Category: film

Please answer ONE of the following questions in a 750-1000 word MLA format essay, double spaced. Please cite any resources you use, if there are any. 1) Discuss some of the differences between the animation styles of Walt Disney and Warner Bros., and how those cartoons play to you today.
2) Pick a movie or TV series and do a visual analysis on the way cinematography was used to create the mood, dramatic context, and overall style of the piece.

Watch two films made in the last 10 years from two different countries that are NOT covered in this class that are also not your country of origin (Haiti). These films should be non-English language or multi-lingual, and countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand should be excluded.
For each of these films, write a journal that covers the following issues: 
–The title, country, year, director, and languages for the film, and how you accessed it. 
–What attracted you to this film, and what it was like to watch it? 
–Did it meet your expectations? If so, how? If not, why not? 
–Did you find it challenging? How so? 
–What, if anything did you do in order to better understand the movie? 
–Would you see another film from this country or director? Why, why not? 
There is no need to re-state the plots of these films nor should you review them or evaluate their quality. Instead, use this assignment to further develop the habit of watching international films, including those that are outside of your comfort zone, paying attention to the issues that come up for you along the way. Good luck, and have fun!
This class covers Early Soviet Cinema, European realism, Italian Cinema, French Cinema, Japanese Cinema, Spain, Argentinian, Senegalese, Korean, Iranian, and Mexican Cinema. So please do not use a movie from any of those places either. 
500-900 typed, double-spaced words for each film. Will be graded as 100%, 75%, or 59%. 
I need 100% so please do your best work on this assignemt as it will allow me to pass the class.

For this assignment, you will be using materials in the MHDL to conduct your own historical
film research – using these digitized archival sources to produce novel analysis on a film from
the first half of the 20th century.
Assignment overview: 
1. Choose an American film released before 1950 and then watch that film. 
2. The purpose of this assignment is to conduct PRIMARY historical research on your
chosen film. Primary research means engaging with sources that appeared close to (we’ll
say within five years of) the original release date of the film.
Your goal will be to collect a minimum of FIVE primary sources that are directly related
to your film. The sources must be directly about your chosen film – they cannot simply
mention the film in passing. Only a maximum of three of these sources can be
advertisements for the film. 
To find primary sources, you will be required to use the following two resources: 
The Media History Digital Library (MHDL): www.mediahistoryproject.org . A collection of millions of digitized pages of historical trade magazines and technical
journals. 
Lantern: http://lantern.mediahist.org/ 
A search engine for the MHDL. Be sure to browse the MHDL rather than just searching
it using this tool – not everything in the MHDL will necessarily be included in Lantern,
and browsing the complete collection is a better practice for seeing your sources in their
full context (i.e., what kinds of other material are in the issue), helping you to understand
their function.
After you have collected your five (or more) sources, write a 4-5 page research
report in which you do two things:
a. Summarize each of the sources you found in a logical order, explicitly stating
what the source is and what kind of historical knowledge it gives us – be it about
the film itself, reaction to the film, production/distribution/exhibition history, the
film’s marketing, or something else. If the source has an obvious bias in mind (if
it is studio advertising, for example), be sure to state that in your summary. As
you consider a source’s potential bias, be sure to carefully consider the goal of the
source. Who created this document? What were they trying to accomplish? What
kinds of audiences were they trying to reach? How might those audiences have
made sense of this document/reacted to this document?
b. At the end of your report, include at least one paragraph about what your
research (in aggregate) suggests about the film overall. Consider the following
questions in writing this section
What kind of larger research project (article, dissertation, book) might the
research material support?
– What kind of historical argument, or historical questions, do your sources seem
to support (or at least point toward)?
– What additional kinds of evidence would you need to shore up the argument
suggested by the sources you found?
Include a bibliography at the end of your paper (this does not count toward your
paper’s required length). See more below.
4. The goal of this assignment is to start exploring primary sources related to film history
and to begin thinking about them – it’s not for you to necessarily make a full-fledged
argument about your film. Concentrate on the sources and what they seem to suggest –
it’s perfectly fine to have a speculative argument, as long as you acknowledge what your
sources don’t say or support, and what kinds of additional sources you would need to
actually make a full argument.  
Your research report will be assessed based on: 
• Whether you fulfilled the guidelines of the assignment (you had at least five sources
pulled from the MHDL, you wrote 4-5 pages summarizing your sources and critically
speculating on a potential argument they might support, you had the required
bibliography, etc.) 
• The extent to which your sources actually support your speculative argument. For
example, if your speculative argument is about the sound techniques and strategies used
to produce the 1929 film Applause and your sources say little or nothing about the film’s
sound, you have not fully addressed the prompt. 
• Your resourcefulness in finding and analyzing the sources found in your research.
A note about ads:
Probably the simplest way to go about this assignment is to look at your film’s advertisements.
These are easy to find on Lantern. It’s fine if you do this, but it will not fully satisfy this
assignment to simply discuss a bunch of ads. You need to contextualize those ads with other
(non-ad) sources that point to a broader argument about how the film was positioned in the
cinema marketplace, or what plot/text/star elements were emphasized, or what the ads suggest
about the film’s production, or some other broader idea than “here’s the ad campaign.” This is
why you can only include a maximum of three advertisements.
Bibliography:
You need to include a full bibliographic entry at the end of the assignment indicating the date(s)
and page number(s) you are working with so that I can also look at what you are writing about. 
For example:
John Doe, “Thomas Edison Does it Again,” Motion Picture World (January 1911): 12.
Formatting:
Please begin your paper at the top of page one and end somewhere on pages 4-5 with a regular
12-point font, one-inch margins, and double-spaced spacing
A few research tips: 
1. One of the first things you will want to do is figure out when your film premiered.
Determining this date will help you narrow down when you are likely to find the most
sources about your film. Release dates are slightly more complicated than it might seem
because studios often “prereleased” (premiered) films in New York in advance of their
“general release.” The AFI catalog is a good source for determining both a film’s
premiere date (typically, New York) and the beginning of its general release:
https://aficatalog.afi.com/ 
2. For your sources, be sure to search around your film’s premiere and release dates (that is
to say, at least six months before and after those dates). 
3. When searching, it’s often a good idea to put your film’s title in quotes in the search box
(i.e., “the Love Parade”), but it also helps to be flexible. It will also be worth searching
for other terms connected to your film, such as its director, stars, or its studio/distributor.
(ex.: the Love Parade AND Paramount). 
4. If you are looking for reviews, it helps to know that headlines for reviews might not have
the film’s name in them, but something descriptive about the film.

This will be in question-answer (not essay) format. Please double-space
Instructor-approved films (with links):
1. “I am Sam” (2001): “A mentally handicapped man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.” Available on various streaming platforms, or here: https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Sam-Sean-Penn/dp/B009BFZWYE . 2. “Sent Away Boys” (2016): What happens to families in the absence of sons? What happens to land in the absence of farmers? What happens to communities in the absence of men? Sent Away Boys weaves together stories of individual ambitions and family biographies from Punjab (India) to chronicle the gradual transformation of agrarian landscape and patriarchal traditions through ongoing transnational migration. English subtitles, FYI (https://www.harjantgill.com/sent-away-boys). 3. “Lady Bird” (2017): “In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.” A great film. Available on streaming platforms or via this link: https://a24films.com/films/lady-bird . 4. “Chonquelpe Tati Kutral (Let the Fire Never Die)” (2016): Another great one. The indigenous community of El Barco, in Chile, has been relocated almost fifteen years ago after the construction of a huge hydro-dam that flooded their ancestral lands. This film aims at exploring life in the Andes, involving the viewer in the struggles of the subjects who are dealing with the consequences of moving into a new environment. This film is part of a wider anthropological research project about the relation between dwelling and the cosmological indigenous belief in spirits. (https://vimeo.com/220685958). 5. “Moonlight” (2016). Such a powerful, coming of age, film. “The film presents three stages in the life of the main character: his childhood, adolescence, and early adult life. It explores the difficulties he faces with his sexuality and identity, including the physical and emotional abuse he endures growing up.” This can be found on Amazon Prime, Showtime, or here: https://a24films.com/films/moonlight
6. “The Linguists” (2008): This documentary joins David Harrison and Gregory Anderson, scientists racing to document languages on the verge of extinction. In the rugged landscapes of Siberia, India, and Bolivia, the linguists’ resolve is tested by the very forces stifling languages: institutionalized racism and violent economic unrest. David and Greg’s journey takes them deep into the heart of the cultures, knowledge, and communities at stake. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thelinguists
7. There are plenty others, and if you have a suggestion that is not on the list above, please message me, in Canvas, for approval. The questions are listed, below. Please use the “submission link” unit under this instruction unit.
1. What is the overall topic of this film? Theme? Subject? Two to three sentences, on average. 2. Provide a background of the topic of this film. What are the issues this/these individual(s) are currently facing or have faced with regards to this situation? Please use this opportunity to create a comprehensive background of the situation at hand (you may use an outside source to help with context, but please cite it!). Three to five sentences, on average. 3. What forces (government, political, economic, social) are barriers to these individuals in this film? Are the subjects justified (from your perspective) in their calls to action, if there are any? Two to three sentences, on average. 4. What does the influence of cultural traditions, political unrest, and social norms have on the main characters in this film? In other words, do these elements play into the perspective of the theme of the film? Three to five sentences, on average. 5. As we have explored thus far this semester, coming of age in adolescence and early adulthood is foundational for all human groups. After watching this film, how were themes such as angst, frustration, self-discovery, miscommunication (due to ethnocentrism, intergenerational conflict, ignorance, etc) influential in the lives of the individuals highlighted in the documentary? For example, if the film was about a conflict, think about the basis for the conflict (cultural values, norms, morals). Three to five sentences, on average. 6. Integrate one chapter or excerpt, from our book, in relation to the subject matter of the film. For example, in chapter 9 (Love and Sexuality) the author highlights the issues surrounding break-ups (i.e., When Love Goes Bad: Breaking Up). In one of the films I listed, there is a break-up scene that results in a dramatic encounter and emotional turbulence. How does this scene relate to the content your textbook author discusses? Three to five sentences, on average. 6. In terms of the goals of the film maker, do you think there were any biases for or against the main individuals in this film? Do you think this film accurately represents individual protagonist/antagonists? Did you notice anything else that may be problematic in terms of ethics, norms, and/or accuracy? If yes, explain. If no, justify. Two to three sentences, on average. 7. What can a greater audience learn and understand from watching this film? Do any aspects of this film relate to what you have learned in this class? No sentence minimum, however, I will look for critical thought and reflection. 8. Finally, I would like for you to find one article that covers the topic of the film. Not an article ABOUT the film, but rather an article that covers subject matter and/or themes expressed in the film. For example, living as an LGBTQ+ teen in a highly stigmatized community. You only need to provide the web link for the article in your paper OR a PDF copy embedded into your submission. Please provide 2-3 sentences how this article relates to the film of your choice.