Discussion

OPTION 1

For this discussion option, I would like you to select a 7-10 minute set of scenes from Casablanca (Links to an external site.). Please watch a continuous timed set of scenes, as opposed to jumping around. You’re thinking about how sound track elements change with scene shifts. (You can watch via the Swank platform, supported at UNT Libraries.) For your individual discussion contribution, please complete the following:

1. Identify the section of Casablanca that you analyzed and then reference specific time marks where a change in the sound track elements occur. (List format is fine!)
2. In 100-150 words, how do these sound track effects relate to larger trends in the classical studio era (1932-1950)? (Please include at least two specific quotations from Chapter 7, Hearing the Movies that support your arguments!) 
3. In 150-200 words, what are your big conclusions regarding these sound track elements? How do these sound elements connect with the characters and with the larger narrative? Are there moments where the sound is largely decorative, or is it all intertwined with the narrative ideals? (Please make sure you incorporate specific terminology from your textbook – at least two specific terms from the textbook!)

The individual (above)  portion of your discussion is due Thursday @ 11.59pm and is worth 40 points.

For your community credit, please read through two group members’ analyses. Then, answer the following questions in about 100 total words for each comment.

• How does their analyses intersect with your own? Where and how do your analyses and align and diverge? What do you make of these connections and disconnections?

The  community portion of your discussion is due Friday @ 11.59pm and is worth 10 points.

OPTION 2

For this discussion option, I would like you to select one long scene of 7-10 minutes from Psycho that was NOT analyzed in your textbook. (You can view the movie via the Library’s Swank Platform. Here’s a link to the library’s catalog entry (Links to an external site.) for viewing.)

For your individual discussion contribution, please complete the following:

1. Identify the scene time marks here. You should choose a section that intrigues you from the timeline and cue list on pages 343-345 in HtM.
2. In 100-150 words, how does this scene resonate with your textbook’s argument on the unconventional scoring of Psycho as a whole? How does your scene resonate with the “cellular” model of scoring outlined on page 345? What about aspects of “heightened reality”? (Please include at least two specific quotations from your text to help bring together your argument.)
3. In 150-200 words, what are your big conclusions regarding this scene and its sound track elements? How do these sound elements connect with the characters and with the larger narrative of the movie? (Please make sure you incorporate specific terminology from your textbook – at least three specific terms from the textbook!)

This portion of your discussion is due Thursday @ 11.59pm and is worth 40 points.