FAVz089 Author and Brand: Cultural Discourses

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Dr. Leora Hadas (lecturer)
Mgr. Martin Kos, Ph.D. (assistant)
Mgr. Daniel Krátký (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 10. 5. 10:00–11:40 C34, Tue 11. 5. 10:00–11:40 C34, Wed 12. 5. 10:00–11:40 C34, 14:00–15:40 C34, Fri 14. 5. 12:00–13:40 C34, 14:00–15:40 C34
Prerequisites
There are none.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 18 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This lecture series will introduce and follow this strand to consider, historicize, and dismantle the concept of the author, challenging auteurism as an ideology to consider the author as a brand within the machine of promotion in the media industries. Through examples from historical and contemporary Hollywood, film, television, and new media storytelling, we will go in-depth into cultural discourses of creativity and creative work. We will examine how the media industries understand their own work – and the ideas communicated to audiences about this work. Through this we will explore how cultural discourses shape material realities of cultural production: how the idea of the genius shaped intellectual property laws; how the emergence of the television showrunner became a legal argument during the 2008/9 Hollywood writers’ strike; and the through line between authorship, personal branding, and the difficult life of the YouTube star.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
(1) Understand and use the concept of a cultural discourse,
(2) Know the history of creativity and authorship as cultural discourses; (3) analyse the role of creativity and authorship discourses in the media industries;
(4) Understand the concept and role of paratexts and promotional surround in contemporary Hollywood;
(5) Critically read promotional and PR materials and analyse strategies of value creation.
Syllabus
  • Session 1: Creativity: a cultural history
  • Session 2: Production culture(s) and industry studies
  • Session 3: The commerce of auteurism
  • Session 4: The evolution of television: authorship and art
  • Session 5: Toward contemporary author brands
  • Session 6: Creative work and brands in contemporary culture: a criticism.
Literature
    required literature
  • Marwick, Alice E. (2013) “Self-branding: The (safe for work) self” in: Status Update : Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age. Yale University Press, pp. 163-204.
  • Bourdieu, Pierre (1985). “The market of symbolic goods”, Poetics, 14(1-2), 13-44
  • Mann, Denise (2009). “It’s not TV, it’s brand management TV” in: V. Mayer, M. J. Banks and J. T. Caldwell, eds. Production Studies: Cultural Studies of Media Industries. New York: Routledge, pp. 99–114.
  • Gray, Jonathan (2010). “Bonus materials: Digital auras and authors” in: Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts. New York: New York University Press, pp.81-116.
  • CALDWELL, John Thornton. Production culture : industrial reflexivity and critical practice in film and television. Durham: Duke University Press, 2008, x, 451. ISBN 9780822341116. info
Teaching methods
This module consists of six lectures, all of them live and online on MS Teams platform.
Students are required to read all the items from the obligatory reading list. All of the required materials will be provided. This module consists of six lectures, all of them live and online on MS Teams platform.
Students are required to read all the items from the obligatory reading list. All of the required materials will be provided.
SCHEDULE:
Lecture 1: Monday May 10th, 10:00 - 11:50
Lecture 2: Tuesday May 11th, 10:00 - 11:50
Lecture 3: Wednesday May 12th, 10:00 - 11:50
Lecture 4: Wednesday May 12th, 14:00 - 15:50
Lecture 5: Friday May 14th, 12:00 - 13:50
Lecture 6: Friday May 14th, 14:00 - 15:50.
Assessment methods
Apart from the compulsory attendance students will have to pass two test. First test is a preliminary one and it will take place just before the start of the first lecture. With two questions, the test will check the knowledge of the required items from the reading list for the first three lesson. The other test is final, consisting of three questions testing both students' acquaintance with the reading list as well as their knowledge and skills gained throughout the course itself. Ten points maximum can be gathered from both of the test; five points are the necessary minimum in order to pass the course successfully.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Teacher's information
Dr. Leora Hadas is an Assistant Professor in Culture, Film and Media at University of Nottingham. Her main interests are in the subject of value creation and negotiation, from both an industry and audience studies perspectives. In her recently published book “Authorship as Promotional Discourse in the Screen Industries: Selling Genius” she examines media authorship as branding and the paratextual construction of author figures as celebrities and cultural legitimators in mainstream media including franchise blockbusters, broadcast television, and triple-A video games. Leora also co-led the Value of Spreadable Television Content research project, examining the purposes and challenges of British broadcasters’ use of short-form content on social media.
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