalism in Film (Rutgers, 1997), pp. 69-98.
Week Four: February 9
Film: Troy (2004)
Presentation: Context of Argonautica
Reading: Selections from Iliad, Aeneid; H. J. Rose, "Troy," in A Handbook of Greek Mythology (Penguin, 1991), pp. 230-253; G. Danek, “The Story of Troy Through the Centuries,” pp. 68-84; M. Cyrino, “Helen of Troy,” pp. 131-147; F. Ahl, “Troy and Memorials of War,” pp. 163-185 (all from M. Winkler, ed., Troy: From Homer’s Iliad to Hollywood Epic (Blackwell, 2007) ).
Week Five: February 16
Film: Jason & the Argonauts (1962)
Reading: Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica; Pindar, 4th Pythian Ode; J. Solomon, The Ancient World in the Cinema (Yale University Press, 2001), pp. 101-131; R. Harryhausen and T. Dalton, "Jason and the Argonauts," in Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life (Aurum, 2003), pp. 150-174.
Week Six: February 23
Film: Hercules (1997)
Reading: M. Morford and R. Lenardon, “Heracles,” in Classical Mythology (Oxford, 2003), pp. 519-547; A. R. Ward, “Hercules: A Celebrity Hero,” in Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of the Disney Animated Film (University of Texas Press, 2002), pp. 78-93, 145-147; J. Solomon, The Ancient World in the Cinema (Yale University Press, 2001), pp. 307-323; E. Byrne & M. McQuillan, "Hercules Unzipped," in Deconstructing Disney (Pluto Press, 1999), pp. 151-159; J. Wasko, Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy (Blackwell, 2001), pp. 70-83.
Week Seven: March 2
Film: Last Days of Pompeii (1913)
Reading: Pliny Letters 6.16, 20; Cassius Dio 66.21-24; Suetonius, Titus 8; M. Wyke, “Pompeii: Purging the Sins of the City,” in Projecting the Past (Routledge, 1997), pp. 147-182; J. Hoberman, “Apocalypse Now and Then,” The VillageVoice May 19, 1998, pp. 70ff; D. Mayer, “Introduction,” and J. Pain, “The Last Days of Pompeii,” in D. Mayer, ed., Playing Out the Empire (Oxford, 1994), pp. 1-22, 90-103; H. Schechter & C. Molesworth, “It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature: The Disaster Movie and Technological Guilt,” Journal of American Culture 1 (1978): 44-55.
Wanna read the original 1834 novel? Here, at the Internet Archive, you can find many scans of Bulwer-Lytton's Last Days of Pompeii. Uh, enjoy that.
Week Eight: March 9
Film: Spartacus (1960)
Presentation: Background for Late Republic
Reading: A. Futrell, Roman Games (Blackwell, 2006), pp. 1-29, 94-104, 120-155; M. Wyke, “Spartacus: Testing the Strength of the Body Politic,” in Projecting the Past (Routledge, 1997), pp. 34-72; I. R. Hark, "Animals or Romans: Looking at Masculinity in Spartacus," in S. Cohan and I. R. Hark, Screening the Male (Routledge, 1993), pp. 151-172; A. Futrell, “Seeing Red: Spartacus as Domestic Economist,” in Joshel, Malamud & MacGuire, eds., Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in Modern Popular Culture (Johns Hopkins, 2001), pp. 77-118.
Week Nine: March 16 SPRING BREAK
Week Ten: March 23
Film: HBO’s Rome (2005)
Reading: Suetonius, Julius Caesar; Nicolaus of Damascus, FGH F 130.19-27; Appian, Civil Wars 2.17-20, 25-37, 40-41, 48-102, 106-118; Plutarch, Pompey 51-80, Brutus; Caesar, Civil WarI.1-11, 26, 85; Cicero Letters ad Att 8.3, 7.6, 7.9, 7.13a, 11.4, 11.5, 11.7, 11.6, 11.12, ad Fam 8.11, 8.14, 16.11, 8.17, 9.9, 15.15; Dio Cassius 41.52-63, 43.14-21.
Bibliography tips for short paper.
Week Eleven: March 30
Film: HBO’s Rome (2005)
Reading: J. Solomon, “Televising Antiquity: From You Are There to Rome,” pp. 11-28; H. Haynes, “Rome’s Opening Titles; Triumph, Spectacle, and Desire,” pp. 49-60; A. Futrell, “’Not Some Cheap Murder’: Caesar’s Assassination,” pp. 100-116; A. Augoustakis, “Women’s Politics in the Streets of Rome,” 117-129; G. Daugherty, “Her First Roman: A Cleopatra for Rome,” pp. 141-152; M. Toscano, “Gowns and Gossip: Gender and Class Struggle in Rome,” pp. 153-167; S. Raucci, “Spectacle of Sex: Bodies on Display in Rome,” pp. 206-218, all from M. Cyrino, ed., Rome Season One: History Makes Television (Blackwell, 2008). [bibliography from Cyrino book will also be posted on D2L]
Week Twelve: April 6
Film: Cleopatra (1934)
Background on Cleopatra
Reading: Appian Civil War 4.61-63; 5.8-11, 76; Dio Cassius 49.40-41; 50.1-6.1, 15, 24-28; 51.3-6, 8-17.4; Caesar, Civ War 3.103-112; [A. Hirtius] Alexandrian War 3-4, 23-24, 32-33; Plutarch, Mark Antony, Caesar 48-49; Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 15.88-103; Jewish War 1.386-397; ; M. Wyke, “Cleopatra: Spectacles of Seduction and Conquest,” in Projecting the Past (Routledge, 1997), pp. 73-109; M. Wyke, “Glamour Girl Cleopatra,” The Roman Mistress: Ancient and Modern Representations (Oxford University Press, 2002) pp. 278-302; M. Hamer, "A body for Cleopatra," in Signs of Cleopatra (Routledge, 1993) pp. 104-134.
Week Thirteen: April 13
Film: Life of Brian (1979)
Background on Life of Brian
Reading: Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.2.2-18.3.1-3, 18.4.1-2; Jewish War 2.9.1-4, ; Philo Gaius 38.299-305; Christian NT readings: Matt 1:18-2:12; 5-8.13; 26.14-15, 47-56; 27.1-2, 11-56; Mark 1:39-45; 3:20-30; 4:30-34; ; M. Cyrino, “Life of Brian,” in Big Screen Rome (Blackwell, 2007), pp. 179-193; R. Hewison, Monty Python: The Case Against (Methuen, 1981), pp. 61-92.
Week Fourteen: April 20
Film: Sign of the Cross (1932)
Background on Christian persecution
Reading: Suetonius, Nero; selections on Romans and Christian persecution ; W. Barrett, “Sign of the Cross,” in D. Mayer, ed., Playing Out the Empire (Oxford, 1994), pp. 104-125; B. Babington and P. W. Evans, “The poetics of the Roman/Christian Epic,” in Biblical Epics: Sacred Narrative in the Hollywood Cinema ((Manchester University Press, 1993), pp. 177-205; M. Wyke, “Nero: Spectacles of Persecution and Excess,” in Projecting the Past (Routledge, 1997), pp. 110-146; M. Malamud, “Screening Rome during the Great Depression,” in Ancient Rome and Modern America (Wiley Blackwell, 2009) pp. 186-193, 205-206
Week Fifteen: April 27
Film: Ben Hur (1925 OR 1959)
Reading: M. Cyrino, “Ben Hur,” in Big Screen Rome (Blackwell, 2007), pp. 66-88; R. E. & K. M. Morsberger, Lew Wallace: Militant Romantic (McGraw-Hill, 1980), pp. 467-496; M. Malamud, “Manifest Virtue,” in Ancient Rome and Modern America (Wiley Blackwell, 2009), pp. 122-149.
Week Sixteen: May 4
Film: Gladiator (2000)
Reading: Dio Cassius 73; A. Futrell, Roman Games (Blackwell, 2006), pp. 29-42, 115-119, 156-159; J. Solomon, “Gladiator from Screenplay to Screen,” in M. Winkler, ed., Gladiator: Film and History (Blackwell, 2004), pp 1-15; E. Albu, "Gladiator at the Millennium" Arethusa 41.1 (2008) 185-204; A. Arenas, "Popcorn and Circus: 'Gladiator' and the Spectacle of Virtue" Arion 9.1 (2001) 1-12.
Final Presentations will be on May 13, 2-4 pm (Final Exam period for this class)
Participation: Students are required to attend class, listen thoughtfully and respectfully to the contributions of others, and take part in classroom activities. Students must purchase of a pack of 3" x 5" lined index cards and bring it to class every session; this is necessary for the documentation of participation. PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES DURING CLASS.
Response papers: Students will write a short response to each week’s film, 200-250 words in length, focusing on the topic(s) assigned for that particular film, typically the analysis of how a given film represents power, sexuality, virtue, gender, ancient Rome, etc. NOTE: this assignment does not ask if you “liked” the film, but rather pushes you to assess the content of the film. Response papers are to be submitted via D2L by Monday at five pm, prior to the class meeting in which the film is discussed. Be sure to bring a copy of your response paper to the class meeting, as these will serve as the basis for discussion.
Short papers: Students will write two short papers, each about 1000 words. The short paper will extend the analysis of a selected film on thematic lines; students may also choose to compare a set of films, e.g. The Mummy (1932) and The Mummy (1999), or Cleopatra (1934) and Cleopatra (1963). Paper topics should be confirmed with the professor at least ten days prior to the due dates. Students may choose films assigned for the class or from this list of movies (and TV miniseries or series) focusing on the ancient Mediterranean. More explicit protocol will be circulated via D2L and posted on the website.
Final presentations: In small groups, students will prepare a panel presentation on a film, assessing its treatment of the ancient past. Each group member will consider a separate aspect of the film, such as script, characterizations, inventions or exclusions from ancient source material, sets, special effects, etc., and how each feature shapes the producers’ vision of the ancient world. Groups may wish to make use of PowerPoint to present their argument. More specific protocol will be circulated via D2L and on the website; there will also be some opportunity for group preparation work.
The University of Arizona observes a Code of Academic Integrity, which demands that all material submitted by a student be the student's own work. Failure to comply with this Code will result in disciplinary sanctions, up to and including a failing grade for the course or expulsion from the University. A complete copy of this Code is available from the Dean of Students, the Committee on Academic Integrity or on the University of Arizona website, at http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/academicintegrity