For this assignment, you will write a 5-7 page essay that analyzes a selected film in terms of its depiction of particular events and moments in contemporary European history. You are not concerned with describing the plot of the movie – though some description will inevitably be necessary – but rather with analyzing the main themes of the film and contextualizing those themes within selected
scholarly literature.
Keep in mind that the final paper should be 5-7 pages long and that it is a “1-2-3 essay” (1 film, 2 books, 3 articles).
Each of the following films deals with various aspects of 20th- and 21st-century Europe. Choose one of the following films and discuss the ways in which it addresses the culture, politics, and society of its time. Ensure that you consider both the events that are depicted in the film and the historical context within which the film is made (a film on collaboration made in the 1950s, for example, may not have the same intentions or politics as one made in the 1970s)
Your essay should draw on secondary literature written by historians (though one source from a film studies scholar is acceptable) in order to situate the film within historical debates on the key themes with which it engages. The secondary works need not address your chosen film directly but should help you develop an argument about the central topic and questions the film raises. By reading historical literature that treats these themes, you should be able to “read” the film in a more sophisticated manner, comparing/contrasting/analyzing the key themes and the stance on the subject matter that it presents to viewers.
