Assignment 3

Assignment

• Your job in this assignment is to analyze a film both in terms of its story as well as its form (similar to the way you may have analyzed poems, short stories, plays or novels in a literature class). That is, you should be able to offer the reader a thesis-based argument about what you see emerging as a major issue in the film, typically with reference to specific scenes. Advancing such an argument about film also requires of you to pay attention to the way the film itself is put together, the way it is made up from a series of technical elements such as camera work, editing, the montage of scenes, the musical score/sound track, and lighting, to name just a few.
• Often we get so wrapped up in the illusory power of film or it's entertainment quality that we tend to be oblivious to the very machinery producing what we are watching. And while we are typically able to recall what a film is "about" and what "messages" it may be trying to send, it is hard to be aware of these more "invisible" elements of film making---visible as they always are. In this assignment, your job is to be attentive to both: what does the film, in your view, want to show, and how does it do the showing?

Advance Preparation

• To prepare yourself for both our collective and individual screenings, you may find it useful to work through (which is to say, not just "read") several detailed reviews of the film of your choice, and perhaps consult some other film-specific resources: this way, you can familiarize yourself with the film and get your bearings even before watching it (see FilmPal for access to such sources). As well, you may learn interesting and relevant ideas about a director's style and intentions, the actors themselves, as well as the film's very production history. More immediately important, having advance knowledge about the film's major themes frees your attention so that you can be more, well, "attentive" to the more invisible technical elements of the actual film as you watch it (perhaps even repeatedly).

Note Taking

• Make sure that you take good notes during the screening. You may find it useful to divide your note-taking sheets by separating (at least for the moment) the "themes/scenes" (2/3) from the "technical elements" (1/3) of the film. In your actual film paper, you will of course be asked to combine these categories, but for the time being, keeping track of these different dimensions of the film might be good idea. Since film moves rather quickly, and since frames tend to be surcharged with information below our threshold of immediate perception, it is almost impossible to catch and write down everything you notice. For that reason, I would recommend that you spend some time immediately after watching the film filling in the blanks you may have left. Your recall is best then---though naturally not approaching the "total recall" of certain combat cyborgs! Of course, watching a film more than once can also be tremendously useful; I would, in fact, highly recommend it. You might be surprised what you spot during a second, third, or fourth go-around!
• As you move from your notes to the analytical film paper, you may want to start by re-viewing the reviews you have studied, understanding that your own analysis should go beyond mere summary (important as that is to orient the ignorant reader) and your likes and dislikes about the film. In particular, you should be able to (1) connect the themes you see surfacing in the film to specific scenes and furthermore (2) connect these themes to the camera work, the editing, scenic arrangement and the soundtrack of the film, among others. Eventually, you need to develop a thesis about the film and combine its themes with the way they are presented (that is, translated filmically). We have done that in our own class discussions of specific films, and your job is to do the same. Please feel free to look at professional film reviews or posted student essays as possible models for your own essays in progress, but remember that a film review does not always advance a thesis the way this assignment asks you do to it.

Additional Pointers

• If the film follows a certain formula or cliche (from rags to riches, the ugly duckling) or fits into a certain genre (romantic comedy, thriller), how does it conform and complicate these patterns?  After all, no film wants to just redo, in the same way, what has already been done.
• If appropriate, refer to the director's or the actors' other work and discuss similarities in style and content.
• If your film is a so-called "adaptation" from a novel, ask how the director has made that transition into the new medium (Of Mice and Men, The Man Who Would Be King, October Sky, etc.)? Is the film a "faithful" rendition of the literary model Does it take "liberties"?  Is it a virtually new story altogether, with the literary model serving only as a general background?  What are the challenges and possibilities of translating a novel into a film?
• How does the camera work, the editing, and the sound track enhance the issues in the film---usually in specific scenes---and how does the title relate to the film itself?

Length and Due Dates

• 3-5 typed, double-spaced pages
• Fri 27 Oct discussion of in-class screening; research and screen your own film over the weekend
• Mon 30 Oct First draft (plus extra copy), including notes on the film. While I will not collect your first draft on that day, have it available for improvement during our revision workshop
• Wed 1 Nov No class in lieu of conferences 10:00-11:30
• Fri 3 Nov In class: Second draft, including notebook, notes on film, previous draft(s)

Please Note

• As with your earlier essays, make sure that you staple your materials for this assignment before you come to class so that your final draft is on top and clearly recognizable, followed, in this case, by your film notes, your earlier draft(s), and your notebook underneath.

Purpose and Goals

• Become a more cognizant and discriminating viewer of films (enhance your "visual literacy," in current high-brow parlance)
• Begin thinking about the differences between print/books and film
• Develop some basic vocabulary with regard to film analysis
• Translate your observations/notes about film into a more formal and coherent essay
• Enhance your enjoyment of film in the future!

Evaluation

• Your grasp of a film's major themes and the way these themes are related to the film's technical/formal qualities
• Your ability to move from your notes to the essay
• Proper mechanics and punctuation

Sincere Tips

• While it is tempting and convenient to watch a film you have already seen, perhaps more than once, challenge yourself to select a film from our list that is outside your, let me call it, "radar screen" (or perhaps even "comfort zone"). Open your intellectual aperture by choosing a flick you might, under different circumstances, "flick off"! While films considered "difficult" might, indeed, ask more of you as a viewer, they may also be (though not always) more substantive. In other words, their form and content may provide you with more suggestive material for rich analyses.
• As always, visit the Writing Center at whatever stage you deem useful, and (as always as well) think of me as a resource.
• Use the Editing Checklist in the to fine tune the basics of your paper and use the resources to recap some of the film-related issues we have talked about and to clarify your terms, if necessary.
• Do not (try to) print out your paper—either at home or at school—on the morning your paper is due.