Cinema and Visual Theory
A.Y. 2026/2027
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with a general understanding of the critical tools underpinning filmology, conceived both as a theory of cinematic visuality and as a methodology for film analysis. It will enable students to understand the viewing experience created by cinema, exploring the relationship between reality and representation, the visible and the invisible, animism and documentary, while fostering familiarity with the language of film and introducing them to the practice of specialist film criticism. A specific objective of the course is to enable students to acquire an in-depth understanding of at least one of the following cinematic forms, selected on a rotating basis across different editions of the course: a narrative genre, experimental cinema, documentary, the essay film, scientific film, or post-cinema, with the aim of examining their role within modern and contemporary visual culture. The critical tools acquired during the course may be applied in more advanced studies in image theory, as well as in cultural programming and dissemination, and in all professional contexts dedicated to promoting the artistic and epistemic potential of film.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
· demonstrate knowledge of cinematic language and filmmaking techniques;
· analyse films and understand their visual logic.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
· compare different filmic objects and situate them within their historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts;
· position cinema within the broader field of visual culture and visual arts.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
· demonstrate knowledge of cinematic language and filmmaking techniques;
· analyse films and understand their visual logic.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
· compare different filmic objects and situate them within their historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts;
· position cinema within the broader field of visual culture and visual arts.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course will provide an introduction to film form, addressing the concept of the frame, the in-screen and off-screen space, the principal models of editing, and the conceptual pair apparatus/dispositif, with particular attention to the centrality of the screen. The monographic section will focus on horror as a "philosophical" genre that rethinks the subject beyond the body/rationality binary and places gender identities under radical tension. Through targeted analyses of the selected corpus of films, students will both acquire a methodological approach to film praxis and situate the works within a historical and critical framework.
Prerequisites for admission
None
Teaching methods
Lectures including examples of film analysis and readings of landmark texts of specialist film criticism. Collective discussion aimed at recognizing film forms and their historical recurrence.
Teaching Resources
The materials used during class will be available on the Teams group "Cinema e teorie del visuale", Channel 2026-20267, code: ryz2b91.
Bibliography for attending students (essays that are not otherwise available will be provided on Teams in accordance with copyright regulations):
1. B. Grespi, Cinema e montaggio, Carocci, Roma 2010, pp. 135.
2. R. Altman, Film/Genere, V&P, Milano 2004, pp. 3-48; pp. 101-150; 327-344.
3. B. Creed, Il femminile-mostruoso. Cinema, femminismo, psicanalisi (2024), Meltemi, Milano 2026, parte prima: pp. 1-94; parte terza: 185-245.
4. L. Mulvey, "Psyco. L'immobilità e la morte", V. Pravadelli (a cura di), Il cinema è Hitchcock, Marsilio, Venezia 2026, pp. 295-309.
5. R. Bellour, "Il sistema del frammento", in Id. L'analisi del film, Kaplan, Torino 2005, pp. 81-122.
Bibliography for non-attending students:
In addition to the entire bibliography for attending students, non-attending students are required to study:
6. P. Bertetto, Metodologie di analisi del film, Laterza, Bari 2006, capitoli 5 e 6, tot. pp. 100.
7. L. Mulvey, "Piacere visivo e cinema narrativo", in V. Pravadelli (a cura di), Cinema e piacere visivo, Bulzoni, Roma 2013, pp. 29-44.
Filmography for attending and non-attending students:
Psyco (Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
Gli uccelli (The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)
Reazione a catena (Mario Bava, 1971)
L'esorcista (The Exorcist, William Friedkin, 1973)
Black Christmas (Un Natale rosso sangue) (Black Christmas, Bob Clark, 1974)
Carrie - Lo sguardo di Satana (Carrie, Brian De Palma, 1976)
Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983)
Ringu (The Ring, Hideo Nakata, 1998)
Raw - Una cruda verità (Grave, Julia Ducournau, 2016)
Revenge (Coralie Fargeat, 2017)
Bibliography for attending students (essays that are not otherwise available will be provided on Teams in accordance with copyright regulations):
1. B. Grespi, Cinema e montaggio, Carocci, Roma 2010, pp. 135.
2. R. Altman, Film/Genere, V&P, Milano 2004, pp. 3-48; pp. 101-150; 327-344.
3. B. Creed, Il femminile-mostruoso. Cinema, femminismo, psicanalisi (2024), Meltemi, Milano 2026, parte prima: pp. 1-94; parte terza: 185-245.
4. L. Mulvey, "Psyco. L'immobilità e la morte", V. Pravadelli (a cura di), Il cinema è Hitchcock, Marsilio, Venezia 2026, pp. 295-309.
5. R. Bellour, "Il sistema del frammento", in Id. L'analisi del film, Kaplan, Torino 2005, pp. 81-122.
Bibliography for non-attending students:
In addition to the entire bibliography for attending students, non-attending students are required to study:
6. P. Bertetto, Metodologie di analisi del film, Laterza, Bari 2006, capitoli 5 e 6, tot. pp. 100.
7. L. Mulvey, "Piacere visivo e cinema narrativo", in V. Pravadelli (a cura di), Cinema e piacere visivo, Bulzoni, Roma 2013, pp. 29-44.
Filmography for attending and non-attending students:
Psyco (Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
Gli uccelli (The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)
Reazione a catena (Mario Bava, 1971)
L'esorcista (The Exorcist, William Friedkin, 1973)
Black Christmas (Un Natale rosso sangue) (Black Christmas, Bob Clark, 1974)
Carrie - Lo sguardo di Satana (Carrie, Brian De Palma, 1976)
Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983)
Ringu (The Ring, Hideo Nakata, 1998)
Raw - Una cruda verità (Grave, Julia Ducournau, 2016)
Revenge (Coralie Fargeat, 2017)
Assessment methods and Criteria
For attending students, the assessment of theoretical knowledge and applied skills will take into account active participation in class (20%), the result of the midterm written examination (40%), and the final oral examination focused on the bibliography, filmography, case studies, and teaching materials used during the course (40%).
The midterm written examination, which is optional, will assess the ability to apply the film analysis methodology presented during the course to a case study. It will consist of the analysis of a film sequence selected from the assigned filmography and will take place around the thirtieth hour of class, lasting one hour. The results of the test will be communicated through the Teams platform within one week of the examination. Students will have the right to decline the grade received, postponing the assessment of their analytical skills to the final oral examination.
The final oral examination will consist of an interview lasting approximately 15 minutes, aimed at assessing knowledge of the required bibliography and filmography, specifically evaluating:
· the acquisition of the technical terminology of film studies;
· knowledge of film form and its historical diversification;
· knowledge of the characteristics of the cinematic genre covered in the course and of the related filmography;
· the ability to analyse a film (only for students who have not taken the midterm written examination);
· presentation skills, namely: clarity and effectiveness of argumentation;
· independent critical judgment, understood as the ability to use the analytical methodology to support one's own film-critical evaluation.
For non-attending students, the knowledge and skills acquired will be assessed exclusively through the final oral examination, which will also include the additional volume and essay listed in the bibliography.
During the oral examination, no supporting materials (books, notes, etc.) will be permitted, except in cases of appropriately documented necessity.
Grades will be assigned according to assessment bands: students who fail will be informed of an unsatisfactory result, distinguished as severe (1-10) or marginal (11-17). Students who pass the examination will receive one of the following assessment bands: satisfactory knowledge and applied skills (18-23); good knowledge and applied skills, with appropriate use of technical terminology (24-27); excellent knowledge, applied skills, and presentation abilities (28-30); outstanding knowledge, applied skills, presentation abilities, and independent critical judgment (30 with honors).
The midterm written examination, which is optional, will assess the ability to apply the film analysis methodology presented during the course to a case study. It will consist of the analysis of a film sequence selected from the assigned filmography and will take place around the thirtieth hour of class, lasting one hour. The results of the test will be communicated through the Teams platform within one week of the examination. Students will have the right to decline the grade received, postponing the assessment of their analytical skills to the final oral examination.
The final oral examination will consist of an interview lasting approximately 15 minutes, aimed at assessing knowledge of the required bibliography and filmography, specifically evaluating:
· the acquisition of the technical terminology of film studies;
· knowledge of film form and its historical diversification;
· knowledge of the characteristics of the cinematic genre covered in the course and of the related filmography;
· the ability to analyse a film (only for students who have not taken the midterm written examination);
· presentation skills, namely: clarity and effectiveness of argumentation;
· independent critical judgment, understood as the ability to use the analytical methodology to support one's own film-critical evaluation.
For non-attending students, the knowledge and skills acquired will be assessed exclusively through the final oral examination, which will also include the additional volume and essay listed in the bibliography.
During the oral examination, no supporting materials (books, notes, etc.) will be permitted, except in cases of appropriately documented necessity.
Grades will be assigned according to assessment bands: students who fail will be informed of an unsatisfactory result, distinguished as severe (1-10) or marginal (11-17). Students who pass the examination will receive one of the following assessment bands: satisfactory knowledge and applied skills (18-23); good knowledge and applied skills, with appropriate use of technical terminology (24-27); excellent knowledge, applied skills, and presentation abilities (28-30); outstanding knowledge, applied skills, presentation abilities, and independent critical judgment (30 with honors).
L-ART/06 - CINEMA, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TELEVISION - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor:
Grespi Barbara
Professor(s)
Reception:
Tuesday, 10.00-13-00, by prior email appointment. The last office hour before the summer break will be on 4.8.2026 (online only); it will resume in person on 1.9. With the beginning of classes (14.9), office hours will be divided into two time slots: Monday, 9:00–10:00 , and Tuesday, 8:30–10:30.
Dipartimento di filosofia, second floor, and/or Teams