TERM ESSAY. You are required to submit your term essay as a MS WORD document, submitted through the Turnitin link on Canvas, which records the day and time of your submission. No other form of submission is acceptable. The term essay must be at least 1,500words and it is worth 250points. Your writing project involves much more than plot summary. In fact, plot summaries should be kept to a minimum (brief plot summaries or references are acceptable in support of an interpretive point). However, the term essay is not a research projects and you are expected to contribute an original essay on a film of your choosing (approved films are listed in MODULES). You are discouraged from drawing upon professional reviews, either from the Internet or other sources. Films shown in class are not eligible as choices for your essay. You are required to use at least FIVE approvedinterpretiveterms, which areposted on CANVAS in Modules.
Approved List of Films for Term Essay
Bonnie and Clyde
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Brokeback Mountain
Coal Miner’s Daughter
Field of Dreams
Invictus
Midnight Cowboy
The Joy Luck Club
The Natural
The Prince of Tides
The Silence of the Lambs
Thelma and Louise
Ulee’s Gold
White Oleander
Zoot Suit
In your term essay, you are required to boldface the terms and concepts that you are discussing.
Your essay must include a thesis statement or a purpose for your analysis of the film, which is a discussion of its characteristic components–yet more than a plot summary.
Your subject matter can be wide ranging, including (but not limited to nor necessarily requiring) the following issues:
• Themes, cultural assumptions, and perspectives;
• Comparisons (brief) with/references to other films by the same director and/or actor;
• Examination of acting performances related to cultural perspectives;
• Analysis of technical elements, which may include lighting (and shadows), camera angles and foci, acting, dialogue, sound, special effects, and so forth;
• Remember not to use contractions in formal writing.
The second part of your essay, the evaluative component, asks you to make an articulate judgment (or series of judgments about the film). In other words, you should indicate whether the film lives up to its potential (or fails to do so). You should have some clear criteria of evaluation in making your overall judgment (your descriptive criteria will provide you with supporting material here). One critical component in evaluation is effect. What effect(s) does the film have on you and how or why? Are these effects appropriate to the genre? Does the film introduce effects that are relatively innovative and new for you? (Your essay is NOT a research project.) How does this film compare with other films of the same genre with which you are familiar?
Your term essay should express in clear language the fundamental elements of the film, followed by your concrete judgment as to whether it is a good film, a poor film, or something in between.Do not leave your reader in doubt as to your overall judgment about the success or failure of the film. Sample student essays will be posted on Canvas. Some helpful reminders for your essays:
• You must choose a film to write about from the approved list on CANVAS.
• Film titles are always italicized / Give your essay a title / Double-space your essays and use a 12 point font.
• Be sure to identify and discuss/apply at least fiveterms/concepts from Looking at Movies.
• Useonlytermsfromthelistofapproved interpretive termsonCanvasfor your film analysis essay.
Approved Essay Terms
Editing
Cut
Close-up
Diegetic sound
Non-diegetic sound
Ambient sound
Point of view
Content
Form
Freeze frame
Realism?
Antirealism
Verisimilitude
Narrative
Genre
Plot
Character
Long shot
Close-up
Medium shot
Flashback
Flash-forward
Shot/reverse shot
Fade-in
First-person narrator
Voiceover narration
Round character
Flat character
Antihero
Antagonist
Rising action
Diegetic elements
?Non-diegetic elements
Ambient sound
?Foley sounds
Repetition
Mise-en-scene
?Décor
?Props
?Frame
Cinematography
Fade-out
Dissolve
?Split screen
Slow motion
Fast motion
Chiaroscuro