暗网吃瓜

From Citizen Kane to The Graduate, students analyze all aspects of impactful movies, documentaries.

Because of his father鈥檚 ever-evolving career in education and development, Jason Middleton lived all over the globe growing up: Hawaii. Indonesia. Malaysia. Vermont. The District of Columbia.

He visited other worlds through his passion for films such as the Star Wars trilogy and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

鈥淚 loved fantasy and science fiction, and I got into horror films at an early age,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut I never dreamed I would be teaching about film for a living.鈥�

Middleton, who earned his PhD in the literature program at Duke University, has been at the 暗网吃瓜 since 2007 and is an associate professor of and visual and cultural studies聽while also serving as director of the .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, The Graduate, Blade Runner, and Do the Right Thing, breaking films down through analyses of camera angles, framing, lighting, sound, and closeups.

Middleton says there are many films he loves but has never taught. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 serve a pedagogical function,鈥� he says. On the other hand, 鈥淚 never teach about a film I don鈥檛 like. The ones I choose are engaging and compelling works of art.鈥�

For a unit on cinematography, he uses Spike Lee鈥檚 Do the Right Thing. 鈥淭here is so much to discuss about race and political issues,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd the famous tense scene in the pizza shop is made palpable by the use of wide-angle lenses.鈥�

He analyzes The Graduate 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.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no single right interpretation, but some are better than others,鈥� says Middleton. 鈥淵ou can understand Benjamin鈥檚 expression on the bus better if you relate it to his face on the plane in the opening scene, or when he鈥檚 alone in his room staring at his fish tank, or with Mrs. Robinson in the hotel.鈥�

Students have praised Middleton for making a large class feel small, and his lectures follow a routine: He鈥檒l introduce a specific idea, use a clip to illustrate that idea, then ask his students to interpret the scene. 鈥淚 provide enough so you don鈥檛 get the dreaded silence, but not so much that there鈥檚 only one answer,鈥� he says. 鈥淥nce you hit the sweet spot, the energy builds on itself.鈥�

John Michael, a professor in the Department of English and for the , was chair of the English department when Middleton joined the University in 2007. He says Middleton鈥檚 career has been 鈥渟omething of a phenomenon.鈥�

鈥淲hile his personal style is rather low-key, he develops a remarkable dynamism in the classroom,鈥� Michael says. 鈥淗e does this without pandering to students, catering to their whims, or fostering a false atmosphere of informal collegiality. He鈥檚 a seriously demanding teacher who insists that his students rise to the challenge of his meticulously prepared classes.鈥�

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 鈥渢each students to watch film with a critical eye, and always stay innovative,鈥� whether it鈥檚 in an introductory course for undergraduates or a graduate class.

Middleton hopes students remember what they鈥檝e learned about film long after the leave the University. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a doctor in your 40s and you鈥檙e watching a movie with your kids, I hope you鈥檒l appreciate the artistry of it, or recognize things that are problematic about it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 hope they always look at film with a critical eye.鈥�