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Cinema and Desire, 1930 to the present

Module description

This module focuses on desire in American and British cinema: both desire as it is depicted onscreen and desire as it is evoked in audiences. It is organised chronologically, as an introductory history of how desire, sex and sexuality have been depicted in American and British film. The module addresses films in their cultural, political and artistic contexts, and guides students through issues including the politics of the ‘male gaze’; deviant sexuality on screen; star theory; the effects of censorship; adaptation from stage to screen; the ethics of selecting and discussing films post #metoo; sex and profit margins.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module introduces you to current critical thinking and debates around the history and culture of Anglo-American cinema and the cultures of desire reflected in, and often challenged by, these films.

In doing so, its lectures and seminars help you to develop the analytic tools to analyse films and the political-economic contexts in which they were made. No prior experience of writing about film is required to take this module. It draws significantly on analytic skills and knowledge of theoretical concepts and ideas developed in Year 1 and 2, to offer an introduction to how to write effectively about cinema. You will learn how to analyse elements of film art, including dialogue, lighting, and cinematography. Guidance on the terminology and methodology for discussing film academically is integral to the module. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the cultures of literature and film, 1930 to the present
• 2. Grasp the fundamental concepts of film analysis including the principles of adaptation
• 3. Show an understanding of the shifting terms of ‘queerness’ and its relation to mainstream culture in the period

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Incorporate critical thinking, including specific terminology, into discussions of texts
• 5. Analyse texts closely and locate them firmly within their socio-historical context
• 6. Compare and contrast texts and films within the same socio-historical period

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Present, within given formats and to a required standard, coherent and well-substantiated analyses and arguments, both orally and in writing
• 8. Study independently; an ability to incorporate tutor feedback into written work
• 9. Engage in classroom debate and foster a vibrant intellectual environment
• 10. Reflect on these learning process

Syllabus plan

Topics and texts in this module may include some of the following:

• Sex and censorship (e.g. The Awful Truth)
• The Femme fatale (e.g. Vertigo)
• Queering the kitchen-sink drama (e.g. Entertaining Mr. Sloane and Saturday Night, Sunday Morning)
• The new realism (Manhattan)
• Adaptation unleashed (Carol and The Price of Salt)

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Indicative primary film texts:

• The Awful Truth (Dir. Leo McCarey, 1937)
• Vertigo (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
• Joe Orton, Entertaining Mr Sloane (Dir. Douglas Hickox, 1970); Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (Dir. Karel Reisz,1960)
• Manhattan (Dir. Woody Allen,1979)
• Carol (Dir. Tod Haynes, 2015); The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (1952)

Indicative primarily critical texts:

• David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction (McGraw-Hill, 2019)
• Sander H. Lee, Woody Allen’s Angst: Philosophical Commentaries on his Serious Films (McFarland, 1997)
• Tania Modleski, The Women who Knew too Much: Hitchcock and Feminist Theory (Routledge, 2016)
• Vito Russo, The Celluloid Closet (Harper, 1987)
• B.F. Taylor, The British New Wave (Manchester UP, 2006)

Key words search

Love, desire, cinema, twentieth century, film industry, American literature, gay, lesbian