This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
From the intimate viewing experience offered by mobile phones to the social interaction required by sing-a-long screenings, this module considers the changing nature of where, when and how audiences engage with film and the moving image. It considers the history of cinema-going, paying attention to the old and new sites of exhibition, especially those facilitated by new technologies. Connectedly, the module analyses the different modes of spectatorship, including audience participation and the desire to prolong or enhance the cinematic experience via extra-filmic activities, such as film-tourism. It also considers film's interaction with other arts and media—for example, its use within theatrical performances and its relationship with television. In doing so, this module reflects upon and reconsiders the definitions and limits of cinema and addresses the implications this has for the academic discipline 'Film Studies'.
As part of this course, students will have the opportunity to attend special screenings, participate in field trips and/or watch films unsupervised.
Contact hours = 60 hours
Total independent learning hours = 240 hours
Total study hours = 300
As part of this course, students will be required to attend special screenings, participate in field trips and watch films unsupervised. Some of these activities will incur costs. Costs have been kept as low as possible by using existing and local resources.
Portfolio Assignment (4 x 500-700 word critical reflections/responses. All items in the portfolio are equally weighted.) – (40%)
Pitch (1 x 500-700 words) – (15%)
Research Essay (3500 words) – (45%)
Atkinson S., (2014) Beyond the Screen: Emerging Cinema and Engaging Audiences, London: Bloomsbury
Chirstie I., ed, (2012) Audiences: Defining and Researching Screen Entertainment Reception, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press
Harbord J., (2002) Film Cultures, London, New Delhi and Thousand Oaks: Sage
Jenkins, H., (2006) Flans, Bloggers and Gamers, NY: NY University Press.
Koch G., Pantenburg V, Rothöhler S., eds, (2012) Screen Dynamics: Mapping the Borders of Cinema, Vienna: Austrian Film Museum
Koeck, R., (2013) CineScapes: Cinematic Spaces in Architecture and Cities, London and New York: Routledge
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Show sound knowledge of the history of cinema-going, including a consideration of the old and new spaces of spectatorship
2. Understand the different ways audiences engage with cinema including the desire to enrich and prolong the experience via extra-filmic activities
3. Understand the key questions and critical debates that surround emerging and expanded notions of cinema
4. Understand how cinema interacts with other art forms and media, such as theatre and television
5. Reflect critically on their own viewing practices and how they impact their understanding and enjoyment of films
6. Develop an understanding of the implications that these issues have for the academic discipline 'Film Studies'
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