Cinema and the Five Senses

Content of Course

Each week we will focus on a different sense and examine its representations on screen.

1. Cinema as the art of the eye

Suggested reading: Elsaesser, Thomas and Malte Hagener, “Cinema as Eye” (in Film Theory: An Introduction through Senses).

Some films under consideration will include: Man with a Movie Camera (dir. Dziga Vertov, 1929); Rear Window (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1954); The Silence of the Lambs (dir. Jonathan Demme, 1991); Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Céline Sciamma, 2019); The Story of Looking (dir. Mark Cousins, 2021).

2. Between silence and scream: the importance of sound in film

Suggested reading: Elsaesser, Thomas and Malte Hagener, “Cinema as Ear” (in Film Theory: An Introduction through Senses).

Some films under consideration will include Singin' in the Rain (dir. Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1952); Psycho (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1960); Berberian Sound Studio (dir. Peter Strickland, 2012); Locke (dir. Steven Knight, 2013); Sound of Metal (dir. Darius Marder, 2019).

3. Touch and the tactile on screen

Suggested reading: Sobchack, Vivian, “What my fingers knew” (in Carnal Thoughts).

Some films under consideration will include The Piano (dir. Jane Campion, 1993); The Pillow Book (dir. Peter Greenaway, 1996); Conspirators of Pleasure (dir. Jan Švankmajer, 1996); Hunger (dir. Steve McQueen, 2008).

4. Evoking the olfactory: from ‘Smell-O-Vision’ to fragrant images

Suggested reading: Marks, Laura U. “The logic of smell” (in Touch).

Some films under consideration will include Black Narcissus (dir. Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell, 1947); Institute Benjamenta (dir. Stephen Quay and Timothy Quay, 1995); Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (dir. Tom Tykwer, 2006); Hard to be a God (dir. Aleksey German, 2013); Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho, 2020).

5. Teasing the taste buds: how films appeal to our sense of taste

Suggested reading: Elliott, Paul, “On taste and digestion” (in Hitchcock and the Cinema of Sensations).

Some films under discussion: Tampopo (dir. Juzo Itami, 1985); Babette’s Feast (dir. Gabriel Axel, 1987); Like Water for Chocolate (dir. Alfonso Arau, 1992); I am Love (dir. Luca Guadagnino, 2010); The Lunchbox (dir. Ritesh Batra, 2014).

Teaching method(s)

Weekly interactive lectures illustrated with video-clips and followed by group discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Appreciate cinematic representations of senses other than vision and hearing;

• Describe the cinematic devices used to evoke them;

• Demonstrate a broad understanding of the various approaches to studying film, in particular sensual and phenomenological theories;

• Discuss the selected films in more depth.

Sources

Core Readings

• Barker, J. M. 2009. The Tactile Eye: Touch and the Cinematic Experience. Berkeley: University of California.

• Elsaesser, T. and Malte H. 2010. Film Theory: An Introduction through the Senses. New York: Routledge.

• Marks, L. U. 2000. The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the Senses. Durham: Duke UP.

• Marks, L. U. 2002. Touch: Sensuous Theory and Multisensory Media. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.

• Sobchack, V. C. 2004. Carnal Thoughts: Embodiment and Moving Image Culture. Berkeley: University of California.

Web Sources

http://sensesofcinema.com/

http://www.imdb.com/

http://www.bfi.org.uk/

Class Handouts

Class handouts will be provided.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.