Film Studies 791V - S- Videographic Fragilities

This course explores the video essay as a "minor" mode of thinking and creating (in the Deleuze-Guattari sense), an "accented" approach that foregrounds vulnerability, affect, and care. By positioning the video essay in relation to traditional (i.e., accent-less) scholarship, the course emphasizes its imperfect mode of production and the affective engagement of the "cinephiliac" video essayist with the media object. Students will read foundational texts on video essay theory, engage with critical, affect and accent studies, and discuss concepts of vulnerability, disability, and resilience. Throughout the semester, students will produce short videographic exercises, drawn from Latin American and Iberian cinemas, as well as other non-hegemonic visual culture productions. The course will culminate in a final project designed for potential publication in a peer-reviewed journal of Film and Media Studies. Basic familiarity with editing software is expected.