Thanks for your patience with my getting the blog to you. Please begin using this space to post–several times per week–your reactions to and thoughts about 1) readings, 2) screenings, 3) class discussions, 4) assignments, 5) outside the classroom issues connected to the study of film and media.

As you will recall from class on Wednesday, our work for this week is to:

1. Acquire the course books.
2. Read Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal (Preface-199).
3. For Wednesday, prepare to speak in some detail about at least two chapters (your choice) in Storytelling Animal.
4. Begin to read around in The Film Experience, especially in the early chapters of the book.
5. Find and watch Apocalypse Now (1979). There are other versions of the film, principally the longer Apocalypse Now Redux (2001). It’s fine to watch that version, but I’ll be referring mostly to the 1979 film.
6. Begin blogging. You should be able to supply at least 3 posts to get going: One to react to what we did in class last Wednesday; one to organize what you want to say about Gottschall’s book; another to react to Apocalypse Now (see questions on the FILMS page).

This week I’ll go over some syllabus details, but you might look around on the blog pages to see some of this information ahead of time. I’ll field any questions you might have on Wednesday.