Synthesizing Three Movie Reviews of Jay Roach’s “Bombshell” (2019)

Step #1:  Read any three (3) of the four articles listed below on the movie Bombshell (2019).

  • Kenneth Turan,Review: Based on the real-life drama at Fox News, ‘Bombshell’ explodes on the screen(Los Angeles Times)
  • Manohla Dargis, “‘Bombshell’ Review:  Blind Ambition and Blond Sedition at Fox News” (The New York Times)
  • Ann Hornaday,Bombshell takes aim at Fox News and with Theron and Kidman headling hits its target.(Washington Post)
  • Linda Holmes, ‘Bombshell’ Imitates, But Fails To Enlighten” (NPR) (You can also find these articles in .pdf format at the bottom of the discussion prompt.)

Step #2:  Review the worksheet on using a synthesis matrix featured in this week’s Content.

Step #3:  Complete a synthesis matrix for the three articles you’ve read. This includes:

Identifying at least three (3) main ideas or topics covered by the reviews (e.g., plot, actors, #MeToo, gender bias, etc.)

Taking notes on what the critics write about these main ideas (e.g., “Lee praises the plot as interesting…” and “Reed finds the plot too confusing…”)

Jotting down quotes that support your observations (e.g., “Lee writes, ‘The story has movie-goers at the edge of their seats the whole three hours…”)

Step #4:  Identify at least two key issues or questions that are particularly problematic or controversial or striking or worthy of exploring.   These would be issues/questions that can be supported by at least two of the articles.  They may be points on which the critics agree or disagree, issues that weren’t adequately addressed, or ideas that are explored in the reviews (e.g., “What did the critics think about Colin Firth’s cameo?” or “Discussion of political bias in the movie’s portrayal of the vice president”).  Ask yourself, what ideas/issues that are shared among the articles might be interesting to pursue further?

Step #5:  Explain how these issues are played out in the reviews (1-2 sentences).  What are the critics’ positions on these issues?  What was stated/not stated? What other questions does this issue introduce? (For example, for “Why didn’t the critics recognize the cinematography?” you might write about how one critic barely mentioned the cinematography, while another stated how it was overrated, focusing more on the acting.)

Note that a sample response to this discussion, based on three reviews of Danny Boyle’s _Steve Jobs_, appears in the Content for this week.

Step #6:  Post your matrix, your two issues/questions, and your 1-2 sentence analysis.