1) Explain how one of these figures demonstrates the way the star persona collapses the boundary between performance and biography: Jodie Foster, Mickey Rourke, or Jennifer Anniston
2) Describe how the “monsters” of the horror genre changed during the 1960s .
3) Using Al Pacino’s performance in Scarface or Judy Garland as examples, explain how some stars might appeal to a subculture, which responds to the star differently than the way mainstream audiences do.
4) Identify two characteristics of the Western narrative.
5) By the 1920s, slenderness became the key physical standard of beauty, thus filmmakers began casting slim actors and actresses in lead roles. Actresses in particular were bound by clauses in their studio contracts, which required them to maintain a particular weight and size. What was the cultural impetus for this change of attitude and appearance?
6) Explain how Bette Davis’s career demonstrates how the star phenomenon depends on collapsing an actor’s private life into her performances.
7) In a sentence, explain why most film critics didn’t value genre films until the 1960s.
8) Why did American audiences embrace the film noir, with its dark moodiness that marked a dramatic departure from the lavish spectacle and optimism characteristic of Hollywood films in the 1930s?
9) In 1-2 sentences, briefly describe how an “average” director differs from an auteur director, according to François Truffaut’s 1954 essay, “A Certain Tendency in French Cinema.”
10) What two directors have had a profound influence on Kathryn Bigelow’s work, including her film The Hurt Locker?.
11) We watched two films by the up and coming director, Terry Gilliam. Did you like his films or not and why?
12) What was your favorite film viewed in class this semester and why?
