ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Use the ESSAY Answer Template for your answers.
Write a total of three essays, one essay for each section (A, B, and C). Each answer must be a minimum of 600 words ( no more than 750 words).
You may write about each film ONLY ONCE. So each section will have different film.
You may write ONLY on films viewed in class. Films viewed outside of class are NOT eligible for analysis.
Indicate, by number, your answers.
It is very important that you support your analytical points with specific illustrations (cinematic evidence) from course films.
Eligible Films:
Casablanca
Double Indemnity
The Graduate
Goodfellas
The Silence of the Lambs
Ladybird
Wonder Woman
Moonlight
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Imitation Game
Ex Machina
Interstellar
SECTION A. Answer one of the following prompts.
Choose one genre of cinema (as outlined in the lectures, not as presented in the textbook): Classical, Modern, or Postmodern. In your essay, show how one or more films characterize this genre. Be sure to define and discuss the fundamental elements of this genre as suggested in the course lectures.
Compare and contrast two genres of cinema (Classical, Modern, or Postmodern), illustrating your answer by discussing one or more films. Be sure to define and discuss the fundamental elements of these genres as suggested in the course lectures.
Choose at least one important element in film interpretation (issues that might be examined include cultural perspectives, cinematic time, narrative trajectory, and fore structure) and illustrate your answer by illustrating it in one or more films.
SECTION B: Select two or more terms/concepts and apply them to one or more films viewed in class.
diegetic sound / non-diegetic sound / ambient sound / crane shot / framing / reframing / establishing shot / master shot / extreme close-up / close-up / medium shot / long shot / extreme long shot / Steadicam / slow motion / fast motion / chiaroscuro / deep focus cinematography / high-key lighting / low-key lighting / continuity editing / cutting on action / freeze-frame / shot/reverse shot / fade-in / fade-out / wipe / dissolve / montage / long take / climax / realism / antirealism / verisimilitude / voiceover / characterization / flat character / round character / cinematic time / flashback / flash-forward / inciting moment / omniscient point-of-view / single character point-of-view / group point-of-view / parallel editing / jump cuts / split screens
SECTION C: Select TWO issues from the list below and apply them to one or more films viewed in class.
Cultural assumptions of society and audiences
Character Stereotyping
Relationships, including love
Issues of identity
Images of women
Issues of Technology, including AI and Robotics
Issues of gender
Journey motif(s)
Themes of nostalgia and loss
Comic irony/satire/parody
Racial and ethnic portraits
American myth
Degradation/corruption
Portraits of Romance
Strategic or critical moment in a film
Ethical issues
Terror, horror, fear
International representations
Uses of violence
Issues of obsession
Coming of age narrative
Representations of urban life
Representations of rural life
