Overview
Please choose a film from this list of approved choices.
Note: You should watch your chosen film twice—once to ensure that you have grasped the storytelling and once to take more specific notes on aspects of the film you wish to discuss. If you would like to write about a film that is not on this list, you must email your professor for approval in advance or you may not receive credit on this assignment.
Your paper should be organized around a thesis statement that clarifies what you will attempt to accomplish in your paper, and how you will proceed. Review the Final Film Critique sample, which provides an example of a well-developed analysis as well as insight on composition.
In your paper,
- Identify your selected film, including writer, director, year of release, and genre.
- Briefly 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) and analyze your selected film through that lens.
- Evaluate the use of three specific techniques and design elements employed in the film as they contribute to the overarching narrative and theme of the film. This can include elements of mise-en-scène (e.g., lighting, sound, the composition of the frame, costuming, etc.) and editing (e.g., cuts and transitions, shots used, angles, etc.).
- Describe the connection between this film and society (i.e., politically or culturally, positive or negative) and draw conclusions about its impact.
The Final Film Analysis paper
- Must be five to six double-spaced pages (1700 to 1900 words) in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource.
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of Your Essay (in bold)
- Your First and Last Name
- Ashford University
- Course Code: Name of Course (e.g., ENG 225: Introduction to Film)
- Instructor’s name
- Due Date
For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
- Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
- Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
- For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
- Must use at least four scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
- The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
- To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.