Length: 3-4 Pages double spaced (at a bare minimum – papers that fall beneath the page requirement will loose points).
A large part of any film or literature class involves learning how to construct a strong argument around a close reading of a text. In your English classes, this might mean doing a close reading of a passage from a book or stanza from a poem. In our film class, it means doing a close reading of a scene from a film. In the essay that you’re about to write, you will pick one film that we’ve viewed in class up to this point, and from that film, chose one scene that we haven’t discussed at length in class. From there, do a close reading of that scene, focusing on one of the following technical aspects of filmmaking: editing, cinematography,lighting, or sound. Throughout, focus on defending a clear thesis statement about the way that your technical aspect connects to the larger meaning of the scene you’ve chosen.
The scene should be short, lasting for no more than five minutes at an absolute maximum – the narrower your range of focus, the better your analysis will be. It can NOT be a scene that we’ve discussed in class. Take care not to waste time with plot summary and description – assume that your audience has seen the film and knows it well. Rather, focus on what you can tell us that isn’t already obvious from the story. Go into detail – what is your technical element doing in your scene, and what effect is it having on the audience? What is the point of that effect? Illustrate the ways in which form influences content. How does the technical construction of the scene influence the message that the film is trying to communicate? Be sure to use specific examples from your scene, and clearly explain how those examples illustrate the points that you’re trying to make. You only have a few pages, so don’t waste time on broad generalities – be as precise as possible.
Remember that even though you’re focusing on a close technical analysis of one scene, your paper still needs a clear and specific argument – a thesis statement. Remember that your argument should be both debatable and exigent. In other words, you should be able to imagine somebody reasonably disagreeing with your argument, and your argument should also be important enough that somebody would bother to contest it in the first place. Do not simply state the obvious – your argument needs to offer some insight that the audience wouldn’t necessarily get simply by passively viewing the film for themselves.
Your thesis also needs to be more than a list of things discussed in your paper – it needs to make a clear and focused point that other people could potentially disagree with. For example, writing, “Through its use of close-ups, tracking shots, and canted angles, cinematography is very important in A Touch of Evil” would not be adequate as a thesis. That thesis simply lists things in the paper and then makes a broad and vague claim that few would argue with. A much more acceptable thesis would look like this: “By constantly disrupting the viewer’s stability with jarring camera angles, the cinematography in A Touch of Evil illustrates the film’s central theme that ethics and morality are not stable in a border town.” While not perfect and not especially original, the thesis makes a clear and specific argument about the role a technical element has on the film’s meaning.
In terms of outside sources: you are not required or expected to do research or cite sources in your paper. However, if you do cite sources, do so properly, using MLA format, and include a works cited list with your paper. The University of Maryland Libraries website has an MLA Style Guide that you can consult.
Lastly: be original. While I do not expect you to write groundbreaking essays that will revolutionize the way we think about movies, I do want to see your own ideas. Do not simply regurgitate the things I’ve told you in class, and don’t simply apply the things I’ve said about one scene in a film to another scene in the same film. I want to see your ideas, your thinking, and your arguments.
Below are the films you many choose from to pick your scene – these are the films that we will have watched up to the paper’s due date:
The Great Muppet Caper
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Touch of Evil
Vertigo
The Prestige
