The first two films, Bicycle Thieves and Aquí y Alla, are connected by realism and humanism. Indeed, there are
many ways to connect these two movies, even as they are very different in style, nation, mode and year of
production. The third film we’ll screen is Black Girl, which connects to the preceding film (Aquí y Alla) by virtue
of their shared theme of border crossing, and to the following film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, both of
which are directorial debuts.
For this essay your first task is to choose your own film to follow either Aquí y Alla OR Black Girl. Your choice
must set a new path by using a different connector than the one listed on the syllabus. Find another point of
connection that will enable you to compare and contrast the films and to analyze them in new contexts. This
connector could be any number of things, including nation, director, other themes, etc. Whatever it is, this point
of connection should function as a mechanism for you to analyze the film of your choice (and both, as you see
fit) in a new and related light. When in doubt, get analytical and analogous!
Kanopy is an excellent source to help you find a relevant movie. You can search its collection by personnel,
country, genre, etc. Use a traditional essay structure, complete with introduction and thesis, a body comprised
of paragraphs that illustrate your thesis, and conclusion. First-person ‘I’ is fine, but this essay is chiefly
analytical (rather than a film review or an opinion piece), remember.
A few things to avoid: leave out plot recaps (except when you feel the need to include some in order to clarify
your analysis) and gushing superlatives (this isn’t a review, remember).
Link Black Girl Film:
=> You can search the film “Aqui y Alla” on Kanopy