Overview
Please write a 4-page analytic essay on 1 of the 2 topics listed below. Be sure to state your
thesis in the opening paragraph.
1. Night and Fog and Waltz with Bashir address the topic of atrocities committed during
war at different moments in history and very different technologies available to the
filmmaker. Evaluate each film according to their differences and similarities using the
terms and concepts from the course, and comment on whether one is more successful
in achieving its apparent goals than the other.
2. Lonely Boy and Amy present candid views of artists and the pop music industry. Evaluate
each film according to their differences and similarities using the terms and concepts
from the course, and comment on whether one is more successful in achieving its
apparent goals than the other.
For a critical film essay, you presume that your reader has seen the film, and therefore knows
the story and plot details. Do not recount the entire plot. You may, if you feel it helps your
overall argument, remind the reader of key themes and plot elements, but not in any extensive
or lengthy detail. Keep in mind that, unlike a movie review, the critical essay seeks to reveal
nuances or complexities that may have escaped a casual viewing of the film. Thats why, to
make your point, you focus your essay on specific scenes or shots.
Formatting Requirements
Your essay should be 4 typed pages (not including the bibliography), double-spaced with 1-inch
margins, using a 12-point font. Submissions that do not meet these requirements will receive
point deductions.
This is not a movie review or a plot summary, and it will likely require a small amount of
research any sources you use, including course materials, should be cited in a bibliography
formatted in an appropriate style (see below).
The various works cited sections of the course readings will provide you with a solid starting
point for scholarly work addressing the various subject areas. Acceptable citation guidelines can
be found in the Modern Languages Association Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
(available online and in most new and used bookstores). Except for refereed journals and
magazines available online (and through library-endorsed online databases, i.e., ProQuest)
internet sources are not acceptable (i.e., Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes). Inclusion of such
resources will result in point deductions.
