After reading all of the previous reviews I still decided to take the class because of the fact that it had no discussion and a lot of people were getting A's. While that is true, you have to think about what you want. If you don't want to think about the class and want a lot of free time during the lecture to do other work, then it's probably worth it. This year it was 2 classes for an hour and 20 minutes . However, you have to understand that once finals roll around, you will be completely and utterly unprepared. The final is a take home final, featuring 3 short papers, which doesn't sound that bad. No. Wrong. You have to use quotes from all the readings that you will undoubtably not do, and the prompts are complicated, theoretical, and make little sense- much like Lunenfeld's teaching style. Most of the assignments in this class will have you thinking: why am I doing this. Also, the majority of the information is made up by Lunenfeld himself, along with the readings which are mostly written by him. If you actually want to learn something, this class is a bad idea. But if you are the type of person (which a lot of us are) who thinks a quarter of doing nothing is worth being completely and utterly lost for the final, then it's worth it. Also, your grade depends on your TA, so if you have a bitchy TA then you're screwed. If you have a nice TA, the class is a cake walk and you don't have to worry about the fact that nothing you write makes sense.

This class is very much what you have read from previous comments. Attendance is mandatory, but attendance is also all you truly need to succeed in this class. Show up, pay attention, take notes, and you will be fine. The class consisted of 2 reflections on outside events, a photo analysis project, a midterm and a take home essay final. That is it. You can get by without doing most of the readings if you focus during lecture. At times the class can be rather dry, especially during more of the history lectures, but in general, Lunenfeld does a good job of making the topic interesting. I highly recommend taking this course. Not only is it rather easy, it is also interesting and worth while.

Professor Lunenfeld is clearly passionate at what he does. He tries to keep lectures engaging and mention interesting topics in class. The main topic I found really interesting was when we had to watch Double Indemnity and had a conversation about it for one class. That was super cool and interesting. Although he tries his best to make it fun and engaging, I must say that this class is really boring, but at least lectures aren't 3 hours. Despite this Lunenfeld is very understanding and cares for his students. Due to the fires, many people left campus for a few weeks. As a result, he cancelled all quizzes and 1/2 of the reviews he initially had. The reviews were simple (if you taken Desma 10 it's basically the same) and midterm was in class. Although the midterm was written in class, it was not bad at all since he gives you the short answer questions the day before to plan. As for the final, it was a take home where you just submit it on BruinLearn during finals week (same style as the midterm). My advice to tackling the midterm and final is take notes in the readings, Lunenfeld uploads his slides, so you can also refer back to them as well. Other than that, this class was boring but it was a good class! Also you don't need to pay for textbook!!!

TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU WANT TO BOOST YOUR GPA. Theres theres a midterm, some photo/art reviews (which I did pretty much the day they were due and got A's), a midterm, and a final essay which is 3, 3 page essays. I would recommend doing the essays a week in advance because it got in the way of studying for my finals, but overall It was pretty easy. Most people, including me, just sign in and leave. It's 2 days a week, no discussion. If you don't stay for the lectures, it won't matter cause everything is based on common sense.

Pretty easy class overall. He's very helpful during office hours and helps edits your papers. TAs also are open to proofreading your papers and they also grade them, so I would suggest giving them your essays for them to look over. I would recommend this class if you want an easy ge!

Professor Lunenfeld is easily one of the most engaging professors I've had at UCLA. I finished this class and immediately looked for other classes to take with him. Would highly recommend him and any classes he offers, whether you're a DMA major or not!

This class was honestly a waste of my time. I thought that I would enjoy this class, even as a person who is a science major, because I do enjoy learning about media and all of its effects but i was WRONG. The lectures themselves were some of the most boring things I've ever had to sit through and I did not learn anything. Aside from their being barely any assignments [a photo response, 2 reviews, a midterm, and a final (which are three, 750 word essays)],no discussion, and only really having to check into class and being able to leave after(which I didn't always do), I regret taking this class. Most of my regret stems from the fact that the final is complete B.S. and asks questions that honestly only the professor would know the answer to since he literally makes up his own material (time periods, words, etc.) that does not actually exist, which means there is no other research you can do other than read his books (which also are very vague and do not make much sense). I was actually disappointed because I thought I was going to like the class. However, he did show a really good movie in class for a week and for that I am grateful.

Honestly, idk if I would say this is a very easy GE class. I was super excited to take this class b/c I was interested to learn more about media arts, but this class didn't really fulfill my expectations. The lectures were super boring which made most students just come in only to do attendance on the Archive app & leave right after. The other assignments such as picture response and exhibition reviews were super easy to do. However, the midterm and the final were kinda hard for me to answer b/c I had to incorporate materials from the lectures or the readings & it was hard for me to explain them in my own words. The questions definitely were challenging & required organizing & effort, and with my TA Tristan who was known to be that one DESMA TA who grades harshly, I struggled even more. Tristan was nice and understanding when I turned in my final paper 4 days late b/c of COVID-19 breakout, but it was a bit sad to get an A- from DESMA 8 where literally all of my other friends got an A or an A+. If you are a good writer, this class might be right for you, but if you hate and suck at writing as much as I do, then I would think about taking it. This class wasn't bad but wasn't the best either.

based af

Prepare to open you eyes and consider media from perspectives you may never have considered before. Lunenfeld's classes, especially this one, are nothing basic. You will delve into interesting and dense topics regarding the history of media and where it is going. These concepts are not particularly easy - but participate in the discussion and the lectures and you will find it enriching. The readings in this class can be hard, but they are some of the most interesting and perhaps revolutionary I have read at UCLA.