LA 5460

The City in Film

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

From Alphaville and Beirut to Birnin Zana, Dawson City, Liverpool, Los Angeles, Megasaki City, Mexico City, New York, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Shenyang and Tehran, this seminar explores films that treat cities—some real, some imagined, others real but entirely reimagined—as more than scenic backdrops but rather as a significant visual and narrative features.

Enrollment Information Primarily for: graduate students. Undergraduates may register with permission of instructor.

Last 4 Terms Offered (None)

Learning Outcomes

• Analyze how urban settings shape narrative, aesthetics, and meaning across a range of cinematic genres.
• Compare representations of varied urban environments worldwide (e.g. global capitals, exurbs, fictional cities)
• Explain how cinematography, sound, editing and production design are not simply shaped by, but also help construct space and place.
• Compare on-location shooting, soundstage construction, animation, special effects and techniques of digital enhancement as effective methods for cinematically building urban realms.
• Apply close-viewing methods to identify and interpret artistic choices made by the filmmakers (e.g. note-taking, preparatory readings, multiple screenings of specific scenes, comparative films).
• Formulate rigorous criteria for curating thematic film screenings and defend these selections.
• Apply lessons discussed in class by conceiving, writing, shooting and editing a short film.

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