Purpose
This assignment will enable you to extend your critical thinking and literary analysis skills to film. Because films move beyond the traditional definition of a text as “written content,” they provide even richer opportunities for analysis. In your essay, you will conduct a “close reading” of a film, as a text, to identify and analyze elements such as lighting, setting, character(s), sound, and dialogue and how these elements function within the text to convey a theme or support a Critical Theory. To support your original argument, you will incorporate at least one appropriate scholarly source into your analysis. Although this assignment specifically requires a close reading for the ultimate goal of a written analysis, the skills of close reading and analysis of a text will be applicable to not only future academic pursuits but everyday life in general. The ability to think critically and analyze texts–from films to emails to conversations–strengthens one’s ability to effectively discern the meaning and intent of the writer or speaker and to respond appropriately.
Skills
In this assignment, you will conduct a close reading of a film to identify elements of film and analyze their function within the text in terms of a theme and/or critical theory. You will practice:
- Critical reading and thinking
- Identification of devices specific to film
- Analysis of devices in relation to theme
- Application of a critical theory
- Integration of secondary sources
- Composition of an analysis with supporting source material
This assignment aligns with Learning Outcomes: LO4, LO5, LO6, LO8, LO9, LO10, LO11, LO14
Task
For the final written composition of the course, you will compose an essay that explores how and why elements and/or devices in the text contribute to a theme OR the application of a critical theory while supporting your original thesis with secondary source material. Using the pre-writing and outlining skills from Unit 2 in conjunction with a close reading and analysis, your final essay will demonstrate your understanding and application of the content of the course in a written product.
Part 1
Conduct a close reading of one of the texts/films assigned by your professor for this unit, being careful to take notes and record specific evidence with time stamps for easy reference.
NOTES:
- Cataloging textual evidence for visual media may require multiple viewings and careful note-taking on the elements and/or devices specific to film.
- Do not use any of the texts used in sample assignments or instructional videos in this course.
Part 2
Identify a theme from Unit 1 and consider how the text supports this theme through the use of literary devices or elements specific to film OR identify a critical theory applicable to the text and examine how and why this specific lens “works with” and can be used to interpret your chosen film.
Part 3
Using pre-writing and outlining, identify a working thesis that makes a claim as to how and why the literary devices and elements in a drama/film support a specific theme OR can be interpreted through a particular critical lens, and examine the overall significance of that connection. Once you have written your working thesis and basic outline, begin drafting your essay, being mindful to integrate textual evidence from both your primary text and a scholarly source (see below), and provide analysis to explain how and why each piece of evidence supports your thesis.
Part 4
Identify a scholarly source that supports your thesis.
NOTE: Be sure to integrate your source correctly, using proper signal phrases and citations, and use the source only to support your own, original argument and not as inspiration or the foundation for your argument.
File submissions: Please submit your file as a .DOC, .DOCX, or .PDF.
Grading Criteria
- Specificity and development of synthesized ideas about the text
- Supporting research, evidence, logic, and organization
- Quality of writing, to include paragraph development and organization (topic sentences, conclusions, transitions, etc.)
- Integration of both primary and secondary source material in accordance with the MLA 9th edition. Please refer to the Purdue Online Writing Lab for the .
- Length Requirement: 750-1,000 words
