1 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova

ARAB341FilmingWarZones:

RepresentationsofWarsinIraq&Chechnya

Winter2017

Syllabus When&Where: Online(Canvassourcesite)Courseprofessor:ValerieAnishchenkovavani@umd.eduOfficehours: OnlineYoumaynotbeinterestedinwar,butwarisinterestedinyou. LevTrotsky

CourseDescriptionandGoals

Bytheendofthe20thcentury,thediscourseonwarhasbecomeanintegralpartofourculture.Narrativesofwarcirculateincountlessforms–stories,images,sounds–andenterourdailylifefromeverywhere:TVandcomputerscreens,radio,newspapers,magazines,music,conversationswithfriendsandcolleagues,andsoon.Therealityisthatmodernwarisinescapable.Nowadays,culturalrepresentationsofmilitaryconflictsinmedia,film,literature,andcyberspacehavebecameasimportantasthewaritself.

Inthisclass,thefocusisnotonthehistoricalandpoliticalaspectsofwar(i.e.whathappenedwhenandwhy):instead,wewillinvestigateanddiscussthewaysinwhichmodernwarsarecinematicallydepicted,narrated,andmythologizedindifferentsocioculturallocations–theUS,theMiddleEast,andRussia.Pleasenotethatyouareexpectedtofamiliarizeyourselveswiththehistoricalbackgroundusingavailablesourcesonlineandatthelibrary.Tentat

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2 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova Themainobjectiveistoexploretheanatomyofpropagandaandtoinvestigatehowdiversepoliticalandculturalagendasofthelate20th–early21stcenturiesconstructawidevarietyofwhatIcall“warfictions”:thatis,ideologicallyinformedwarnarratives.Tothatend,wewillbeexamininganumberofAmerican,MiddleEastern,Russian,andEuropeanfilms(mainlymotionpictures,butalsosomedocumentariesandepisodesfromTVseries),lookingatbothsimilaritiesandcontrastsbetweenwarfictionscirculatinginthesedistinctculturalareasandtraditions.

Withregardtohistoricaltimeline,wewillfocusontwowarsinIraq(the1991GulfWarandthe2003IraqWar)andthetwoChechenwars(1994and1999)–inotherwords,themilitaryconflictsthattheUnitedStatesandRussiaengagedinaftertheendofColdWar.

Thiscoursewillfocusonthefollowingtwothematicareas:

§ Nationalidentityandwaysinwhichitisarticulatedinwarfilmsthroughrepresentationsofthemilitary;

§ Enemy-makingpracticesandtheconstructionofOthernessinwarfilms.

LearningObjectives:

o Learningaboutwarpropagandaandhowitfunctionsindifferentculturesandideologies(theU.S.,theMiddleEast,Russia);

o Learninghowtoreadandinterpretwarfilms;o LearningvariouswaysofanalyzingIraqiandChechenwarmythologiesasformulatedin

American,MiddleEasternandRussiancinematicdiscourses;o Developingcriticalthinkingskills,especiallywithregardtounderstandingglobalwar

discourses.Thisclassisdesignedforupper-levelundergraduatestudentswhoareinterestedinthesubjectofwaranditsdisseminationindifferentculturesandsocieties.AllcoursematerialsanddiscussionsareinEnglish. Pleasenotethatduetothesubjectmatteroftheclass,

anumberprimarysourcescontainexplicitandgraphiccontent Tentat

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3 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova

CourseMaterialsandFormat

AllcoursematerialsareavailableonCanvas.AllfilmswillbestreamingonourCanvassiteaswell:pleasecheckthePick-N-PlayandOnlineMediaReservesmodules.Pleasenotethatbecauseofthecopyrightrestrictionsmostfilmswillbescreeningfortheperiodof2weeks.Inadditiontothemainselectionoffilms,therewillbeanumberofadditionalmoviesrelatedtoweeklytopicsthatyoucanseeonyourownand,ifyouwish,useforyourshortpapersandyourfinalpaper.

GradeDistribution

Blogging: 55%Shortpapers: 30%Finalpaper: 15%

CourseRequirementsandComponents

• Blogs:

Inanonlinecourse,blogsarethemaindiscussionmediummeanttobringustogetherasagroupandgivingusanopportunitytoexchangeideasandtalkaboutthematerial.Youareexpectedtoalwaysbepreparedandtoactivelyparticipateinblogdiscussions.Rememberthatthisisaveryimportantcomponentofyourgrade.Whencontributingtoblogdiscussions,beopentoalternativeviewsandberespectfulofdifferentopinions,howeverpassionateyoufeelaboutthesubject,andpleaserestrainyourselvesfrompersonalattacks.Pleasewriteblogsindesignated“timewindows”wheneverpossible–10:00amto10:00pmonthedayoftheassignment–togivetherestofustimetoread,reflectandcommentonyourposts.Blogsarealwaysdueat10:00pm.ReadBloggingGuidelinesandRubric.Tentat

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4 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova

• ShortPapers:

Youwillbeaskedtowriteseveralshortanalyticalpapers,reflectingonassignedfilmsandreadings.Eachshortpaperisexpectedtobe3-4pageslong(double-spaced,font12).Eachpapermustincludepropercitations.Ifyouwishtousefootnotes/endnotes,pleasechoosethefootnoteformat.Fordetailedcitationguidelinespleaserefertothefollowingwebsite:http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Esources/contents.html.Paperswherecitationsarenotusedcorrectlywillreceivesignificantlylowergrades!Allassignmentsaretobesubmittedonduedaysandtimes.Latesubmissionswillbeautomaticallyassignedazerograde.PleaseuploadallpapersonCanvasinWordformat.Iwillbegivingyoufeedbackonline.ReadPaperSelf-AssessmentGuideandPaperRubric.SpecificpaperguidelineswillbeavailableinAssignments.

• FinalPaper:

TheFinalPaperwillbe10pageslong(double-spaced,font12)onatopicofyourchoosing,relatedtosubjectscoveredanddiscussedinclass.YouareexpectedtoanalyzeoneormoreoftheadditionalfilmsavailableonCanvas,usingtheanalyticalmethodsandtoolsacquiredthroughoutthecourse.Beforeyoustartworkingonyourfinalpaper,youarerequiredtodiscussthetopicofyourpaperwithmeviaemailorchat.TheFinalPaperhastoincludeabibliography(Iprefertheauthor-dateChicagostyle)andpropercitations.LinktoChicago-stylecitationquickguide:http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

• Preparationforclass:Asyouprepareforourfilmdiscussionsandworkonyourpapers,pleasereadvariousfilmreviewsbothbyfilmcriticsandindividuals,blogs,interviewswithfilmdirectors,producersandactors,andwatchfilmtrailers.Getanideaaboutthedirector’s/producer’sbackground.Thinkabouthowallthisinformationaboutthefilminfluencesyourperceptionofthefilmitself.Tentat

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5 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova **ImportantNote!Studentswhojoinedtheclassatalatertimearerequiredtomakeupallmissedwork.

UniversityPolicies

• SpecialArrangements:

Ifyouhavearegistereddisabilityandwishtodiscussaccommodationswithme,pleaseletmeknowattheverybeginningofthecourse.DisabilitiescanberegisteredthroughDisabilitySupportServices(4-7682or5-7683TTY/TDD).

• ReligiousObservances:

TheUniversitySystemofMarylandpolicyprovidesthatstudentsshouldnotbepenalizedbecauseofobservancesoftheirreligiousbeliefs.Studentsshallbegivenanopportunity,wheneverfeasible,tomakeupwithinareasonabletimeanyacademicassignmentthatismissedduetoindividualparticipationinreligiousobservances.Itistheresponsibilityofthestudenttoinformtheinstructorinwritingofanyintendedabsencesforreligiousobservancesatleasttwoweeksinadvance.

• CodeofAcademicIntegrity:

TheUniversityhasapprovedaCodeofAcademicIntegritywhichprohibitsstudentsfromcheatingonexams,plagiarizingpapers,submittingthesamepaperforcreditintwocourseswithoutauthorization,buyingpapers,submittingfraudulentdocuments,andforgingsignatures.Plagiarismpolicy:allquotationstakenfromotherauthors,includingfromtheInternet,mustbeindicatedbyquotationmarksandreferenced.Paraphrasingmustbereferencedaswell.ThefollowingUniversityofMarylandHonorPledgehasbeenproposedbytheCouncilandapprovedbytheUniversitySenate:"IpledgeonmyhonorthatIhavenotgivenorreceivedanyunauthorizedassistanceonthisassignment/examination."Thispledgeshouldbehandwrittenandsignedonthefrontpageofallpapers,projectsorotheracademicassignmentssubmittedforevaluationinthiscourse.

• ClassSchedule:

WeeklyclassscheduleisavailableonCanvas(seeModules).Tentat

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6 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova

CourseSchedule

Tue1/3

TheArtofPropagandaFahrenheit9/11(MichaelMoore,2004,122min)Readings:1)TerryChristensenandPeterHaas,“TrueLies:TheRiseofPoliticalDocumentary”2)BillNichols,“TypesofDocumentary”

Wed1/4 TheArtofPropagandaCelsius41.11(CitizensUnited,2004,71min)Readings:1)FromWhyAmericaFights(SusanA.Brewer,2009):“OperationIraqiFreedom:WarandInfoganda”2)FromACenturyofMedia,ACenturyofWar(RobinAndersen,2006):Introduction.Blog1

Thu1/5

WarasDiscourseTheGulfWar,WhatNext?(5shortsbyArabdirectors,1991,109min):“ItisSheherazadeTheyAreKilling”(Tunisia),NouriBouzid“TheSearchforShaima”(Tunisia),NejiaBenMabrouk“EclipseofaBlackNight”(Lebanon),BurhanAlaouie“TheSilence”(Morocco),MostfaDarkaoui“HomagebyAssassination”(Palestine),EliaSuleiman.Paper1

Fri1/6 WarsinIraqandChechnya:BackgroundPowerPoint:ChechenWarsReadings:1)FromCenturyofWar:PartIII“TheFirstPersianGulfWar:TheBattleOverAccess,VideoGameImageryandSmartBombs”2)JohnHope,“FromFreedomFortresstoJihadistCamp:TheInterplayofHighandLowCultureinRepresentingtheCaucasus”

Weekend1/7-8Assignment

MilitaryandtheNation:theU.S.Jarhead(SamMendes,2006,123min)ThreeKings(DavidO.Russell,2000,115min)GenerationKill–Episode1(DavidSimonandEdBurns,HBO,2008)Readings:1)BrendaCromb,“WarFilmsWithoutWar:TheGulfWarattheMovies.”2)“FlirtingwithHollywood:InterviewwithDavidO.Russell”3)“BeyondtheChoir:AnInterviewWithDavidSimon”4)FromA‘ToxicGenre’:TheIraqWarFilms(MartinBarker,2012):“FromDoughboystoGrunts:The'AmericanSoldier'”(inlibraryreservesmodule)Blog2Tentat

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7 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova

Mon1/9 MilitaryandtheNation:RussiaWar/Voina(AlexeiBalabanov,2004,120min)ThunderstormGates/GrozovyeVorota–Episode1(AndreiMalukov,2006)Readings:1)LouisMenashe,“PatrioticGauze,PatrioticGore:RussiansatWar”2)FromInsidersandOutsidersinRussianCinema(StephenNorrisandZaraTorlone,2008):OlegSulkin,“IdentifyingEnemyinContemporaryRussianFilm”;AnthonyAnemone“TheVigilanteHeroinBalabanov’sFilms”Blog3

Tue1/10 MasterNarratives:AmericanIdentityTheManchurianCandidate(JohnFrankenheimer,1962,127min)TheManchurianCandidate(JonathanDemme,2004,130min)Blog4

Wed1/11 MasterNarratives:Post-ColdWarPost-9/11AmericanIdentityHomeland–Season1Episodes1-2(AlexGanza,Showtime,2011)Paper2

Thu1/12 MasterNarratives:RussianIdentityThePrisoneroftheMountains/KavkazskiyPlennik(SergeiBodrov,1996,99min)Readings:1)LevTolstoy,“APrisonerintheCaucasus”(shortstory)2)AlexanderPushkin,“PrisoneroftheCaucasus”(poem)3)BruceGrant,“TheGoodRussianPrisoner:NaturalizingViolenceintheCaucasusMountains”

Fri1/13 NationasaMadhouseHouseofFools/DomDurakov(AndreiKonchalovskiy,2002,108min)Readings:AlinaBirzache,“InSearchofCinematicHolyFoolishnessasaFormofOrthodoxPeacemaking”Blog5

Weekend1/14-15Assignment

TheOtherandPost-SovietRussianIdentityAleksandra(AlexanderSokurov,2007,92min)Readings:JamesNorton,“ConflictResolutions:AlexanderSokurov,AlexandraandtheSurvivaloftheHuman”Paper3

Mon1/16 MartinLutherKingDay

Tue1/17 Documentary:Telling“Truths”orInfoganda?AboutBaghdad(SinanAntoon,2004,90min)TheDreamsofSparrows(HayderDaffar,2005,75min)VoicesofIraq(MagnoliaHomeEntertainment,2004,80min)Deadlinetodiscuss/emailyourideasfortheFinalPaperBlog6Tentat

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8 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova

Wed1/18 ConstructingOthernessandEnemy-MakingTakeanotherlookatpreviouslywatchedfilmsandanalyzetheenemy-makingpracticesinAmericanandRussianwarfilms.Readings:1)FromReelBadArabs:HowHollywoodVilifiesaPeople(JackShaheen,2001):Introduction(inlibraryreserves).2)NancyJabbra,“Women,Words,andWar:Explaining9/11andJustifyingU.S.MilitaryActioninAfghanistanandIraq”Blog7

Thu1/19 TheIraqWar:AThirdPerspectiveTheTigerandtheSnow/LaTigreelaNeve(RobertoBenigni,2005,110min)

Fri1/20 HollywoodStereotyping:ReversingtheRolesValleyoftheWolvesIraq/KurtlarVadisiIrak(SerdarAkar,2006,118min)ExcuseUs/MaaleshEhnaBinitbahdal(SherifMandour,2005,104min)Readings:BrianWilliams,“ValleyoftheWolves,Iraq:Turkey’sPopularCultureReactstotheUnsettlingPresenceoftheU.S.inIraqinFilmsandNovels”Blog8

Mon1/24 FinalPaperisdue

SampleAssignments

Blog1

DiscussrepresentationalvalueofFahrenheit9/11andCelsius41.11(thelatterbeinga"response"totheformer),supportingyourviewswiththeassignedreadings.

Focusonthefollowingquestionsinparticular:

(1)Isoneofthesetwodocumentariespropaganda?Orboth?Neither?Why?

(2)If#1istrue,whichofthesetwoisamoreeffectivepropagandatoolandwhy?Canyouidentifysomespecificcinematographicandnarrativetechniquesthatsupportthepropagandisticmessage?

(3)Personalizethisbylookingatyourselfasa"targetofpropaganda"andself-analyze:whichofthepropagandatechniques"worked"onyouandwhy?

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9 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova Blog3

Wearecontinuingourlastdiscussionaboutrepresentationsofthemilitaryinfilms-vs.bothrepresentationsoftheenemyandthegeneralnational(civilian)identityathome.ThistimewearelookingathowthistakesplaceinRussiancinematicwarculture,morespecificallyintheinteractionswiththeChechen/CaucasianideologicalandculturalOther.

Somequestionstoconsider:

(1)HowisRussianmilitaryrepresentedintwofilms/TVseries(WarandThunderstormGates)incomparisonwiththeU.S.militaryinAmericanfilms?Whatarethedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweentheserepresentationsandwheredoyouthinktheyarerooted?

(2)Yesterdaywetalkedaboutcertaintypologiesintherepresentationofsoldiersandmilitaryunits.DoyouseeanythingsimilarinRussianfilms?

(3)Talkabouttheenemy-makingpracticesinthesetwofilms.

(4)WhatdidyouthinkabouttheconceptofhomelandinWarandThunderstormGatescomparedwiththeAmericanwarfilms?

DokeepinmindthatthetwofilmsIselectedfortoday'sdiscussionrepresentaparticulardiscourseandideology(ofanuber-nationalisttype)inpost-SovietRussiawhichisexaminedintheassignedreadings.WewillbewatchinganddiscussingothergenresofRussianwarcinemanextweek.

Asalways,supportyouropinionswiththeassignedreadings.

Blog4

Thisbloghasadifferentformat:youwillbedoingclosereadingsofaselectionofscenesfromfilmsthatwehaveseenthissemesterandalsofromanumberofadditionalfilms.TheanalysiswillfocusonrepresentationsofOthernessandenemy-makingdevicesinthesescenes.

Inyouranalysis,focusonthecinematicfeatures:scenesetting,soundandmusic,color,lighting,movement,camerawork,timesequences,etc.-inotherwords,focusnotonlyonwhatisbeingnarrated,buthowitisnarrated.Isuggestthatyouwatchthesescenesinfullscreenmodetobeabletoseethedetails.

Pleasepostyourobservationsandreactionstoeachother'spostsundereachscene,as"replies."Thisblogisworthdoubleamountofpoints(10insteadof5),andyouwillhaveanextradaytocompleteit(youdon'thavetotakeextratime,butyoucanifyouwant).

PleasefinishtheassignedreadingsBEFOREyoustartblogging-JackShaheen's(inlibraryreserves)andNancyJabbra's.

Iexpectyoutoanalyzeatleast5scenes.Ifyoudothemall-evenbetter!

Tentative

10 Copyright © 2016 Valerie Anishchenkova Paper1

AnalyzeoneoftheshortsfromTheGulfWar,WhatNext?collection.Alternatively,youcancomparativelyanalyzetwoshorts.

Whattypesoffilmicnarrativesdidthiswargenerate?Whatisthemessage(s)conveyed?Howmetaphoricor,onthecontrary,straight-forwardisthecinematiclanguagehere?Doourpersonalexperiencesandbackgroundinfluencethewayweperceiveandinterpretthewar(researchthesefilmdirectorsafterwatchingtheshorts)?Thesearesomeofthequestionsyoumayponderoverwhileworkingonyourpaper.

Pleasenotethatyourpapershouldnotfocusonretellingtheplot.

Length:3pages(font12,double-spaced)

Filetype:ONLYWordfiles,sothatIcantypemyfeedbackdirectlyintoyourdocument

Pleasereadtherubricandpaperwritingtips.

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