In this course, you have been introduced to the vocabulary, concepts, and structures used in formal analyses of film.
Thesis Statement
For this assignment, you will construct an argument connecting a films form to its thematic meaning, synthesizing your analysis with evidence from outside sources.
Consider the theses we have constructed for class, and the essays you read on Casablanca for your previous assignment. What kind of argument speaks to the underlying significance of the film? How do essays synthesize visual analysis with outside sources? This is the model you should attempt to follow for your own analysis.
Your analysis will contain the following:
Evidence from the film After watching the film in its entirety, consider how the film uses form to create meaning. Select 1-2 sequences from the film, and analyze how the aesthetic strategies in those segments connect to the film as a whole and the significance of the aesthetic techniques. Be specific in your description detail the relevant aspects of form (mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound, editing, etc); describe them using appropriate vocabulary; and construct an argument that speaks to the films overall meaning. This is not a question of plot or information; your analysis must extend beyond this scene is important because thats when Luke finds out who is father is!
Evidence from beyond the film Include 1-2 outside sou
rces that speak to your understanding of the film, or that provide context to your argument. These may speak to the context of the film (its production, or its reception) or to the context of your understanding of theme, or they may speak to the film itself. You must have two peer-reviewed, academic sources peer reviewed books or articles. Additional sources can be from (reputable) popular culture sites, reviews, etc. No sources from Wikipedia, IMDb, the dictionary, etc. Outside sources must be integrated into your argument, and substantiate some part of your analysis they are to serve as evidence in support of your thesis. If you have questions about suitability of a source, just ask!
Submitting
Your full essay (3-4 full pages + bibliography, 12-point standard font, double spaced, 1 margins) will be submitted as a PDF file in the dropbox by June 1.
Chicago style for citation is preferred.
Film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Example of what essay is suppose to be like is Casablanca film essay Kunze, Peter. Beautiful Friendship: Masculinity and Nationalism in Casablanca. Studies in
Popular Culture 37:1 (Fall 2014): 19-37.
Nachbar, Jack. Doing the Thinking For All of Us: Casablanca and the Home Front. Journal
of Popular Film & Television 27:4 (2000): 5-15.
Raskin, Richard. Casablanca and United States Foreign Policy. Film History 4:2 (1990): 153-
165.