Understanding Media and Film — Short Writing Assignments

Short Writing Assignment 1 (DUE 1/24; 40 pts.)

Find and read two reviews for a film of your choice (Rotten Tomatoes is a good place to locate reviews). Select the review you like most and:

1. write a brief summary of what the author addresses about the film. (100 words or less)
2. write a brief critical response about the author’s structure and arguments. (100-150 words)
3. provide citation information about the two film reviews you read (including the name of the author, the title of the review, and a link to locate the source).

Your summary should paraphrase (rather than quote) topics the author addresses. Your critical response should focus on how the author structures her/his synopsis of the film and the types of arguments she/he provides. Consult the brief section “Writing an Analytical Film Essay” (pp. 509-512 in Corrigan & White) before you write your critical response. Consider what types of objective/subjective claims the author makes, how the author supports each type of claim, and what types of information you think this film review lacks.

Short Writing Assignment 2 (DUE 2/7; 50 pts.)

PART ONE [One concise sentence; no more than two double-spaced lines]: Write a thesis statement about the mise-en-scène in Do the Right Thing. Your thesis should be a critical argument about your interpretation of the mise-en-scène or about what the mise-en-scène could indicate to an audience.

PART TWO [100-150 words]: Write one paragraph of analysis you could use to complement/complicate the essay about Do The Right Thing (Corrigan and White, pp. 78-80). While the essay provides some examples for how you could analyze the mise-en-scène in the film (e.g. how “the lighting of the interior mise-en-scène emphasizes the rich and blending shades of the dark skin of the African American characters”), demonstrate your own thoughts by analyzing elements in the mise-en-scène from scenes these authors do not address. Your paragraph should:

1. Address how one element of the mise-en-scène operates within one scene in the film.
2. Discuss why the element you’ve chosen is visible/notable in this scene.
3. Conclude by describing how this element functions in relation to the overall mise-en-scène at work in the film.

Short Writing Assignment 3 (DUE 2/21; 60 pts.)

PART ONE [One concise sentence]: Write a thesis statement about the cinematography in Rear Window (Hitchcock, 1954). Your argument should be precise and address no more than one element of cinematography.

PART TWO [100-150 words]: Write one paragraph of analysis to support your thesis about the use of cinematography in Rear Window. Your paragraph should offer an original argument about how the cinematography functions but you must reference at least one concept addressed by Mulvey in her essay on visual pleasure (e.g. the “male gaze,” the “to-be-looked-at-ness” of women, voyeurism, and/or scopophilia).

Short Writing Assignment 4 (DUE 3/17 [bring a printed copy to class]; 80 pts.)

Prepare for this assignment as if you were writing a 5-6 page paper about aesthetic techniques  that contribute to our understanding about Requiem for a Dream. (You won’t, in fact, be writing an entire paper for this assignment.) The assignment you submit will include an entire introduction to a (hypothetical) paper and analysis for the first point in your preview.

Your introduction (150-250 words) should include an “attention-getting device,” thesis statement, and preview. Your thesis statement should provide a broad argument about the relationship between aesthetic techniques and the film; your preview should provide three topics/arguments you would use to support your thesis. Because you are not writing an entire paper, only the first point of your preview should be addressed in your analysis (your second and third preview points are about topics you could use as additional support for your thesis were you required to continue writing).

Following your introduction, transition to analysis for your first point in your preview. Your analysis (150-250 words) should address how editing is used in two different scenes. If you are concerned about writing with enough precision and depth, I recommend limiting your analysis to the use of one editing technique in both scenes (options might include hard cuts, shot/reverse shot, split-screen, or “hip-hop montage”).

Short Writing Assignment 4 Revision (DUE 3/21 [print copy submitted in class; revised digital copy submitted on Blackboard] ; 20 pts.)

For this assignment, you are revising Short Writing Assignment #4 before it is graded. To this end, review the handouts on “cutting the glut” in writing and do the following:

1. Make handwritten revisions to SWA #4 (on the printed copy you brought to class). You should consider checking for technical errors (e.g. punctuation), syntax/style (e.g. see the tip about the word “that” on the handout), and argument structure.
2. After you complete your handwritten revisions, update the digital version of your assignment. DO NOT discard the handwritten revisions.
3. Resubmit SWA#4 on Blackboard ; Submit the paper copy with handwritten revisions in class.

Short Writing Assignment 5 (DUE 3/31 ; 100 pts.)

This assignment requires you to reflect on what you’ve learned about your writing this semester and to address methods you can use to improve your writing in your final paper (or elsewhere). You will also be asked to describe two topics you would be interested to write about in your final paper.

PART 1: [50 points]

Review all feedback I provided on your previous assignments. Determine 3-4 areas where you can focus and improve future writing. These areas of focus will vary for each person, e.g. “avoiding commas to write more succinct sentences,” “making sure my thesis statements provide an argument,” or “narrowing the focus of my writing by focusing on assignment requirements.”

List each area of focus and provide a strategy you will use to improve upon or address it in future writing.

PART 2: [25 points each]

Briefly describe two topics you would be interested in addressing in a final paper. Your topics can be broad (e.g. gender in a film that interests you; aesthetic style of a social platform like Snapchat) but must address a specific medium/text and the topic(s) you would analyze. You are not obligated to choose topics limited by what we have addressed thus far. However, regardless of the medium/text you choose, you will be required to include critical analysis of aesthetics in your paper.