Introductory course that considers film as its own intellectual and cultural ¿art¿. Course is divided into two primary units that each focus on paramount components of film analysis: (1) the formal elements of film composition and their implications for the viewing experience, like editing, sound, mise-en-scène, and cinematography and (2) film genres, their poetics, and their various representations of race, gender, and sexuality. Course will cover topics such as: the social role of horror, serial killers (real and fictional), science fiction aliens, fairy tale myths, gender fluidity, racialized masculinity, state apartheids, and the prison industrial complex.