Module Code 單元編號 GEI4005 Module Title 單元名稱 BIOGRAPHICAL FILMS: ARTS, SOCIETIES AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Module Synopsis 單元概要 Biographical film, or biopic in short, is a film genre which depicts a real and “important ” person’s life, past or present. Usually, biopic represents glories and failures, happiness and displeasures in a real person’s life trajectory, demonstrating how he/she grows up or survives under certain social circumstances. Why studying biopic? On one hand, compared to documentary, it is much more entertaining; on the other hand and compared to other film genres, biopic allures audiences to believe that it is by no means a frivolous and irresponsible entertainment because it is based on a true story. As a result, biopic becomes an ideal object of interdisciplinary study since social and psychological issues depicted in biopic are often real issues in our real lives. This course, thus, invites students to learn biopic from three distinct-yet-related approaches: aesthetics, sociology and psychology. Accordingly, our methodologies are twofold: (1) form (how to represent?): We will study general narrative skills and filmic techniques to understand biopic’s aesthetic dimension; (2) content (what to represent?): We will analyse characters’ psychological (un)developments and social issues involved in their life stories. Only by scrutinising both the form and content of a film in a holistic vision, can we get a fuller understanding of an art form.