Skip to main content

Seminar: Studies in Film and Video Prod (479-0-20)

Topic

Mental Health in the Media Arts

Instructors

Ines Sommer

Meeting Info

Annie May Swift Hall 109: Tues 10:00AM - 12:50PM
Helmerich Auditorium: Thurs 6:00PM - 8:50PM

Overview of class

In this course, we will creatively interrogate how mental illness/health has been represented in the media arts, including in cinema and television. Students will develop a nuanced understanding of the underlying issues and media representations and will apply these critical insights towards their own creative projects. Information provided by guest speakers and film screenings will be balanced with students' work on their own creative projects that center on mental illness/health. These projects may take any form, including fiction, documentary, animation, experimental, docu-fiction/hybrid, essay film, staged readings, and more. Diversity of storytelling, perspective, form, style, genre, and even technology are all supported. Students will regularly provide and receive feedback on their works-in-progress. Final projects can be 5-10 minutes in length and will be shown at a culminating event.

This course is affiliated with the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab (PPSL) - Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts which will provide limited funding that is to be applied exclusively towards students' project expenses.

Registration Requirements

Sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students are all eligible to apply. Pre-requisite: RTVF190 Media Construction or equivalent. This course involves a competitive application process and a permission number will be supplied to accepted students.

Learning Objectives

Students will come away with a deeper understanding of media representations of mental illness/health. They will develop as filmmakers and visual storytellers by growing their understanding of aesthetics, concepts, and technical skills related to the media arts.

Teaching Method

Seminar, Lecture

Evaluation Method

class participation, reading assignments, written assignments, peer assessment, presentations, film/video, final project