Women’s Studies 4527 Studies in Women and Cinema: Autumn 2013

Topic: Women and Comedy Prof. L. Mizejewski, 113D or 286D University Hall, phone 292-2467

Office hours: Thurs. 11a.m.-2 p.m. and by appointment email: mizejewski.1@osu.edu

Accommodation of students with disabilities. Students who need to have an accommodation for disability are responsible for contacting the professor and TA as soon as possible. The Office for Disability Services (150 Pomerene Hall; 292-3307; 292-0901 TDD) verifies the need for accommodations and assists in the development of accommodation strategies. Course description: For men in comedy, being funny-looking is an asset, and the funny-looking comic actor can appear in a variety of narratives, as seen in film history from Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers through Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. In contrast, cinema has offered far fewer opportunities for funny-looking women. Instead, actresses with good comic timing and good looks have done well in romantic comedy, where they could be unruly heroines up until the moment of marriage or coupledom. However, mainstream cinema has also offered opportunities for female comic teams and ensembles, and occasionally the lone female comedian. And as the comedy scene has shifted in the past two decades, women have been far more visible in film comedy as stars, directors, and screenwriters. This course is a survey of this history, beginning with early American sound films and focusing on the cinematic genres and cultural conventions that have enabled women to be funny onscreen, as well as comic performers/auteurs Marie Dressler, Mae West, Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg, and Kristen Wiig. Goals: The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the history and theories of American women’s film comedy well as to provide training in the close reading of film texts. By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate in the course paper a sophisticated analysis and interpretation of a film based on the theories studied in this class.

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Our web tool is Carmen. The syllabus, paper guidelines, reading quiz preps, reading quiz answers, power point presentations, and reading assignments will be posted on Carmen. At carmen.osu.edu, use your internet username (last name.#) and password to log in. PC users may do better on Firefox than on Internet Explorer; Mac users should use Safari. TEXTS: All readings are on Carmen, so there is no book for this class. However, you are responsible for watching the following seven films on your own. They are all streamable from Amazon, which also sells the used DVDs. On Netflix they are available only in DVD format except for Nine to Five. So you if you plan to get the DVDs from Netflix, you will need to do advance planning to make certain you obtain them on time. Marked below is the day we discuss the film in class and have the quiz on it: It Happened One Night—Sept. 12 Knocked Up—Sept. 19 Made in America—Sept. 26 Hairspray (2007 version)—Oct. 24 Juno—Nov. 5 Nine to Five—Nov. 14 (streamable on Netflix) Bridesmaids—Nov. 19 House rules: No computers, tablets, phones allowed in class. You are most likely to succeed in this course if you bring to class printed copies of the readings so you can circle and underline important passages. Power points will be posted on Carmen the night before each class, so you can print out the PP outline beforehand. Please turn off your cellphones during class. The use of cell phones during film screenings (since we will have three in-class screenings) is especially rude and distracting. Anyone caught on personal-use websites or using a device during a film will be asked to leave for the class period. Etiquette: As in all classes, please express your ideas respectfully during class discussions. A major goal of this course is to distinguish between opinion (what’s funny; what’s likable) and scholarly expertise (what strategies are at work and what are the debatable issues and what are the terms of the debate). Essays on Carmen: Arbuthnot, Lucie and Gail Seneca, “Pre-text and Text in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” in Issues in Feminist Film Criticism. Ed. Patricia Erens (Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1990). 112-25. Arens, Diane. “Hollywood’s Unplanned Baby Boom.” Works in Progress. Dec. 2007 Curry, Renée R. "Hairspray: The Revolutionary Way To Restructure And Hold Your History." Literature Film Quarterly 24.2 (1996): 165-168. Denby, David. “A Fine Romance.” The New Yorker. 23 July 2007. Dyer, Richard. “Monroe and Sexuality.” Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society. London and New York: Routledge, 1986. 17-46. Fischer, Lucy. "The Desire To Desire: Desperately Seeking Susan." Close Viewings: An Anthology of New Film Criticism. Tallahassee: Florida State UP, 1990. 200-214. Hamilton, Marybeth. “’I’m the Queen of the Bitches’” and ‘Mae West Mania.” “When I’m Bad,

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I’m Better:” Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment. Berkeley and Los Angeles: U of California P, 1997. 136-52 and 173-93. Hoerl, Kristen, and Casey Ryan Kelly. "The Post-Nuclear Family And The Depoliticization Of Unplanned Pregnancy In Knocked Up, Juno, And Waitress." Communication & Critical/Cultural Studies 7.4 (2010): 360-380. McDonald, Tamar Jeffers. “Romantic Comedy and Genre.” Romantic Comedy: Boy Meets Girl Meets Genre. Wallflower: London and New York, 2007. 7-17. Moddelmog, Debra. “Can Romantic Comedy be Gay? Hollywood Romance, Citizenship, and Same-Sex Marriage.” Journal of Popular Film and Television 36.4 (2009):162-72. Robertson, Pamela. “Introduction.” Guilty Pleasures: Feminist Camp from Mae West to Madonna. Durham and London: Duke, 1996. 1-22. Shumway, David R. “Screwball Comedies: Constructing Romance, Mystifying Marriage.” Cinema Journal 30.4 (1991): 7-23. Sturtevant, Victoria. A Great Big Girl Like Me: The Films of Marie Dressler. Urbana and Chicago: U of Illinois, 2009. Reed, Jennifer. “Sold Out! The Queer Feminism of Lily Tomlin.” Genders 49 (2009). Rowe, Kathleen. “Comedy, Melodrama, and Gender: Theorizing the Genres of Laughter.” Classical Hollywood Comedy. Eds. Kristine Brunovska Karnick and Henry Jenkins. New York and London: Routledge, 1995. 39-59. ---. “Pig Ladies, Big Ladies, and Ladies with Big Mouths.” The Unruly Woman: Gender and the Genres of Laughter. Austin: U of Texas P, 1995. 25-49. Wanzo, Rebecca. "Beyond A 'Just' Syntax: Black Actresses, Hollywood And Complex Personhood." Women & Performance 16.1 (2006): 135-152. Wojcik, Pamela Robertson. “Mae West’s Maids: Race, ‘Authenticity,’ and the Discourse of Camp.” Hop on Pop: The Pleasures and Politics of Cultural Studies. Eds. Henry Jenkins et al. Durham and London: Duke UP, 2002. 287-99. Recommended websites:

• http://www.imdb.com/: Internet Movie Data Base—excellent and reliable source of information and details about films: complete cast and crew, names of characters, etc.

• http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis: This is the illustrated film-vocabulary glossary from Yale Film Studies. You will need it for terms on the exams and for correct usage of terms in your course paper.

Grading and course requirements: Movie quizzes 15% Reading quizzes 15% Case study 10% Course paper 20% Midterm exam 20% Final exam 20% --Attendance is required! You have two “free” absences before your final grade goes down one-half grade: 3 absences = one-half grade; 4 absences=one full grade, etc. Because you have two “free” absences, this means you cannot use a medical excuse unless a very serious illness

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keeps you out three classes or more in a row. Also please note that “attendance” means the whole class, not half of it or a portion of it. Half-classes count as absences. This policy is based on the assumption that “getting” the whole course means getting the full benefit of our discussions and screenings of clips. --Midterm and final exams: 20% each of final grade. The exams will cover films, readings, and class material and will consist of multiple choice questions as well as definitions of terms and theories discussed in class. The final exam covers material after the midterm. --Movie quizzes: 15% of final grade. These seven multiple-choice quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class on the dates marked in the syllabus. No make-up quizzes will be given. Instead, I will drop the lowest grade, giving everyone one chance to be absent or otherwise incapacitated. Sample question: What is the only food Peter and Ellie have on the last part of their journey in It Happened One Night? --Reading quizzes: 15% of final grade. Five multiple-choice quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class on the dates marked in the syllabus and will include the material due for that day’s class. Quiz study guides, available on Carmen, are lists of questions from which the quiz questions will be drawn. No make-up quizzes will be given. Instead, I will drop the lowest grade, giving everyone one chance to be absent or otherwise incapacitated. All questions on the reading quizzes will come from the quiz preparations posted on Carmen. Extra credit: You may also replace one reading quiz grade and one movie quiz grade with the grade you get on a one-page, double-spaced, summary of one of the film discussions or lectures listed on Carmen as extra-credit opportunities. That is, you can write two extra-credit papers, one for each set of quizzes. Note that if you attend one of the WGSS film screenings and discussions, your paper needs to be about the discussion, not the film. --Case study of the film you will write about for your course paper: 15% of final grade, DUE Oct. 29. The grade goes down one letter grade for each day late. Case studies examine how a film is discussed and reviewed, with the goal of understanding how the film was presented and received at the time of its release. See Case Study Guidelines posted on Carmen. --Course paper due Nov. 26 (3-4 pages); thesis paragraph due Nov. 14: 20% of final grade. See paper guidelines posted on Carmen. The grade goes down one letter grade for each day late. Plagiarism: As defined by University Rule 3335-31-02, plagiarism is “the representation of another’s works or ideas as one’s own; it includes the unacknowledged word for word use and/or paraphrasing of another person’s work, and/or the inappropriate unacknowledged use of another person’s ideas.” Plagiarism is one of the most serious offenses that can be committed in an academic community; as such, it is the obligation of this department and its instructors to report all cases of suspected plagiarism to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. After the report is filed, a hearing takes place and if the student is found guilty, the possible punishment ranges from failing the class to suspension or expulsion from the university. Although the existence of the Internet makes it relatively easy to plagiarize, it also makes it even easier for instructors to find evidence of plagiarism. It is obvious to most

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teachers when a student turns in work that is not his or her own and plagiarism search engines make documenting the offense very simple. Always cite your sources. Always ask questions before you turn in an assignment if you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism. Always see your TA professor if you are having difficulty with an assignment. To preserve the integrity of OSU as an institution of higher learning, to maintain your own integrity, and to avoid jeopardizing your future, DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! SCHEDULE: All readings are on Carmen. The schedule below identifies films by director; in some cases, the screenwriter is also included. Aug. 22 Course introduction: Pretty/Funny I. The Unruly Woman Aug. 27 Rowe, “Pig Ladies, Big Ladies” Clips from The Muppet Movie (James Frawley, 1979) Aug. 29 Marie Dressler, early 1930s comic star: clips from Min and Bill (George W. Hill, 1930) and Tugboat Annie (Mervyn Leroy,1933) Sturtevant, A Great Big Girl Like Me, pp. 1-17 and 30-36 Sept. 3 Quiz One: includes today’s reading Hamilton, “I’m the Queen of the Bitches” and “Mae West Mania” In-class screening: I’m No Angel (Wesley Ruggles, 1933) Sept. 5 Wojcik, “Mae West’s Maids” I’m No Angel, cont’d. II Romantic Comedy Sept. 10 Shakespeare and the invention of romantic comedy Clips from Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branagh, 1993) Sept. 12 Movie quiz: It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934) McDonald, “Romantic Comedy and Genre” and Rowe, “Comedy, Melodrama, and Gender” Sept. 17 It Happened One Night, cont’d. Quiz Two: includes today’s reading Shumway, “Screwball Comedies, ” pp. 7-16 Sept. 19 Movie quiz: Knocked Up (Judd Apatow, 2007) Denby, “A Fine Romance”

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Sept. 24 Race and the Unruly Woman Clips from Bringing Down the House (Adam Shankman, 2003) and Wanda Sykes’s Ima Be Me (2009) Sept. 26 Movie quiz: Made in America (Richard Benjamin, 1992; screenwriter Marcia Brandywine) Wanzo, “Black Actresses” Oct 1 Quiz Three: includes today’s reading Moddelmog, “Can Romantic Comedy Be Gay?” Guest lecturer: Prof. Debra Moddelmog Oct. 3 In-class screening: Saving Face (Alice Wu, 2004; screenwriter Alice Wu) Oct. 8 Saving Face, cont’d. Oct. 10 MIDTERM EXAM (study guide on Carmen one week in advance) III Musical Comedy and Camp Oct. 15 Dyer, “Monroe and Sexuality” In-class screening: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953; from the novel by Anita Loos) Oct. 17 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, cont’d. Arbuthnot and Seneca, “Text and Pre-Text” Oct. 22 Quiz Four: includes today’s readings Curry, “Hairspray” and Robertson, “Introduction” Clips from John Water’s Hairspray (1988) Oct. 24 Movie quiz: Hairspray (Adam Shankman, 2007) IV The female buddy film Oct. 29 In-class screening: Desperately Seeking Susan (Susan Seidelman 1985; screenwriter Leora Barish) Case study due today; see guidelines on Carmen Oct. 31 Desperately, cont’d. Fischer, “The Desire to Desire” And Shumway, pp. 17-22

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V The teen heroine Nov. 5 Movie quiz: Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007; screenwriter Diablo Cody) Arens, “Hollywood’s Unplanned Baby Boom” and Hoerl and Kelly, “Post-Nuclear Family” Nov. 7 Juno, cont’d. VII The ensemble film Nov. 12 Quiz Five: includes today’s reading Reed, “Sold Out!” Nov. 14 Movie Quiz: Nine to Five (Colin Higgins, 1980; story by Patricia Resnick) Due today: first paragraph (thesis paragraph) of your final paper. Nov. 19 Movie Quiz: Bridesmaids (Paul Feig 2011; screenwriter Kristen Wiig) In-class preparation for presentations Nov. 21 Bridesmaids presentations Nov. 26 Course papers due in my office (UH 286) Dec. 9 FINAL EXAM at 2 p.m. (study guide on Carmen one week in advance)