film analysis 19 – www.savvyessaywriters.net
film analysis 19 – www.savvyessaywriters.net
Each student will write an analysis of a film (fiction or non-fiction) which connects the actions and events depicted in the film to issues, concepts and themes raised in the course. These films address the topic of how people take collective action to make social change and combat inequality / oppression.
- 1 | Watching the Film Choose a film from the list below. Watch the film and take notes with the course concepts in mind. Consider the question How does this film illustrate the concepts from the course? Take notes about specific events or scenes that occur in the film that illustrate those concepts. Take note of quotes from the film that you can use to illustrate your analysis.
- 2| Identifying Concepts Identify at least 5 course concepts that are addressed by the film you watched. Make sure to use a variety of concepts drawn from various weeks in the course. Again, you should focus on concepts from the first five weeks of the course.
- 3 | Analyzing the Film: You should start your discussion with a brief, one-paragraph summary of what the film is about and the major events that take place in it. However, most of your analysis should be focus on showing how the film illustrates the course concepts you’ve chosen. You will want to show you understand the concepts by defining them clearly (using course lectures and texts) and then illustrating those concepts with some description of events in the film.
- 4 | Concluding your Discussion At the end of your analysis, you should conclude with a discussion of what insights we gain from the film about the effective ways to take collective action to make social change and fight inequality.
- 5 | Citing your Sources: When you use material from lectures and course readings, you must cite them and provide a bibliography of cited work. See below for guide to citing lectures and course materials. Do not use outside materials.
List of Recommended Films
Norma Rae (1979) (Fiction), Martin Ritt dir.
Bread and Roses (2000) (docudrama), Ken Loach dir. Made in Dagenham (2010) (docudrama), Nigel Cole dir. Pride (2014) (docudrama), Matthew Warchus dir. Selma (2014) (docudrama), Ava Duvernay dir.
Final Offer (1985) (documentary), Sturla Gunnarson dir.
(online: https://www.nfb.ca/film/final_offer/) Dolores (2017) (documentary), Peter Bratt dir.
Citation Guide | You must cite when quoting directly AND when paraphrasing material from a source. Please use the Author-Date / APA system of citation. Examples follow:
Lecture |
Ross, S. (2017, January 11). Living and Working in a Capitalist Society [lecture]. Labour Studies 1C03, McMaster University.
Film or Video |
Guggenheim, D. (Director), & Bender, L. (Producer). (2006). An Inconvenient Truth [DVD]. United States: Paramount Home Entertainment.
Evaluation | Your assignment will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Content: Accuracy in your description of key concepts, which shows you understand them and ability to effectively illustrate concepts with concrete and appropriate examples from the film (4/20)
- Ability to present a clear, well-organized, and well-supported argument (4/20)
- Effective use of course materials (4/20)
- Ability to express your thoughts clearly (4/20)
- Ability to use and cite sources properly, and present a properly formatted bibliography (4/20)
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