ILS 2385: Scene Analysis
Assignment: For this assignment you will be writing about a central idea (a theme or pair of themes) found in a scene of your choosing from a film and will trace this theme's development through the director’s use of some of the film elements and will argue what you see as its cultural messages about gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and/or sexual identity that the film communicates. You should familiarize yourself with chapter 3 of Short Guide to Writing About Film (see course readings in Ulearn) to gain an understanding of how a director makes use of the film tools. You should examine how these elements either compliment one another or are at odds with the theme at various points in the scene and argue why this relationship is important. This requires that you QUESTION what you see, not simply describe it. Keep in mind that you are arguing how these VISUAL AND SOUND elements allow the director to construct MEANING (i.e., the director uses sound to construct meaning and communicate their theme by ...).
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO IS SUMMARIZE THE EVENTS OF THE PLOT OF ANY WAY. THAT IS DESCRIPTION ONLY AND NOT AN ARGUMENT ABOUT HOW THE DIRECTOR IS MAKING USE OF THE FILM TOOLS TO CONVEY A MESSAGE.
It is important to reduce a theme to one word idea (i.e, loss, hope, forgiveness, etc.)
NOTE: THE IDEAS FOUND IN THIS PAPER MUST BE YOUR OWN. YOU MAY NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES!
At its very basic definition, your scene analysis is a written evaluation of a work of art (in this case film) that attempts to enlighten/communicate to a reader about the underlying meaning of the scene.
Purpose
In this type of paper a writer is forming an academic argument. As the writer you are arguing that your interpretation of the scene from your chosen film is a valid argument - not the only interpretation - in an attempt to aid the viewer in “seeing” the film in a new light or from a different perspective that perhaps may be different from their own. Your claim should point out what you see at the overall theme of the scene you choose and/or its potential impact (on a viewer) in regard to its cultural messages about gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity and/or social class (any one of these or combination of them).
Again, keep in mind that you are arguing HOW the director shapes this theme through the use of VISUAL and Sound tools (set design, costume design, camera shot, lighting, sound, editing, directing actor's to use body and voice, etc.). You are NOT TO ANALYZE ELEMENTS OF PLOT (such as characterization, for instance).
Audience
Your audience is made up of academics, scholars, film critics, professors, and students (who are academics, scholars, and film critics in training much like yourselves). You should assume that they have seen the film and are familiar with its contents. Because of this you would never merely summarize the plot of the narrative because your audience is already familiar with it. This would also conflict with the purpose of this type of paper. You are to discuss underlying meaning (or potential impact), not retell the events of the story.
Because your audience is a scholarly one, your paper must be presented in a formal manner. You should use high diction and avoid first person, personal pronouns, and contractions.
Focus
The focus of your paper should be what you feel is an important idea or theme found in the scene and/or its potential impact on a viewer in regard to the cultural messages it conveys about gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity and/or social class. Your overall claim include each of the following: 1) What you see as the central idea of the scene (theme) and 2) what you view as the scene's important cultural message about gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, or social class.
Development
NOTE: SEE CHAPTER 3 OF SHORT GUIDE TO WRITING ABOUT FILM (IN COURSE READINGS IN ULEARN) FOR IDEAS ABOUT DEVELOPMENT AND THE INVENTION WORK FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT.
This invention work will guide you through the steps of selecting a scene as well as identifying its important moments.
After completing the invention work, you will be asked to develop sub-claims to support your overall claim.
These sub-claims are the assertions found within your paper that support the overall claim. The sub-claim is the first sentence of a paragraph and should directly connect to the overall claim and preview the entire content of that paragraph.
Providing specific evidence for each sub-claim. The writer of this paragraph would need to provide specific examples from the scene of emotionally-charged and symbolic imagery and explain why they are significant and important.and what they demonstrate about the theme and/or gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, and/or social class. THIS IS ARGUMENT, THOUGH, ABOUT HOW THE DIRECTOR USES THE FILM TOOLS (CAMERA SHOT, LIGHTING, SOUND, ETC., TO COMMUNICATE THIS MESSAGE, NOT A SUMMARY OR DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THE STORY.
Organization
Your essay should be organized in a logical manner. Even though your audience has seen the film you are examining, they don't see or understand its content in the same way that you do. It is your responsibility at the writer to make sure that they do. Organize your ideas in a way that creates your most effective argument.
THE EASIEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS IS TO DISCUSS WHAT YOU SEE AS THE "IMPORTANT MOMENTS" FROM THE SCENE IN THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR.
KEEP IN MIND WHAT WE HAVE DISCUSSED ABOUT THE FUNCTION OF A TITLE, THE FUNCTION OF AN INTRO, THE SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE INTRO, THE GENERAL FUNCTION OF THE BODY OF A PAPER, AS WELL AS THE FUNCTION OF A CONCLUSION AND ITS INDIVIDUAL PARTS.
Format
•Your essay should have a title. It should also be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins all around, Times New Roman Font, & 12 pt. See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ for other questions about format. Your essay should be a minimum of 4 FULL pages and no more than 6 . The ideas in your paper must be your own. You may not use outside sources for this paper.
Your grade for this assignment will be determined as follows:
Total Possible Points: 80/
Final Draft, evaluated on the following criteria:
Focus (22 points): Does essay have a clear purpose? Overall claim stated in intro and restated in conclusion? Focus on a single idea or aspect of the literature? Is it clear how examples in body are related to the overall claim? Does the writer explain the broader implications of this claim to the text as a whole? Are the subclaims clearly related to the claim? When read together, do the intro and conclusion form one idea?
Development (22 points): Does writer support interpretation with evidence from text? Avoid giving a plot summary? Does writer explain for the reader how the evidence supports interpretation (and as a result the claim)?
Organization (22 points): Do first few sentences arouse the reader’s interest and focus their attention on the subject? Are readers expectations set and clearly met? Do paragraphs have clear focus, unity and coherence? Effective transitions? Does the writer guide the reader from beginning to end?
Style (7 points): Is language clear direct and readable? Are sentences clear, concise, and easily read by intended audience? Is word choice appropriate for audience? Do sentences reveal and sustain appropriate voice and tone? Does writer use the literary present tense to describe events in the story?
Mechanics (7 points): Are there obvious errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Are there patterns of error?
NO PEER CRITQUE (-7 POINTS)
NO 1ST DRAFT ON DUE DATE (-7 POINTS)
NO REFLECTION (-7 POINTS)
Grading scale:
A 72-80
B 64-71
C 56-63
D 48-55
F 0-47
