From WJEC website:
FM2: BRITISH AND AMERICAN FILM
Focus of the Unit
This unit focuses on two key aspects of Film Studies:
• producers and audiences and the relationship between them
• the role of macro features of film (narrative and genre) in constructing
meanings.
These will be studied in the context of two national cinemas – those of the UK and
the USA. Critical understanding will be fostered through:
• the interrelationship between producers and audiences, with a particular
focus on aspects of the film industry and audience behaviour
• narrative and genre characteristics of UK and US films
• personal response to films, mediated by the study of films and their contexts.
This unit emphasises the interaction of its twin areas of study: the film industry (as
producer/supplier of films) and audiences (as purchasers/consumers of films). This
provides a context for the study of the narrative and genre features of UK and US
films, including the ways in which they represent social reality.
Content
Section A: Producers and Audiences
For section A of this unit, candidates will study the UK and US film industry, the
audiences for films produced by these industries and their interrelationship.
(a) The Film Industry
The study of the Film Industry requires a focus on basic aspects of the
working of:
• the American film industry – specifically contemporary Hollywood,
including its impact on UK audiences;
• the British film industry – specifically the contemporary industry,
including issues of independence, distinctiveness and profitability.
Aspects of finance, organisation, production, distribution (including
marketing) and exhibition will be studied, particularly through case studies.
(b) The Film Audience
The Film Audience requires a focus on:
• film demand and supply, specifically in the UK today
• the consumption of film, including cinema-going and the importance of
home cinema and the internet, together with the significance of digital
technologies in delivering different kinds of film experience.
A study of the importance of genre and stars, both for producers and for
audiences will provide a useful bridge between this section and sections B
and C.
(c) The Interrelationship between Producers and Audiences: case studies
It is recommended that case studies are used as the basis for study in this
unit. Case studies should be selected to explore the interrelationship
between producers and audiences – sometimes appearing to be supply-led,
sometimes demand-led. The significance of the convergence of different
media (mobile phone, internet, games console, etc.) in changing the nature of
the producer – audience relationship could also be explored. Contemporary
case studies may cover the following areas:
• Hollywood film producers and the institutional frameworks within which
they operate (for example as part of large conglomerate business
corporations).
• UK film producers and the institutional frameworks within which they
operate (for example in relation to support from the UK Film Council
and through co-production deals).
• the importance of genre and stars for US/UK producers and for
audiences
• film marketing (including specific marketing materials such as posters,
dvd covers and ‘official’ internet sites)
• film reviews – both those produced by critics for circulation in other
media and those produced by fans
• film exhibition, including multiplexes and independent cinemas, as well
as other types of venue, and online exhibition, including consideration
of different kinds of film viewing experience
• the availability of independent low budget films, and foreign language
films in the UK, including Bollywood films
• the social practice of participation in contemporary ‘film culture’ which
includes cinema-going, online viewing, and home cinema – as well as
ways in which the film experience is amplified through media
convergence.
• star images – both those put into circulation by the industry and by
fans.
Section B: British Film Topics
One or more of the following topics will be offered. Each topic requires the study of at
least two films with a focus on how macro elements of film, particularly narrative,
construct meanings and raise issues.
The following options within each topic are available for first examination
in Winter 2009 examination and last examination in Winter 2012.
(a) British Film and Genre
This topic looks at some of the distinctive characteristics of one of the
prescribed genres (see below) with a particular focus on narrative
development and themes. There may be some specific focus on context and
on issues of representation of character, situation and place. The principal
emphasis, however, is on engaging with the chosen films. The candidate
must show a detailed knowledge of a minimum of two films.
Genres for examination up to and including Winter 2012 are:
Horror
Comedy
(d) British Film and Culture
This topic looks at a particular moment in British culture and considers how
film responded to this moment. The focus should be primarily on film narrative
and the themes these narratives convey. There will be some specific focus on
contextual knowledge and on issues of representation. The principal
emphasis, however, is on engaging with the chosen films. The candidate
must show a detailed knowledge of a minimum of two films.
The cultural periods for examination up to and including Winter 2012 are:
Swinging Britain: 1963 – 1973
Thatcher’s Britain: the 1980s
(f) British Film: Identity Study:
Prescribed study for examination up to and including Winter 2012: ‘Borders
and Belonging’.
This topic is concerned with basic questions of identity and belonging in
relation to a place which is called the United Kingdom but in which “British” is
an increasingly contested term. The focus may be on films in which the
narrative deals with the experience of migrants and asylum seekers – or in
which characters question their attachment to or alienation from the idea of
being “British”. Films could focus on migrant and minority experiences in for
example Last Resort, Dirty Pretty Things, Yasmin, Ghosts and Gypo.
Alternatively the focus could be on national and regional identity which sets
itself in opposition to a ‘united kingdom’ – such as Trainspotting, A Way of Life
or In the Name of the Father.
Section C: US Film – Comparative Study
Two films must be chosen from a specific genre or dealing with a specific theme.
Since this is a comparative study, the two films selected should enable sufficient
comparison and contrast to be made. One way of ensuring this is to select films
made at different historical moments.
Assessment
Candidates will take an examination of two and a half hours, assessing AO1 and
AO2.
Section A: Producers and Audiences (40 marks)
One stimulus-response question from a choice of two.
Normally three pieces of stimulus material will be included for each question. These
will include one or more of:
• Visual material (including marketing materials, images from the internet and
magazine publications)
• Written material (including extracts from trade journals, fan magazines,
internet sources and other media)
• Material in table form (including numerical information)
Section B: British Film Topics (40 marks)
One question from a choice of two on each of the six topics.
Candidates are required to refer in detail to a minimum of two films. The first of the
two questions will have a focus on narrative and thematic issues. The second will
include a more broadly-based consideration of areas of representation, such as
gender, ethnicity or age.
Section C: US Cinema Comparative Study (40 marks)
One question from a choice of two.
Candidates are required to compare and contrast two films either from the same
genre or dealing with a specific theme. Both questions will have an emphasis on the
relationship between aspects of the films’ narrative in relation to generic
characteristics. The first question will be based primarily on narrative study. The
second will be based on contextual study. Issues of representation will be
common to both questions.
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