final eassy
Final Essay Assignment: Interpretive Analysis of a Film Conduct an interpretive analysis of a film of your choice. Focus on aesthetic elements and how they shape the overall meaning of the film. Consider also how specific historical and cultural contexts affect what the film is trying to say. Essay Guidelines:1. RESEARCH:Rely on ONE SCHOLARLY secondary source. This can be a book, a scholarly peer-reviewed article published in an academic journal (i.e.: Cinema Journal,Senses of Cinema), or an article in a specialized magazine (Cahiers du Cinma, Sight and Sound, Film Comment, Film Quarterly, American Cinematographer). You may also use other secondary sources, such as DVD commentaries, online sources such as film reviews (preferably from New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times), Internet Movie Database (IMDb), and similar. However,these do notcount as the one secondary source you are obliged to use for your final essay.The one scholarly secondary source you use needs to be ANNOTATED. This means it has to have at least one paragraph (8 sentences minimum): a) summarizing the text overall, b) outlining the authors main argument, and c) an example s/he is using to support it.2. CONTENT:Engage in a dialogue with your source. That is, explain why you either agree or disagree with an authors assertion. In order for your essay to be successful, you need to engage in at least one such dialogue where you examine an authors position in detail.Give a clear historical and cultural context for the filmyou are analyzing. That is, explain how the time period and its cultures/politics (the dominant ideology) affected the overall meaning of the film you are analyzing. Interpretive analysis of the film should account for the aesthetic elements of filmand their effects on how the audiences experience and make sense of the film.Interpretive analysis should be grounded in concreteshots, scenes or sequences from the film. That is, give a detailed description of the visuals you are analyzing. If appropriate, give an explanation of how the film you are analyzing fits into the larger body of the directors work. What are the recurrent themes and visual motifs that can be traced throughout his/her work? Does s/he like to work within a particular genre? If so, explain why.
23. ORGANIZATION:The introduction needs to include: 1. A brief summary of the film you are analyzing.2.Please, have a clearly discernible thesis main argument which needs to be underlined. A good thesis can be longer than one sentence. It needs to address WHAT is your argument, HOW are you going to go about proving it (what evidence you are going to use), and WHY is this important for the reader to know (it answers the So what? question).In order to ensure your essay is cohesive please, clearly develop your argument throughout your essay. This means that every paragraph (or two) addresses one aspect of your argument supported by a concrete example from a film (= evidence that illustrates your argument). That is, every paragraph explains, expands and adds to your main argument.4. FORMATTING:Your final essay should be 5-6pages, double-spaced, and typed in 12-pt font, with one-inch margins. Please, insert page numbers at the bottom of your page. Please, staple your paper.Please, make sure you cite your sources in footnotes (or endnotes). You may use any citation format you are comfortable with but please, be consistent.The BIBLIOGRAPHY (LIST OF REFERENCES) needs to be on a separate page, single spaced, and stapled together with the rest of your final essay. It will also contain the one scholarly ANNOTATED SOURCE.5. DEADLINES:5/25Essay Proposal 1 single-spaced pages minimum6/01First Draft 4 pages6/08Final Draft 5 6 pages(submit on Canvas)._______________________________________________________5/25Essay ProposalThe essay proposal should have the following elements:1.Clearly identified topic the film of your choice.2.Three concrete examples (of shots, sequences, ideas) from the film you will analyze. These examples may both generate and support your main argument.3.Give a tentative thesis statement. 4.List your sources. Oneof them needs to be annotated. This means that the source has to have at least one single-spaced paragraph (8sentences minimum) summarizing the text overall and outlining the authors main argument along with an example she is using to support it. Conclude with a brief explanation of why you either agree or disagree with authors assertions and how you plan on incorporating her ideas into your argument.
