film analysis

Term Paper/Final Essay Assignment — Due May 27th

WHAT: 5-6 page paper, 1400-1800 words
HOW: Uploaded to Canvas, PDF or Word Doc

Basic Description:  For this assignment, you will be required compare and contrast formal/social analyses of two films that have been screened for our class (that is, are on our syllabus and in our official class screenings).

A few notes about the essay:

— Please do not write a paper about BOTH Rear Window and Citizen Kane, since the films are both works of the classical Hollywood system.  You might write about one or the other as one of the two films you are analyzing.

–You are welcome to consult outside sources for material, but if you do so you should be absolutely certain that you cite them in your paper as sources using an established citation format (MLA, Chicago, APA).  If citing secondary works, please cite at least one text we have read in class, so we can be sure you have checked those as well.

Tips for Writing:

Unlike the weekly scene responses, your unit of analysis is an entire film, not just a single scene or sequence.  An analysis of a film, however, is built out of readings of individual scenes or elements. In this spirit YOU WILL LIKELY WANT TO FOCUS ON 2-3 SCENES FROM EACH FILM as evidence of your point.
While our sequence analysis focused on formal techniques and their relation to the larger film, here you will want to expand your formal reading to include the social/political/historical dimensions that we have been discussing in the second half of the class.  Thus, in addition to a consideration of sound, cinematography, editing, narrative structure, etc. you will also want to consider issues around race, gender, nationality, historical context, political environment, etc.
As a compare contrast, your argument will derive from finding similarities and differences between the two films.  For a formal social comparative analysis, a thesis might pursue one of the following structures:
NOTE: As a resource for general advice on writing papers on films, see Nicholss Engaging CinemaChapter 12, especially, in this case, 441-42 on the search for a topic.

Similar formal strategies, divergent social contexts (A)

While both FILM A and FILM B utilize classical continuity editing and place their characters in gritty natural settings, FILM A utilizes these techniques to uphold traditional moral values about x while FILM B explores the manner in which they unravel in the face of conflict.

Divergent formal strategies, similar social context (B)

While both FILM C and FILM D explore the role of masculinity in the context of harsh natural environments, FILM Cs use of handheld cinematography, tracking shots and natural lighting do x while Film Ds reliance on montage techniques offer a more fractured view overall.

Some divergence, some similarity (the mixed model)

Film E and Film F both utilize low key lighting and other Film Noir techniques to explore the evacuation of political commitments within bourgeois capitalism, for Film E this implies x whereas for Film F this upholds y.

Please keep in mind the paper-writing techniques we have discussed in relation to the first essay and in your sections:  developing a clear argument/thesis, dynamic arguments, key sentences (especially topic and concluding sentences), and writing about the film in a way that avoids simply describing (avoiding extended plot summary of two or more sentences in a row) or reviewing it as a good or bad film.

NOTE: In your argument and sequence analyses, you do not need to mention every technique.  Youll notice from the sample essays in Nichols and the Film Analysis book that the sequence analyses emphasize one or two or three techniques the argument foregrounds.  You should analyze only those techniques that help your argument (rather than an encyclopedic catalogue of all techniques in a sequence).

Sample formal techniques for the Argument:

These are techniques and themes around which you might develop your argument (they are not arguments in themselves)

The familiar main areas of technique and their contribution to filmic narrative

— the evolution of editing/importance of editing to narrative
— the role of sound in filmic narrative
— how camera work (distance, movement, for example) contribute to the narrative
— the role played by mise-en-scene (lighting, sets, costumes, actors) in the overall filmic system
–the construction of film narrative (plot/story, cause/effect, Classical Hollywood narrative, etc.).

Sample social contexts you might consider (there are many more)

— how gender is constructed in the narrative and how it functions in the films more generally (consider, for instance, costume or lighting effects).
— how social forces (bigger than the will of any one character) are depicted in the films
— how do race and/or ethnicity function in films and how are they coded/constructed technically
— the role of genre in the viewers experience of a film
— how the films construct and utilize space in their narratives? You might consider private and public space.
— how work or play is represented (technically) in the films and how it stands in for class
— in what ways does generational conflict play an important role in the films and how is it constructed technically.

The film that I choose are
Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 112 mins, USA
Cle from 5 to 7, Agns Varda, 1962, France, 90 mins.

 

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