Marty Norden - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: Marty Norden

Department: Communication

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: COMM342
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Marty Norden is an excellent film professor and historian. A published author, he is overtly passionate about the motion picture industry and it's history, representations, conventions, and standards. A very friendly and approachable man, his class is a breeze (open book exams don't hurt). Watched some great films, and learned a lot.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: COMM140
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Marty is a very friendly professor, but, wow, was his class boring. He typically spent the first 20 minutes making communication department announcements, and he often lost my interest by the time it was time to take notes. He went on many tangents that didn't seem connected to the class. The open-book exams also proved to me how little he taught.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: COMM140
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Definitely a passionate/knowledgable professor who genuinely cares about his students and providing help to those going into the industry (good at this), but I felt extremely bored during most of the lectures in this class. Lots of class time devoted to unnecessary course announcements, I didn't learn much that will make me enjoy films more.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: COMM140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

In this class it's definitely important to attend each class and take good notes by paying attention to what is said. 2 exams, each 25%, open note and book but still pretty challenging (yes, I studied). 1 paper on a specific film, and weekly response papers make up the rest of your grade. Clearly a professor who is passionate about this course.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: COMM140
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I pride myself on being able to pay attention in even the most boring of classes but I really struggled with this one. 50% of your grade is two exams, both of which are very lecture specific. 25% is made up of in-class writings which never actually get handed back so you have no idea how you're doing. 25% is the formal paper. Not a great professor.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: COMM445
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Marty knows a lot about film, and provides a lot of interesting content in his lectures. Some people may say he rambles, but I think it makes lecture more interesting. I've taken a few courses with him, and have enjoyed every single one. He is a intelligent guy, but very modest. He is a grades fair and gives good feedback. Super nice guy also!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: COMM140
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

An easy class if you attend, and take more than the minimal notes he provides on his powerpoints. He is clearly very passionate about he subject. The class can get long, as he does tend to ramble, but he is an interesting guy. I learned a lot more in this class than I expected to. Only a paper, midterm, and final.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: COMM140
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Marty rambles for the whole lecture which can get frustrating when no notes are given. Even the notes he does give, you have to look in the book or pay close attention to figure out what he's talking about. However, the class is easy and not too much work is required. The only time I used the textbook was for the midterm and final.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: COMM340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Super boring. Goes on long rants and sometimes it's hard to tell what is relevant and what can be ignored. Also makes no effort to provide notes, so you have no choice but to decide for yourself what is important, which is difficult when he is on a rant.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: COMM445
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Marty is super nice! He rambles... a lot. Thankfully, Screenwriting has no tests, only lots of long writing, so you don't have to pay attention in lecture. You only have to show up!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: COMM140
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This professor is brilliant at this course, he is highly knowledgeable and very passionate. He's also quite helpful and each lecture is meticulously prepared. The collection of movies he shows is also quite interesting. Would definitely recommend this class, especially if you're a freshman.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: COMM140
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He seemed like a nice guy, but I didn't enjoy his teaching style. He's a little all over the place and has a tendency to ramble, which I found incredibly annoying. Two exams, both open note/book. The films we watched in class were hit and miss. Most were pretty good, but I would have preferred more variety as far as genre was concerned.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: COMM342
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Really great guy who knows a lot about film. Knows so much that sometimes gets caught up in himself while lecturing. What is written on the slides is key otherwise the tests consist of the book (which is a fairly easy read) and the viewed films. Interesting class, recommended.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: COMM342
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Nice guy, but needs to teach better. Rambled in class about stuff that was never on the test, you need to study the book to figure the tests out. Asked questions on his test that were clearly meant to trick people. Movies were good, but there were few questions about them on the tests. Not a bad class, just need alot of adjustment teaching-wise.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: COMM340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

the tests are pretty hard, and there is a lot of reading - but i thought it was a worthwhile class to take

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: SCREENWRITING
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He wastes time having us read our entire scripts aloud instead of teaching us something. It's like he's too lazy to come up with a lesson plan. He is a really nice guy, but I wish I took this class with Geisler. Norden has no screenwriting credentials. Also for a writing course I think he grades too harshly and he doesn't allow peer review or rewri

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: COMM240
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

A great professor. This was my first film related class here at Umass, and he made it just as enjoyable as I had expected. I would recommend anyone to take at least one class with this guy, probably one of the most helpful professor's I've ever known.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: COMM240
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Another just flat-out genuine guy.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: COMM240
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I like him a lot and I like the class cause I learned a lot and the movies were interesting. Marty has tendency to ramble and can be a bit anal but otherwise he is a sweet guy, very student friendly, willing to help you. He is a fair grader, the exam is hard if you don't go to classes and don't pay attention to the lectures.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: 70SFILM
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

best class at umass...he knows his stuff