CLAS 2300 Hollywood Classics: The Ancient World in Film Prof. Charles Chiasson Prof. Karl Petruso Fall Semester 2005

---

Contact information

Prof. Chiasson Dept. of Philosophy and Humanities Office: Carlisle Hall 310 Tel. 817.272.3216 Email: chiasson@uta.edu Office hours: T 10-11, W 10-11 and by appointment

Prof. Petruso Program in Anthropology Office: University Hall 416 Tel. 817.272.3250 Email: petruso@uta.edu Office hours: Most days, by appointment only

Stanley Kubrick calls a shot on the set of Spartacus (1960)

---

Introduction

With the recent release of such blockbuster films as Gladiator, Troy, and Alexander the Great, and such television productions as Helen of Troy and The Odyssey. it seems an especially appropriate occasion to consider the apparently timeless appeal of the ancient world to modern filmmakers. What do they see (or imagine they see) in the remote, foreign civilizations of antiquity that appeals to a modern popular audience? In this course we will compare films set in the ancient world with the literary sources on which they are based, examining how the films depict, recast, or distort these sources, and the extent to which they reflect modern cultural values and interests. We will focus on developing the fundamental critical skills necessary to analyze literature, film, culture, and the interrelationships among them.

One of the goals of this course is to expose students to selected topics, events, and themes of antiquity. Students wishing to learn more about the ancient world are encouraged to take other courses in history, classics, archaeology and art history offered in several departments in the university. Students interested in film as art may will find in the College of Liberal Arts a rich selection of courses on films of particular periods, genres and countries.

Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) does his fiercest Russell Crowe imitation

---

Required texts (available at the UTA Bookstore)

Homer, The Odyssey, trans. R. Fagles (Penguin 1997)
Aeschylus, Oresteia, trans. C. Collard (Oxford 2002)
Plautus, The Pot of Gold and Other Plays, trans. E.F. Watling (Penguin 1965)

Other assignments will be online (see syllabus, below). Some readings will be directly linked; others will be on electronic course reserve under Chiasson and Petruso on the library's e-Reserves website). You will be provided with a password to access them.
While you will be provided with hard copy of this syllabus as a matter of record, the links herein require you to consult the online version. You should bookmark the website and refer to it often, since changes will inevitably be made to it.

The depiction of antiquity in film has attracted ample interest among both scholars and popular writers in recent years. The following titles are particularly recommended (the volume by Solomon is the most comprehensive guide available to the subject of this course, and is especially recommended):

Joshel, Sandra, M. Malamud and D. McGuire, Jr., eds., 2001. Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in Modern Popular Culture. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press
Nesbit, Gideon 2005. Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture. Exeter, UK: Bristol Phoenix Press
Solomon, Jon 2001. The Ancient World in the Cinema (revised and expanded edition). New Haven: Yale University Press
Winkler, Martin 2001. Classical Myth and Culture in the Cinema. New York: Oxford University Press
Wyke, Maria 1997. Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, Cinema and History. New York: Routledge

To learn more about cinema as an art form and to assist you in developing your critical faculties, the following books are useful:

Kasdan, Margo, C. Saxton and S. Tavernetti 1998. The Critical Eye: An Introduction to Looking at Movies. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt
Kolker, Robert 1999. Film, Form, and Culture. Boston: McGraw-Hill College
Monaco, James. How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, Multimedia (3 rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000

For more information about the films we will consider in this course (e.g., on actors and directors, ordering information, and links to critics' reviews), the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an invaluable resource. The names of the films in the syllabus below are links that will take you to their entries on IMDb. You might wish to browse the IMDb entry for each film prior to our screening of it in class.

Richard Egan (right) in the role of Leonidas, King of Sparta, singlehandedly thwarts the Persian advance--but only temporarily--in the Battle of Thermopylae, Greece, 480 BC

• One short paper per week (a maximum of two single-spaced pages, typed, not handwritten), due on Wednesdays at the beginning of class, summarizing the week's film and listing two or three topics or questions for class discussion (q.v. below);
• A midterm exam (Wednesday, October 12); and
• A final exam (Monday, December 5 at 11:00 am)

No other written work is required, and none will be accepted either for extra credit or in lieu of missed assignments.

Roll will not be taken in this course, but your regular attendance is expected, and chronic absences will be noticed. You are responsible for all screenings, readings and lectures; if you must miss a session, you should make arrangements to borrow a classmate's notes.

• A lecture on Monday afternoon on the archaeological, historical and/or literary sources, as well as background on the events and persons that inspired the film;
• A screening of the film that same evening; and
• A discussion of the film and how it relates to its ancient sources on Wednesday afternoon

Our weekly film screenings will be held on Monday evenings, 7:00-9:00 pm or so (depending on the length of the film) in Fine Arts 148. You should make every effort to attend these screenings. During the first week of October, two films will be shown, on Monday and Wednesday evenings.

Nota bene: Missing a screening does not release you from the responsibility to view the scheduled film.

In the past, we have put the films on reserve in the main library to make them available to students for viewing at other times; but experience showed this to be unwieldy and frustrating for both librarians and students (one film was lost, one was irreparably damaged, and inevitably more than one student wanted to screen a film at any given time). Some of our VHS tapes are very old, fragile, long out of print, and impossible to replace, and we can no longer put at risk the copies owned by either the university or us. If you own or can rent any of the films we will consider in the course, feel free to skip the Monday evening screenings and watch them on your own time (indeed, you are encouraged to view them more than once each, since this will facilitate your analyses). No make-up or extra screenings will be scheduled.

We will not lecture on Wednesdays; rather, these sessions will be devoted to analysis and discussion of topics and questions raised by the films. Your contributions to classroom discussion are important, and we hope these discussions will be informed, lively, and stimulating. In order to contribute intelligently to classroom discussion, you will need to have read and thought about the assigned ancient texts and modern critical works in advance of the Wednesday class sessions, and you should bring to class the notes you took while viewing the film.

· Cell phones and pagers are to be turned off during class. If your phone rings, you will be invited to leave the room for the duration of the class.

· If you require an accommodation based on disability, we invite you to meet privately with one or both of us during the first week of the semester so we can ensure that you are appropriately accommodated.

· Student Support Services: The University supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University and achieve academic success. They include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and appropriate referrals.

· Anyone tempted to call in a bomb threat should be aware that UTA will attempt to trace the phone call and prosecute all responsible parties. Every effort will be made to avoid cancellation of presentations and/or tests caused by bomb threats. Unannounced alternate sites will be available for these classes. We will apprise you of alternate class sites in the event that our classroom is not available.

· Drop Policy: If you decide not to complete this course, the responsibility to drop rests entirely with you (faculty cannot initiate drops). The drop dates are September 30 (with a W) and November 11 (drop-dead drop date). Failure to meet the latter deadline will result in a grade of F .

· Finally, it is assumed that all students understand what constitutes scholastic dishonesty (essentially the representation of another person's work as one's own). "Students who violate the University's rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and dismissal from the University" ( Regents' Rules and Regulations ). If you have any questions about this topic, you should peruse the UTA Libraries' online tutorial on plagiarism. Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class. Any and all suspected incidences will be turned over to the office of the Dean of Students for adjudication.

Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra looks coy; Richard Burton as Marc Antony looks on

For each Monday lecture we present during the semester, we will:

• Provide historical background and cultural context;
• Introduce and examine readings of the primary sources; and
• Anticipate the film, and give you some hints about what to watch for.

Always bear in mind that all of these films are the products of careful and conscious decisions made by their scriptwriters, adaptors and directors. Much time in our classroom sessions will be given over to the treatment of the topic by the original author, and we will often consider the way a film's adaptation of its ancient text and theme(s) reflects the time and place of its production and its own cultural (e.g., social, ideological and political) milieu. You are expected to read the texts on which the films are based carefully and critically, in advance of the screening, so that you will be prepared to ponder the cinematic adaptation.

Get into the habit of watching these films not as entertainment but rather with a literary and historical eye. You should constantly compare the films, with respect to plot, character development, message, etc., to the primary sources on which they are based. What peculiarities of the medium of cinema facilitate or inhibit the way a historical or literary text is adapted? How does the necessity to tell a long and complex story in a few hours--think for instance of the Iliad --affect the narrative flow of the film? What devices does the director have at his/her disposal to mitigate this (e.g., editing, characters' perspectives, flashbacks, special effects), and to enhance the story s/he wishes to tell? What liberties has the director taken in adapting and presenting the work? What is the director leaving out that you consider important? Why might s/he have done this?

Come to the screenings with pen and paper, and take notes as you watch the film (summarize the action, major plot turns, notable characteristics of the main players, etc.). Jot down any questions you have so that you can consider them later and so that we can consider them in our classroom discussions. For most films we will distribute handouts at the screenings with the cast of main characters and other pertinent information.

We encourage you to get into the habit of thinking critically about other cinematic works adapted from literary and historical sources, and not only for films set in the ancient world. Films are unique artistic products, since their directors have their own stories to present. If you have both read a book and seen its film adaptation, consider how the two works are similar to and different from each other. If you have seen more than one film adaptation of the same ancient story (the story of Cleopatra has been made into a film at least nine times, the story of Alexander the Great five, with yet another in production), consider how different directors approach the story, given the fact that all had essentially the same historical and literary sources to work with.

At the beginning of class each Wednesday, you will turn in a summary of the plot of the film you watched the previous Monday. Please do not approach these assignments as Roger Ebert thumbs-up/thumbs-down reviews; and it is irrelevant to the work of this course whether you like or dislike the film. Although we hope the course enhances your appreciation of cinema, we are primarily interested in helping you develop both your knowledge of the ancient world and your analytical skills. (Some of these issues are discussed in David Bordwell's very useful essay, Studying Cinema.)

Each of your written summaries should end with two or three topics or questions you would like aired out in class. These should be thoughtful and carefully posed. Questions such as "Were the costumes worn by the actors authentic?" will not be productive for our discussions. We will sort through your questions and topics at the beginning of class each Wednesday to select several that are pertinent, and will introduce some of our own; other topics arising from the discussion are of course welcome. We will distribute a paradigm summary for Troy (2004) during the first week of the course; this should assist you in composing your written summaries.

(Readings are to be completed before the class meetings for which they are assigned)

M Aug 22	Introduction to course: scope, goals, policies, requirements. How to watch a film Screening, 7 pm: Troy (2004)
W Aug 24	Brief discussion of Troy. Overview of prehistory and ancient history: Periods and significant persons and events. A brief history of the depiction of antiquity on film. For a pedantic essay on archaeological authenticity of Troy, see Mark Rose's review in Archaeology Magazine.
M Aug 29	Early social organization; archaeology as a source for prehistory. Modern depictions of stone-age people Reading: Richard Klein, "Whither the Neanderthals?" Screening, 7 pm: Quest for Fire (1981)
W Aug 31	Discussion
M Sept 5	LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
W Sept 7	Orientalism. Depicting the Other in Western literature and film: Egyptians, Persians, Carthaginians Readings: Edward Said on Orientalism
M Sept 12	Lecture: Introduction to ancient Egyptian literature. Understanding Sinuhe. Readings: The Story of Sinuhe; Great Hymn to the Aten; Amarna Letters EA7, EA35 and 38, EA41. Excavating Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 Ten Commandments in California: The archaeology of epic cinema Screening, 7 pm: The Egyptian (1954)
W Sept 14	Discussion
M Sept 19	Homer: introduction Reading: Odyssey, including introduction by Bernard Knox Screening, 7 pm: Ulysses (1954) and clips from Armand Assante's Odyssey (1997)
W Sept 21	Discussion
M Sept 26	Heracles (Roman Hercules). Reading (library electronic reserves): Apollodorus, "Heracles, and the Heraclids"; Euripides, Alcestis Screening, 7 pm: Hercules (1959); clips from Disney's Hercules (1998)
W Sept 28	Discussion
M Oct 3	Introduction to Greek tragedy: Aeschylus Reading: The Oresteia, including the introduction by Collard, pp. xv-lxviii Screening, 7 pm: Libation Bearers
W Oct 5	Discussion Reading (library electronic reserves): Iphigenia in Aulis Screening, 7 pm: Iphigenia (1977)
M Oct 10	Discussion
W Oct 12	MIDTERM EXAM. BRING BLUEBOOKS
M Oct 17	The Persian Wars Reading (library electronic reserves): selections from Herodotus, Books 1 and 7 Screening, 7 pm: The 300 Spartans
W Oct 19	Discussion
M Oct 24	Alexander and Hellenism. Reading: Plutarch's Life of Alexander (go to "Linked Resources" at bottom of citation and click on "netLibary Collection." Click on "View this eBoook," then "Contents." "Alexander" begins on p. 306 of the book. Screening, 7 pm: Alexander the Great (1956)
W Oct 26	Discussion
M Oct 31	Introduction to the Roman world. Expansion. Invasion of Rome by barbarians. Reading (library electronic reserves): Selections from Polybius, Histories; selections from Livy, History of Rome Screening, 7 pm: Hannibal (1960)
W Nov 2	Discussion
M Nov 7	Gladiators and Revolution Reading: Part C of The War with Spartacus (selections from Plutarch, Florus, Appian and Orosius); ch. 1 in Thomas Wiedemann, Emperors and Gladiators (library electronic reserves) Screening, 7 pm: Spartacus (1960) and clips from Gladiator (2000)
W Nov 9	Discussion
M Nov 14	Reading: Plutarch's Life of Antony (go to "Linked Resources" at bottom of citation and click on "netLibary Collection." Click on "View this eBoook," then "Contents." "Antony" begins on p. 360 of the book. Horace, Ode 1.37 Screening: Cleopatra (1934) and clips from Cleopatra (1963)
W Nov 16	Discussion
M Nov 21	Roman Comedy: Introduction. Plautus. Reading: Pseudolus and The Swaggering Soldier Screening, 7 pm: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
W Nov 23	Discussion
M Nov 28	Screening, 1 pm (in class): Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979). Pythonistas might wish to download the film's script for a close reading Reading (library electronic reserves): J. Shelton, As the Romans Did, (2nd ed.), pp. 404-417
W Nov 30	Discussion of Life of Brian. Final remarks and review of major themes.
M Dec 5	FINAL EXAM, 11:00 am - 1:30 pm. BRING BLUEBOOKS

"'E's not the Messiah! 'E's a very naughty boy!"