Wednesday
(2/19): Discuss Swingtime, Meet
Me, Sklar 12-14, and assigned readings in Schatz (see below)
Monday,
2/24: Midterm 2
Wednesday,
2/26: Screen Rome, Open City
Swingtime/Meet Me/MGM/RKO Discussion:
Be
sure for this material you’ve read:
Chapter
19, "The High Cost of Quality" from T. Schatz,
The
Genius of the System
(in the CRC on reserve) and;
the
material in Chapt. 15, Movie-Made America ("Hollywood at War
...") in order to discuss Meet Me in St. Louis both as an example
of MGM studio product and as a musical.
--key
elements of narrative and visual style here?
--value
system in the film?
--appeal
of film to a war-time audience?
--MGM
vs. RKO vs. Warner Bros. style?
--mythic elements of the musical genre in general?