ENG 1021: Scene Analysis Essay
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 science fiction film and will trace this theme's development through the director’s use of some of the film elements from chapter 3 of Short Guide to Writing About Film (see course readings in Ulearn). 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 analyze PLOT in anyway.
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).
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. Although there are multiple theories and methods for approaching a film, in this assignment we will concern ourselves only with a close readings of the film itself and nothing outside of it (not a particular ideology, historical approach, etc.). This is called a formalist approach.
Development
NOTE: SEE CHAPTER 3 OF SHORT GUIDE TO WRITING ABOUT FILM (IN COURSE READINGS IN ULEARN) FOR IDEAS ABOUT DEVELOPMENT.
In developing your ideas, you should concern yourself with three important steps. First you must make a writerly assertion about the content of your scene (what you see as its overall theme and/or potential impact on a viewer).
For instance, consider the following scene from season 2 of The Walking Dead:
In this scene one might assert that the central idea/theme of hopelessness is primarily communicated through the types of camera shots used by Frank Darabont, the director, by the arrangement of objects in each frame (mise en scene), and by the employment of symbols.
For example:
Throughout season 2, Sophia Peletier , the young daughter of Carol Peletier, has been missing, and this has caused the group a great deal of emotional distress since she was very much loved by everyone. Rick Grimes, the group's leader, also feels very much responsible for her loss because it was in his attempt to save her from walkers that she disappeared. This leads many in the group to question his leadership, particularly Shane, who covets Rick's power as well as Rick's wife and son.
After searching for her the entire season, it is in this scene that the entire group sees Sophia for the first time since she went missing. Up unitl this point, everyone held out hope that she still might be alive, especially her mother, Rick's son, Carl, and Darryl, another member of the group that has become Carol's protector.
The central idea communicated by this scene is the idea of hopelessness. From the opening frame until Rick's gun shot at the conclusion, there is very little dialogue, and the director communicates his message through emotionally tense scenes replete with emotionally-charged and symbolic imagery.
The overall claim is that the central idea of the scene is the idea of hopelessness. This is an assertion.This overall claim will be accompanied by a number of subclaims (and supporting paragraphs) that support and provide further evidence for this overall claim.
Providing specific evidence is step 2 of the development process. 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.
The third and final step is to explain how the evidence illustrates the assertion. For instance, in this particular scene, the writer of this paragraph would have to explain how each of the examples of "emotionally-charged and symbolic imagery" communicates something very specific about the idea of hopelessness.
Organization
Your essay should be organized in a logical manner.
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.
This organizational method will, of course, vary not only from student to student, but from film to film, as well as by individual scene that each student chooses.
Just remember that your sub-claim does not have to only focus on one film element (sound, for instance). You may focus on multiple film elements in a single sub-claim.
For instance:
Darrabont uses sound, camera shot, and symbolism in this scene to communicate the crushing hopeless that the members of the group feel after the death of Sophia.
NOTE: When relating events in the scene use words such as, "Darabont develops the major characters in the story..." Notice the use of the active verb "develops." Try to stick with using active verbs as you analyze the scene and sequence of events within it.
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
