Final Film Critique: Film and Social Resonance Analysis
Throughout this course, you have written essays and participated in discussion forums in an effort to analyze various elements of film, using different theoretical lenses. Considering that this is the final writing assignment, you will want to review all previous class materials, including all chapters read and discussion board responses.
You are encouraged to incorporate writing from your Week 2 and Week 3 assignments only after you have reflected on your instructor’s feedback and revised the relevant parts of the essays accordingly. Additionally, refer to the outline template in the Week 4 assignment. As you are incorporating your previous work, be sure to consider the broader requirements and context of this assignment, especially regarding film as a medium of social commentary. Do not simply cut and paste material but rather use it as a building block to construct a new paper addressing this prompt’s requirements.
This final film critique is your opportunity to combine the previously addressed elements from Weeks’ 2 and 3 papers into analyzing one film and how it might influence society or shine a light on a social issue.
Choose a film from this List of Approved Films Download List of Approved Films. Review the Week 5 Sample Paper Download Week 5 Sample Paper.
Note: You should watch your chosen film twice—once to ensure that you have grasped the storytelling and once more to specifically analyze scenes, techniques, and elements of the film for your paper. If you would like to write about a film not listed, you must contact your professor to request approval in advance or you may not receive credit for this assignment.
Write:
In your introductory paragraph,
Identify your selected film, including writer, director, year of release, and genre.
Summarize the film in which you apply your knowledge of the difference between the film’s story and its plot.
Describe one of the broad theories you have learned about in class (auteur theory, genre theory, formalist theory) that you will use to analyze your film in this paper.
Develop a thesis statement that describes how the specific elements of your chosen film work together to communicate themes relating to a particular social issue.
Visit the Writing a Thesis Statement Links to an external site. resource from the UAGC Writing Center.
In the body of your paper,
Analyze your selected film using one of the broad theories you have learned about in class (auteur theory, genre theory, formalist theory).
Evaluate the use of three specific techniques and design elements employed in the film as they contribute to the overarching narrative, theme, and social commentary of your chosen film. This can include elements of mise-en-scène (e.g., lighting, sound, composition of frame, costuming, etc.) and editing (e.g., cuts and transitions, shots used, angles, etc.).
Describe the ways in which your chosen film has impacted society or how it has called attention to a particular social issue (i.e., politically or culturally, positive or negative).
In the conclusion of your paper,
Draw connections between each element of your chosen film and how they contribute to the film’s overall stance on a particular social issue, if it is effective in doing so, and why addressing this issue is necessary to society.
