If you’re looking for a light course load, do NOT take this class. There are 3 papers, 5 quizzes, 2 textbooks to read, and 10 movies to watch. Not to mention that the lecture’s 6 HOURS per week. What’s worse is that TAs would grade every quizzes and papers like it’s fxxxing MCAT or CHEM 153A lol. They’re eager to take every points out of your assignments so be prepared! The professor didn’t really seem to care about how unfair the TAs were.

UNLESS you really LOVE watching old films, do not take this class!

Professor Shushtari is a really great professor and you can definitely tell he is passionate about the subject. I'm a psychology major, so this class was an elective for me and I knew absolutely nothing about the subject coming in. However, I found it super interesting! Although the course material is easy, the workload is not light. The course consists of two papers (midterm and final), a few "buried treasure" questions, and a course reader quiz. On top of that, you have to watch quite a few movies (some better than others). None of assignments were difficult, but they were kind of time-consuming. I wouldn't really recommend this course if you don't like to write, as it is a large portion of your grade. I consider myself a decent writer, so this wasn't a huge problem for me, but I did find some of the assignments and papers to be tedious. I also know other people in my class were unhappy with their grades (sometimes the TA's could be tough graders). However, I definitely recommend this class if you have an interest in film and want a professor that is passionate about the subject!

Class consisted of- 4 open book & open lecture quizzes which the professor reveals during the span of mulitple lectures very easy points, 1 course reader quiz which is open book (you have a week or two to do it), & 3 Papers (Acting essay, Midterm, & Final) that are not long or complicated in structure as you must go right into explaining the material rather than setting up the essay with an intro paragraph or any fluff. Very nice! Lectures are long but they are recorded! & it was a very good time! Recommend it!!!

Easy upper division class + GPA booster. I only had to invest a little bit of my time for this course as the graded materials are pretty light. No participation required and average/light grading materials [1 course reader quiz, 4 easy quizzes that have pre-given questions +3 days to turn it in, 1 essays (2pg) & Midterm + Final (3-4pg)]. Btw the midterm and the final are also essays that are 3-4 pages long so not that much work :) TA's deduct small points for grammar, commas, and other tedious things but generally you will receive a high score even with these small deductions. I ended up with ~95% for my overall grade so if you do your work, this course will def reward you!

GREAT professor, enjoyable course. Take it! You'll actually learn quite a few things with a light workload. He's there to help with whatever you need and really cares about his students' learning. Highly recommended as an upper division elective.