I love this guy! One of the top professors I’ve ever had here. His lectures are super easy to understand and easy to follow. Plus he’s an all around sweetheart. He truly cares about his students and wants all of them to learn the beauty of filmmaking. Plus, you can bring snacks to movie days, so it’s almost like you’re in a movie theater while watching movies. The class usually watches the movies on Thursdays, and the majority of notetaking is done on Tuesday’s. I was always so excited to go to class because that’s how much I loved it. In this particular class, you get to watch the films of Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Alfred Hitchcock, James Dean, just to name a few. The only movie I didn’t like in the class was “The Piano.” It was pretty creepy and disturbing. But that’s my only complaint.
There are four pop quizzes which are open note, so it’s very easy to get an A on those. The midterm and final are extremely easy, as he tells you exactly what to study for them. No surprises at all. Just go over your notes and you’ll be solid. The group project is also really easy; each group is given a made up script from a different era (50s, 60s, 70s, etc) and you have to pick which actor and actress would be best for the leading roles. You will get an A long as you give specific and concrete reasons as to why you would cast a certain actor or actress in a movie being made. I got an A, and not only is it easy to get an A, the class is extremely entertaining. TAKE HIM TO BOOST YOUR GPA AND YOUR WILL TO LIVE!!

CONGRATULATIONS TRAVELLER! You found one of the best classes at UCLA! New Achievement Unlocked! You have overcome many obstacles to find this note on Bruinwalk, and for that may your path forward be forged in lucky enrollment into this course. +10 knowledge +10 endurance +10 magic... 4.0 GPA. Although the journey to Graduation may be long and treacherous, you may use this gift as a temporary resting spot where you may refuel your reserves and plan your next attack. Go forth, brave one, and may luck continue to be in your favor forever.

If you don't take this class, you must really not like yourself. This class is so easy and so fun. The 120 series with Peter is probably the best series offered at UCLA. All you have to do is watch movies and pay attention. And you don't even have to watch them in class. I honestly watched most of the films assigned at home. There are four pop quizzes, and one of them is dropped, but they mainly occur on Tuesday lectures because that's when he expects you to be there because he's covering new information. The info on the lectures is insanely simple to grasp, and the professor is welcoming to questions and willing to help you out if you have trouble. He really cares about his students and the material he's teaching. He's been doing this for a long time, and there's very few professors I've met who still care about what they are teaching. The quizzes and the midterm are 75% short response and then there's a few MC questions. If you don't know the answer to the short response, you can usually get away with writing something close to what you think the answer is, and then he'll go over it in class. There is one group project at the end of the course where you have to cast a movie based on a certain time period and genre. The casting is totally up to you and your group, so have fun with it and hope you have an agreeable group. Then you'll have to present in front of the professor and the TAs, the rest of the class leaves beforehand so less pressure. I watched a lot of films I hadn't seen before because of this class, so I really appreciated it. I can't implore you enough to take this course, so I hope you get lucky with enrollment!

This is probably my favorite class so far at UCLA and I am a psychology major. During this difficult time, he was so caring, helpful, and considerate. I actually would look forward to lectures and watching films because of how interesting he made the class. If you need an elective, his classes are an absolute must!!

TAKE ANY CLASS YOU CAN WITH THIS PROFESSOR!
He's funny, kind, and approachable. I learned a lot and enjoyed every second of it.
You get to watch films and analyze acting which is very interesting.
LOVE PROFESSOR SHUSHTARI!!!!!

although it says its a theater class, its a film class basically. there is no acting involved in this class. the focus of the class is studying the different genres found in film and their history.

the class consists of 1 midterm paper, 4 open note pop quizzes (lowest grade dropped), a closed book test, a group presentation, and a final paper. this class is not curved.

the history of film and the creation of new film genres is actually pretty interesting. the class itself is pretty easy since there is minimal studying - he gives you the test questions in advance, you just have to memorize the answers for the exam day. the sucky part is the group presentation because you have to watch 5 movies on your own time, and youre assigned to a group of random people that may not take the class as serious as you.

I would recommend this class as an easy upperdiv though.

If you’re looking for a light course load, do NOT take this class. There are 3 papers, 5 quizzes, 2 textbooks to read, and 10 movies to watch. Not to mention that the lecture’s 6 HOURS per week. What’s worse is that TAs would grade every quizzes and papers like it’s fxxxing MCAT or CHEM 153A lol. They’re eager to take every points out of your assignments so be prepared! The professor didn’t really seem to care about how unfair the TAs were.

UNLESS you really LOVE watching old films, do not take this class!

I loved this class. It is pretty easy with not much homework (three papers throughout the quarter, including midterm and final). Half of the classes are movie nights which honestly was amazing. Peter Shushtari is also an amazing professor, who is passionate about his subject. Going to class was always such a pleasure; I highly recommend taking this course!

Class consisted of- 4 open book & open lecture quizzes which the professor reveals during the span of mulitple lectures very easy points, 1 course reader quiz which is open book (you have a week or two to do it), & 3 Papers (Acting essay, Midterm, & Final) that are not long or complicated in structure as you must go right into explaining the material rather than setting up the essay with an intro paragraph or any fluff. Very nice! Lectures are long but they are recorded! & it was a very good time! Recommend it!!!

Easy upper division class + GPA booster. I only had to invest a little bit of my time for this course as the graded materials are pretty light. No participation required and average/light grading materials [1 course reader quiz, 4 easy quizzes that have pre-given questions +3 days to turn it in, 1 essays (2pg) & Midterm + Final (3-4pg)]. Btw the midterm and the final are also essays that are 3-4 pages long so not that much work :) TA's deduct small points for grammar, commas, and other tedious things but generally you will receive a high score even with these small deductions. I ended up with ~95% for my overall grade so if you do your work, this course will def reward you!