This class is really interesting if you need it as a GE, for your major, or if you're just interested in film. I learned a lot from this class and I really enjoyed the movies we watched and the cultural aspect of the class. The paper was graded fairly and wasn't that hard to write as long as you watched the films and used specific examples of concepts that you learned in class. The midterm and final were online, which was nice since you could take it on your own time but the questions were very specific so you need to make sure you remember details from all the movies and examples the professor said in lecture. The only thing I didn't like about this class is that the lectures were very long; on Tuesday's we watched the movie, which would usually be around 2 hours, and Thursdays we had a long lecture to go over the film. Discussions are also mandatory and participation matters. If you're looking for a fun class with not a whole lot of workload, I would recommend this class.

Amazing class! I had never considered analyzing films--I was just taking this class for a french minor and for a GE. Professor Brozgal was awesome and I am so glad I took it. The movies were all good (with the exception of the 1930s propaganda one but it was still interesting). My mind was boggled by her lectures every time because she would analyze film elements so in-depth and connect them to the readings and historical context of the films. My TA Katie was pretty nice too!

I really enjoyed my time with Professor Brozgal in French 41. In the beginning, my motivation in taking this class was to fulfill a GE; however, I am so happy that I was able to enroll in this class my first quarter here at UCLA. She is incredibly kind and understanding. After attending her office hours once, she remembered my name. It is so gratifying to hear your name in a classroom of 120 students. Whether you want to talk to Professor Brozgal about your thesis for the 2 short essays (10% of your grade each) or your upbringing during her office hours, she is open arms. The model of the class is one day is a screening day and the other a lecture day. I have been able to enjoy some of the best French films in this class. Her lectures sound like essays due to how well spoken this woman is :). The grade composition is made up of 1 midterm and a final, both which are online and multiple choice. There are about two hours allocated for the exam, but I only used about 30-35 minutes.

10/10 Would Recommend!!

For a GE, this class was mostly alright, although i definitely think there are classes out there with easier workloads. I thought the quizzes were kinda hard, and if you don't get an A on them they will bring your grade down a lot. I managed to bring my grade back up a lot by doing extra credit, so it is nice that she offers that but it did take up a significant amount of time. The final is a group project. If you have a good group that puts in the work before the deadlines you should be fine. You have to watch all the movies (except 1) outside of class which is time consuming. If you don't watch them and don't go to lecture you will have no idea what is on the quizzes. I thought the lectures were a little boring but a lot of the content and details she mentions in class end up on the quizzes. Sometimes her analysis of the films were a little out there and hard to follow, but as long as you take detailed notes you will do fine.

This class is very interesting; it talks about French colonial history and issues regarding race through various French movies, and I learned a lot of new things from it, though the films are sometimes boring. 50% of the grade comes from online MCQ quizzes, which is not actually easy for me (though some of my classmates said that it's extremely easy). The other 50% comes from the group project and participation, which is pretty easy to get a high score actually. This class is not a super easy A, but as long as you treat the lectures seriously and take notes, you will be fine. The recordings and slides are also uploaded, which are very useful during reviewing. There are some extra credit opportunities which saved me as I did a bad job in my first quiz...

Let me start with the pros: this class teaches you film terms, how to analyze films and their broader themes in French society, etc. Also, Professor Brozgal is well-spoken and you can tell she knows her stuff. My TA, Ryan, was also super awesome and I highly recommend having him as your TA.

Cons: I really struggled with class on an internal level because I simply disagreed with a lot of what this class tries to suggest. I know it's a race-centric class and covers the diversity requirement but the way in which the class pushes white people down as a whole is something I found quite disturbing. I am of Moroccan heritage and I know the history of our people and France's flaws very well, but I found Professor Brozgal double-standard toward white people borderline racist. We analyzed a film in which an Arab protagonist said they wanted to "go home" referring to North Africa, which Professor Brozgal said was logical since that was their homeland (even though Arabs are not native to North Africa). But the next film, when a white protagonist living in Africa said she wanted to "go home," Professor Brozgal basically said she was insane. I found this pretty odd because in both cases, the people making the statement are not native to the place to which they want to "go home," yet because Arabs are POC Professor Brozgal seemed to apply some sort of reverse racist perspective that suggests white people are all insane European colonizers and Arabs are the native victims of the Middle East, which is not rooted in historical truth.

Also, some of our class readings like Fanon's "On Violence" encouraged violence and I was troubled by the fact that Professor Brozgal didn't disagree with it or at least noted that violence is not the only way, as we've seen historically in many places around the world that underwent a decolonization process.

I could keep talking about this for a while, but my final note is that there is just not a lot of room to express your beliefs in this class. It was basically sitting for 75 mins and listening to the Professor's analysis of the film that week. It's an easy A/A+ GE but I cannot recommend it because I found myself not wanting to go to lecture at a certain point. It felt like the class was more detrimental to students than beneficial, pushing for extremism and a black-and-white perspective in some cases. I managed to express my perspective when I could in discussion but I wish there was more discussion in-class too...

Brozgal is a great professor- definitely take this class as an easy GE or if you are even somewhat interested in french culture. The class consisted of a weekly screening, reading, and quiz. The movies were a little boring and hard to follow as they were all in french obviously with english subtitles. However you don’t even need to watch the movies or do the readings to get 100% on every quiz. She covers all the material that will be on each quiz during lecture. They are 10 question quizzes that help your grade a lot. There is no final, just a final project that was a lot of work tbh but they make you start it very early so it’s very manageable. Would definitely recommend this class.

you watch a movie before every week and attend lectures on it. selected movies were great with lot of social commentary. class is about race in french cinema, so you learn a lot about french history and social issues. it's an interesting and easy class. highly recommend

There is no midterm or final for this class, only quizzes and a group project which were very easy, plus there's a film to watch each week. Prof. Brozgal's lectures are engaging and she's really kind and helpful. French movies are a lot more interesting than I thought lol, but maybe it's because she chose really good ones. There is no textbook and the quizzes are based on lecture content, so as long as you listened in class you should be fine. I'd really recommend this class!

Super interesting class, Brozgal is a strong lecturer who teaches interesting content, favorite class of the quarter!