Programme

The course will focus on cinematic spatiality, examining the various ways in which film theory has reflected on this dimension of mise-en-scène and cinematic narration. Starting from the deep interconnection between cinema and the modern metropolis—already identified by theorists such as Walter Benjamin and Siegfried Kracauer—the course will explore the different categories through which cinematic space can be conceptualized: place, location, setting, environment, landscape, map, and atmosphere. Drawing on the work of more contemporary scholars such as Miriam Hansen, Thomas Elsaesser, and Giuliana Bruno, the course will investigate the layered nature of the spectator’s experience—from early cinema to the classical period, from modern to postmodern—also in relation to the profound technological transformations of audiovisual images, such as the introduction of sound, the diffusion of color, the advent of widescreen formats or the current trend of relocating the cinematic experience outside of the movie theater.

Core Documentation

Collection of essays edited by the professor.

Attendance

In person classes, attendance not mandatory.

Type of evaluation

The students will be evalued through a written exam, consisting of open-ended questions. The language of the exam will be Italian. Exceptionally, Erasmus students may take the test in English. The exam will verify the students' knowledge of both the text and the films in the filmography.

Programme

The course will focus on cinematic spatiality, examining the various ways in which film theory has reflected on this dimension of mise-en-scène and cinematic narration. Starting from the deep interconnection between cinema and the modern metropolis—already identified by theorists such as Walter Benjamin and Siegfried Kracauer—the course will explore the different categories through which cinematic space can be conceptualized: place, location, setting, environment, landscape, map, and atmosphere. Drawing on the work of more contemporary scholars such as Miriam Hansen, Thomas Elsaesser, and Giuliana Bruno, the course will investigate the layered nature of the spectator’s experience—from early cinema to the classical period, from modern to postmodern—also in relation to the profound technological transformations of audiovisual images, such as the introduction of sound, the diffusion of color, the advent of widescreen formats or the current trend of relocating the cinematic experience outside of the movie theater.

Core Documentation

Collection of essays edited by the professor.

Attendance

In person classes, attendance not mandatory.

Type of evaluation

The students will be evalued through a written exam, consisting of open-ended questions. The language of the exam will be Italian. Exceptionally, Erasmus students may take the test in English. The exam will verify the students' knowledge of both the text and the films in the filmography.