FV2S53 - Theory 3: Global Cinema 01 Sep 2020 - 31 Aug 2026 | Version 1

Associated Module Information

Module Code: FV2S53
Module Title: Theory 3: Global Cinema
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Film and TV
Faculty Sub Group: Film and TV
Module Leader: Daryl Perrins, Joseph Sudlow
Module Team: Deirdre Russell
First Intended Intake: SEP 2020 Final Year of Intake: 2025
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 5
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100058 - film studies
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 1
Valid From 01 Sep 2020
Valid To 31 Aug 2026

Module Aims

• Analyse the ways in which western filmmaking has historically ‘othered’ the rest of the world.
• Establish ‘global cinema’ as a multifaceted and empowering classification, negotiating an increasingly globalised film culture.
• Develop key skills in research, writing and presenting and the ability to assess and construct written and oral academic arguments.

Content Summary

The invention of cinema coincided with the height of European colonialism, and, ever since, mainstream Western films have tended to depict foreign people, places and cultures as inferior, simplistic, dangerous or, at best, exotic, and almost always from the white westerner’s point of view.
However, there is a whole wide world out there of distinct cinematic traditions, movements and genres, which challenge mainstream western cinema’s stylistic and narrative conventions as well as its shorthand representation of the peoples beyond its doorstep.
This module introduces some of the best and most important examples of global cinema, from European and Asian art cinema, through revolutionary and post-colonial cinema from Africa, Asia and Latin America, to contemporary transnational cinema indicative of an increasingly globalised world.
The module will provide insights into crucial traditions and current trends in global cinema as well as the social, political and geographic contexts, which nourish them.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 24
Seminar 12
Independent Study 100
Directed Study 64
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Discuss key theoretical concepts i.e. colonialism, globalisation and transnational cinema in a learned way.
LO2 Analyse key films from around the world that operate via alternative geographical centres of influence and through modes (e.g. diasporic) that emphasise reconfiguration and fluidity.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Presentation (Asynchronous) 1 An individual presentation on an aspect of ‘transnational cinema’ 10 N/A 30 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Project Output 1 A written OR videographic theoretically informed Essay, on an agreed area of Global Cinema 10 2700 70 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Presentation (Asynchronous) 1
Project Output 1

Reading List

Chaudhuri, S. (2005) Contemporary World Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Dennison, S. and Lim, S.H. (eds.), (2006) Remapping world cinema: identity, culture and politics in film. London: Wallflower Press.
Deshpande, S. and Mazaj, M, (2018) World Cinema: A Critical Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge.
Ezra, E., and Rowden, T. (eds.) (2006) Transnational cinema: the film reader. Oxford: Taylor & Francis.
Hjort, M. (ed.) (2007) Cinema of small nations. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Jaikumar, P. (2017) Cinema at the end of empire: A politics of transition in Britain and India. Durham (USA): Duke University Press.
Nagib, L., Dudrah, R. and Perriam, C. (eds.) (2011) Theorizing world cinema. London: IB Tauris.