In this paper (3-4 pp, double spaced, with Times New Roman or similarly sized font),
please focus on two scenes or sequences from (a) film(s) we have watched thus far this
summer session. The two scenes or sequences may be drawn from the same or different
films; avoid the scenes we discussed in depth in class.
Basic Assignment:
The assignment is to pick a scene or sequence that seemed particularly interesting to you
(a resistant scene, as we have discussed), read out of it an important theme based on a
technique, and relate it to a second scene or sequence, so the reader has a sense of how
this technique/theme operate in both.
Please do your best to integrate form and content by focusing on the coincidence of
narrative, theme, and filmic technique; that is, address the levels of meaning (narrative,
technique, and theme) we have been discussing for each scene or sequence.
The presumed reader is someone who has seen the film, though naively, meaning they
only know and understand the story/plot (not all the fancy techniques or even narrative
devices). This means, though, you should avoid more than a sentence, maximum two, of
plot summary at any point.
Some examples of topics about which you might formulate an argument (that is, about
which youd have to isolate two scenes/sequences) just suggestions, not required that it
be one of these:
1) How does the filmmaker use camera distances, especially close-up vs. medium vs.
long shots, and how do such distances contribute to the story of the film?
2) The failure of the conventional romantic couple mark many of the films we have
watched thus far (many mainstream films end with the establishment of a straight
romantic couple). How is this failure conveyed technically and to what narrative end?
3) Each film offers repeating camera techniques in different contexts. How do these
techniques function narratively, that is, in terms of story.
4) Women and the feminine (not always the same thing) play important roles in all of
these films, particularly in the narrative outcome of (male) protagonists. Consider how
the film technique represents women and to what narrative ends.
5) In these films, the mise-en-scene, especially location shooting, play a prominent role in
both character construction and plot promotion. Analyze how it functions in the film.
