My favorite class I've taken at UCLA. Professor Wuest is extremely knowledgeable, well organized, and easy to approach if you have any questions. This quarter focused on the horror genre; the content was very engaging plus you get to watch a movie for half of the class. That being said, lecture attendance isn't mandatory and he does post his slides + the movies on bruinlearn.

Discussion section - 15% (mandatory attendance)
Midterm - 20% (take home essays; one 300-400 words, one 750-1,000 words)
Paper proposal for research paper - 10%
Research paper - 25% (about 5-7 pages)
Final exam - 30% (usually take home essays but was online MC due to TA strike)

This course kindled my interest in film history and preservation, and it is hands down the best course I've taken at UCLA thus far. Professor Wuest is not only astoundingly good at lecturing, but he knows how to engage his students with the course materials and film selections in meaningful and relevant ways. You can tell he cares deeply about the topics he teaches, and his love for film borders on infectious—whether or not you're familiar with film as a medium, you'll learn to genuinely appreciate and love it through this class. Attendance isn't mandatory and he posts all his slides on BruinLearn, but I'm always inclined to go because of how insightful his additional elaboration is during lectures. In other words, the more information you jot down by attending his lectures, the easier your papers will be to handle! The papers themselves are pretty straightforward in regards to their prompts and rubrics, as this is a GE class at the end of the day, but what you learn in the professor's lectures will better prepare you for writing them. This class is great for anyone who wants to expose themselves to a humanities course that's fairly easy and interesting!

I took this class over c-sesh and loved it. Course load was super light. There's two papers but your first paper is more or less just brainstorming for your second. Besides that you have participation and discussion posts to boost your grade as well. The readings, while occasionally a little long, were all super interesting. I never had trouble getting through any of them. Professor Wuest was a great lecturer and did a great job facilitating discussions during class. I'd highly recommend taking this class if you can. Definitely one of the best classes I've taken at UCLA!

I absolutely loved taking this class however the grading I got was not the best, I would totally take this professor again but if you’re not a film major like me, you might be a little confused.

If Professor Bryan Wuest's lectures were reviewed by official critics and the reviews were published on Rotten Tomatoes, I can guarantee Wuest's lectures would receive a certified fresh rating of 95%. Professor Wuest is by far, one of the most engaging, outstanding, and best Professors I have had at UCLA so far. Here are the Pros and Cons for taking Professor Wuest's Film History class

Pros:

1.Bryan Wuest is a very, and I mean VERY, good lecturer. Wuest loves to talk about films and his compassion for the film industry is distributed among his audience as he teaches his class about the history of the film industry and how it evolved since the late 19th century all the way to the 21st century.

2.Wuest lectures off of material from slides that he displays within the theater; however, Wuest also goes above and beyond in regard to expanding upon the material on the slides and likes to throw in interesting facts in regards to the film industry.

3.Oh, did you notice what I mentioned in the last pro, yes its true. THIS CLASS IS TAUGHT IN A THEATER!?!?!

4.Wuests slides are easily accesible via Canvas

5.Wuest's take home assignments are easy to complete... as long as you complete them properly and do not rush them (work with the TA's during office hours and the writing center to perfect your essays or research project or short answer responses, AND ALWAYS CITE YOUR SOURCES (big mistake I made for one of my assignments D:))

6.The material Wuest teaches is really interesting... at times...

7.Almost every lecture, Wuest would showcase a movie and his selection of films (besides Red Dawn) were outstanding and memorable films (BOYZ N THE HOOD WAS AMAZING!!!!!)

8. Wuest provides small breaks during lecture so people do not have to consistently take notes

9. also taking notes is kind of useless as all of his slides are on canvas (and for other reasons which I will talk about in the con section...)

10. During breaks, I would sometimes walk up to Wuest to talk to him about some random film stuff, and he is very approachable and loves to talk to his students about the film industry and tell you interesting facts about film

11. Wuest is the first LGBTQ+ professor I have ever had and I heavily appreciate all of the LGBTQ+ material he teaches within this class in connection to the Film Industry. I also appreciate a lot of the diversity material he teaches also within the Film Industry.

12. Attending section is easy credit points

Cons:

1. Despite what I said about Wuest's lectures... his lectures... in regards to the actual assignments... are pointless for getting an A in the class. the most important material is the actual movies he showcases. Obviously his lectures are important but the class can easily be completed without attending lecture and only watching the movies and doing some of the readings, which is unfortunate because his lectures are amazing. I recommend Wuest should change the questions/instructions so that they incorporate the lectures more into the actual assignments, maybe by making the questions more history oriented (such as a history class short or long response question where historical content is necessary and use movies and readings for evidence)

2. sometimes reaching out to the TA was difficult but that is more of a TA complaint then a professor complaint.

And... thats it lol, Wuest is a great professor and I would love for him to teach the TV version of this class (PLEASE D:)!

Overall I give this class a 4.8/5!!!

This class was wonderful. If you like film at all and can tolerate a well-taught history class, take this class. Attendance is optional, but you will find yourself wanting to go, if anything just to watch some good movies in the huge screening room. Professor Wuest is a really engaging lecturer and you can tell he cares a lot about film. Great class.

The professors and TA's want you to succeed in this class, period. It is very difficult to get anything less than an A- if you put in some effort, show up to the lectures, and enjoy the films. 6 hours of a week in a movie theater goes by very quickly and the films are incredibly engaging, so definitely worth if you want a break from tougher major classes. Professor Wuest is incredible, and the TA's are similar in my experience. Please take if you are able to!

i think this is my favorite class that i've taken in my past three years at ucla! the professor's lectures were super clear and engaging, and the content of this class was really valuable and interesting. i learned a lot about representation in film, and although the classes were long, they never got boring because the lectures and films were super interesting! super chill class, and really enjoyable

Great great professor. This class was super interesting and Wuest is an amazing lecturer. My TA was the easiest I think out of all of them, so that was nice. I know some people had a TA that was super difficult, which made the class more difficult. This class really depends on your TA, but the lecturers were amazing. I am not a film major and this class was easy, so you don't have to worry about that. As long as you show up to lecture, stay for the films and go to discussion, this class is an easy A. Plus, again, super engaging lectures!

This is by far the best class I have taken at UCLA. Professor Wuest is a highly engaging teacher. He is the most considerate, politically correct, and, frankly, woke person I have ever listened to speak. You can hear even in the way he phrases his sentences that he prioritizes speaking respectfully, but no less honestly, about these controversial topics. He is clearly very knowledgeable about the issues and well-intentioned in educating his students the absolute most he can in the limited time of a topic a week. I learned a lot from the reading and the movie selection is really powerful. I also took this class during the Coronavirus, and his transition to online teaching was impeccable and easy. Even with everything going on, Professor Wuest is able to teach a perfectly structured and clear course. This is an essential series of issues that everyone should learn about and I highly encourage this class.