{"id":497612,"date":"2021-10-26T10:14:41","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T14:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=497612"},"modified":"2024-09-08T10:37:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-08T14:37:37","slug":"jason-middleton-looking-at-film-with-a-critical-eye-497612","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/jason-middleton-looking-at-film-with-a-critical-eye-497612\/","title":{"rendered":"Jason Middleton: Looking at film with a critical eye"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Jason<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re saying<\/h2>\n

\u201cEvery year, Jason Middleton teaches his renowned course, Introduction to the Art of Film, to a group of 80 undergraduates, helping them to become active and critical consumers of the visual messaging they encounter each day. The most common refrain in Jason\u2019s teaching evaluations? \u2018I will never look at a film the same way after taking this course.\u2019 \u201d
\n\u2014Katherine Mannheimer, chair, Department of English<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Middleton modeled an academic generosity, mentorship, and rigor that inspired my own identity as a scholar, and that I strive to impart to my students. I frequently draw inspiration from his pedagogical excellence, especially in crafting online discussions, integrating illustrative film clips into lectures, and fostering a supportive, open classroom environment.\u201d
\n\u2014Eleni Palis \u201912, assistant professor of cinema studies, University of Tennessee<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cServing as a teaching assistant for Jason was a great privilege.
\nHe regularly sought our input about curriculum and saw us as individuals who could be future colleagues. Rather than \u2018throw us in the deep end,\u2019 he spent several hours helping us prepare our materials to ensure that we were able to get in the right mindset for teaching a class with over 100 students. During the session I taught, he sat among the students and subtly helped keep the classroom dialogue going. I\u2019m forever grateful for how seriously Jason took his role as mentor.\u201d
\n\u2014Eitan Freedenberg \u201920 (PhD)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

From Citizen Kane<\/em> to The Graduate<\/em>, students analyze all aspects of impactful movies, documentaries.<\/h2>\n

Because of his father\u2019s ever-evolving career in education and development, Jason Middleton lived all over the globe growing up: Hawaii. Indonesia. Malaysia. Vermont. The District of Columbia.<\/p>\n

He visited other worlds through his passion for films such as the Star Wars<\/em> trilogy and Close Encounters of the Third Kind<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved fantasy and science fiction, and I got into horror films at an early age,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I never dreamed I would be teaching about film for a living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Middleton, who earned his PhD in the literature program at Duke University, has been at the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/a> since 2007 and is an associate professor of English<\/a> and visual and cultural studies\u00a0while also serving as director of the Film and Media Studies Program<\/a>.He has explored such genres documentary, music video, film and television comedy, and horror, and done so through a range of lenses including feminism. His popular class Introduction to the Art of Film is capped at 80 students, who have delved into classics such as Citizen Kane<\/em>, The Graduate<\/em>, Blade Runner<\/em>, and Do the Right Thing<\/em>, breaking films down through analyses of camera angles, framing, lighting, sound, and closeups.<\/p>\n

Middleton says there are many films he loves but has never taught. \u201cThey don\u2019t serve a pedagogical function,\u201d he says. On the other hand, \u201cI never teach about a film I don\u2019t like. The ones I choose are engaging and compelling works of art.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a unit on cinematography, he uses Spike Lee\u2019s Do the Right Thing<\/em>. \u201cThere is so much to discuss about race and political issues,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd the famous tense scene in the pizza shop is made palpable by the use of wide-angle lenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

He analyzes The Graduate<\/em> during his week on sound, and asks his class to interpret the ambiguous ending, in which the faces of Benjamin and Elaine change from elated to stoic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no single right interpretation, but some are better than others,\u201d says Middleton. \u201cYou can understand Benjamin\u2019s expression on the bus better if you relate it to his face on the plane in the opening scene, or when he\u2019s alone in his room staring at his fish tank, or with Mrs. Robinson in the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students have praised Middleton for making a large class feel small, and his lectures follow a routine: He\u2019ll introduce a specific idea, use a clip to illustrate that idea, then ask his students to interpret the scene. \u201cI provide enough so you don\u2019t get the dreaded silence, but not so much that there\u2019s only one answer,\u201d he says. \u201cOnce you hit the sweet spot, the energy builds on itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Michael, a professor in the Department of English and for the Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies<\/a>, was chair of the English department when Middleton joined the University in 2007. He says Middleton\u2019s career has been \u201csomething of a phenomenon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile his personal style is rather low-key, he develops a remarkable dynamism in the classroom,\u201d Michael says. \u201cHe does this without pandering to students, catering to their whims, or fostering a false atmosphere of informal collegiality. He\u2019s a seriously demanding teacher who insists that his students rise to the challenge of his meticulously prepared classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his large enrollments, Middleton has access to teaching assistants and will sit among the students and subtly keep a strong dialogue going with thoughtful questions. He says his goal in class is to \u201cteach students to watch film with a critical eye, and always stay innovative,\u201d whether it\u2019s in an introductory course for undergraduates or a graduate class.<\/p>\n

Middleton hopes students remember what they\u2019ve learned about film long after the leave the University. \u201cWhen you\u2019re a doctor in your 40s and you\u2019re watching a movie with your kids, I hope you\u2019ll appreciate the artistry of it, or recognize things that are problematic about it,\u201d he says. \u201cI hope they always look at film with a critical eye.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The associate professor of English and visual and cultural studies lived all over the globe growing up, and developed a love of film at an early age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":497652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[486,20542,7066,33872,16012,16072],"class_list":["post-497612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-awards","tag-department-of-english","tag-film-and-media-studies-program","tag-goergen-award-for-excellence-in-undergraduate-teaching","tag-jason-middleton","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJason Middleton: Looking at film with a critical eye<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The associate professor of English and visual and cultural studies lived all over the globe growing up, and developed a 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