I went into this course expecting that it would be extremely interesting. What I found was a teacher that didn't seem to care about the subject (which is probably the worst thing to encounter as a student). This was Prof. Landberg's first quarter teaching this class, so I'll give her a bit of a pass for that reason, but even so, I expect the classes I take to at least interest the teacher! Her lectures were beyond boring. It was honestly just plain hard to get through. She would ramble on and on about things in each country we covered that seemed like they had no meaning to the lesson, and honestly, I couldn't even tell you what the lessons were half the time. She handed out readings every week, but since we rarely had any assignments on them, and she barely even referenced them in class, ...read more

Every week there are two lectures and one discussion section. Each lecture focuses on a different country, or group of countries; and the film movement that defines that region and time period. There are always at least two readings per week, one for each lecture/movement/or film. And, there are always two films per week. It's easy to get behind on the work load, especially if you're taking another film history class (which has a similar work load) at the same time. This is what I did and it made it really difficult to keep up with both. If you're to not do something, skip the readings or at least skim over them. But always watch the films! Even the boring ones can teach you something.

She is actually quite a nice person overall. She's funny too. She makes little quips that can range from cringey to actually hilarious. I can tell that this class was sprung on her last minute, so I truly can't fully blame her for how I felt about this class. There were times where I could tell that she could feel our disdain towards the class, but instead of trying to get to the bottom of it and better her class, she became a tad bitter. While I do think that overall she's a nice person, I cannot recommend this class to any film majors at UCSC. This class made me feel like I was wasting my time as a film major. Seriously made me reconsider why I came to film school in the first place.

I hope that in future years that she gets the hang of this class because the subject truly is interesting. It's unfortunate that the life of the subject was sucked out, but that happens sometimes here at UCSC (especially in the Film program, in my experience at least). So my advice to you is: Do the readings. Watch the films. Make the most of it. In film school, which nowadays with youtube is truly not even necessary, It's easy to feel like you're wasting your time. Don't fret, and take every action you can towards furthering your knowledge and experience as a filmmaker. This is something I am actively trying to get better at. Don't act like a student. Act like a filmmaker! Filmmakers are always learning, and using what they learn to inform their art. Above all, believe in yourself! Don'...read more