Last modified: 07 Jul 2025 15:16
What is exploitation cinema? With A-list filmmakers such as Tim Burton, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright paying homage to the form, and physical media labels unleashing entire packages on key directors and cycles, this is the module to learn about a rich and vast history of independent voices. Taught from the firsthand perspective of industry and experience, students will gain skills in film curation and marketing, as well as undertake a practical challenge in the shape of a short trailer “homage” that will be part of a group task. From the earliest days of exploitation cinema to the direct-to-video era that sustains the form to this day, this is the module for anyone seeking to undertake an alternative understanding of modern-day Hollywood.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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Despite writing on exploitation film from notable academics such as Eric Schaefer and Yvonna Sims, as well as contemporary studies on the form and its most famous faces from Alicia Kozma and David Church, there remains a void in courses that seek to untangle the sheer influence of such lowbrow material among modern cinema and indeed culture. This course seeks to correct such omission, introducing students to radical perspectives that includes female voices, a week on minority action heroines of the sixties and seventies, and discussion on the Cold War teen-orientated “drive-in” schlock that surfaced in the 1950s. While roundly concerned with American independent film, students will also receive a chance to view Italian cinema of spectacle and unofficial sequels as well as Mexican shock-busters and Hong Kong genre cinema, while “queer” identity will be tackled in a case study on Ed Wood (famously played by Johnny Depp in the 1994 Oscar winning Hollywood motion picture). A recurring theme will also be the role of gender representations across texts that were so frequently seen to be “exploitative” of women. Concluding with a week on how exploitation film may have inspired the teen-orientated work of the eighties and filmmakers like John Hughes, students will be expected to submit both a practical and theoretical project. As such, two weeks of this module will be practice-based – either an introduction to editing and filming or, for those who have completed Documentary Theory and Practice, an opportunity to refine skills from the previous year.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Formative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 41 | Feedback Weeks | 44 | |
| Feedback |
Written feedback will be provided. |
Word Count | 2500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will learn about and analyse the history of exploitation cinema, from the early years to the present day. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Initiate the development of understanding practice-based skills using university camera and editing equipment. |
| Procedural | Apply | Relating to industry skills, students will learn about how to curate different texts together, applying knowledge through a concise historical understanding of film history. |
| Assessment Type | Formative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 45 | Feedback Weeks | 46 | |
| Feedback |
Written feedback, students expected as part of their TAM mark to submit at least four brief written reviews of films viewed during the semester. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will learn about and analyse the history of exploitation cinema, from the early years to the present day. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Initiate the development of understanding practice-based skills using university camera and editing equipment. |
| Procedural | Apply | Relating to industry skills, students will learn about how to curate different texts together, applying knowledge through a concise historical understanding of film history. |
| Assessment Type | Formative | Weighting | 30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 42 | Feedback Weeks | 45 | |
| Feedback |
Two and a half minute video. Written feedback will be provided. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will learn about and analyse the history of exploitation cinema, from the early years to the present day. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Initiate the development of understanding practice-based skills using university camera and editing equipment. |
| Procedural | Apply | Relating to industry skills, students will learn about how to curate different texts together, applying knowledge through a concise historical understanding of film history. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 51 | Feedback Weeks | ||
| Feedback |
Written feedback will be provided in 3 weeks from submission date. |
Word Count | 3000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will learn about and analyse the history of exploitation cinema, from the early years to the present day. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Initiate the development of understanding practice-based skills using university camera and editing equipment. |
| Procedural | Apply | Relating to industry skills, students will learn about how to curate different texts together, applying knowledge through a concise historical understanding of film history. |
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