Hi, this essay is suppost to be about the writers opinion about racial representation in movies, this specific movie is Black Panther, and the prompt asks to consider what the movie does to represent race and to summarize, analize and give an evaluative argument about the movie. The full details are in the PDF included.
Essay 2: Television/Film
*100 points (10%)
*2 COC database articles and 2 other reliable sources required; no other sources allowed (don?t worry; Essay 3 and Essay 4 will allow more sources)
?Researching television [or film] requires context. One can do work on particular shows [or films], but unless the show [or film] has been around a long time, there has probably not been scholarly work done on it. Therefore, researching television [or film] requires a related context to the show [or film] you are studying or a general subject regarding television [or film]? Writing a paper about a television show [or film] means you will have to come up with an angle or a lens; researching the show [or film] without one will lead to a paper without an argument and likely without scholarly sources.?
–Johnathan Silverman and Dean Rader, The World is a Text
Directions:
1.Choose a contemporary, non-documentary, television show or film to analyze. If you choose something you wrote about in a journal, you may be able to use it as a jumping-off point.
2.Write a 5?6-page analysis of the television show or film that makes an argument about its representation of issues related to race, and/or ethnicity, and/or gender, and/or economic class (yes, there may likely be overlap amongst them, but avoid a formulaic list thesis that tries to organize by all of these categories).
?Lens? Questions to Consider:
Race and Ethnicity (see Ch. 12 of The World is a Text)
For a long time, race and ethnicity have been an issue in television and film. Watch a show or film paying close attention to how the film addresses (or does not address) the issue of race and/or ethnicity. Do you notice a pattern about what kinds of characters tend to be black? White? Asian? Latino? Jewish? Do these roles embrace or reject previous stereotypes? If there is just one character of a particular race or ethnicity, what are the implications of that?
Gender (see Ch. 15 of The World is a Text)
Watch a show or film through the ?lens? of gender. How is gender represented in the film? How are bodies of any gender presented or framed? Do the women characters have strong roles, or are they limited, stereotypical roles? Do the women date or love men their own age, or are the men much older? Do the women have good jobs with healthy lifestyles? What character or characters don?t seem to neatly fit into traditional feminine or masculine roles? Is traditional masculinity being endorsed, or critiqued?
Economic Class:
How are the characters of poor or unhoused people represented in the show or film? How well does Hollywood understand low-income America? Is the portrayal of working class or low-income families realistic? If the ending is happy, does it offer any suggestion of change, or simply reinforce the existing class structure?
A successful television or film analysis will:
oSummarize the television show or film briefly and accurately, most likely in your first body paragraph. Note that this is harder to do with a film, but it can be done. Make sure that if you are only analyzing one, or a couple of episodes in a series that you specifically name them.
oAnalyze how the television show or film ?works? in its representation of a specific population; explain how and why the director uses certain strategies via the specific genre and visual ?language? and ?grammar? of television or film. (See Ch. 19 pages 249-250 of The World is a Text for some general things to brainstorm before writing about television. See pages 229-230 of Ch. 18 of The World is a Text for some general things to brainstorm before writing about film)
oMake an evaluative argument about the television show?s or film?s representation of a specific population. What message (and to what specific audience) is the director trying to get across? Are their strategies effective? (Is the message convincing? Helpful? Disruptive or distracting from the real issues? Offensive to certain audiences? Unrealistic? Harmful? Empowering? Etc.)
To earn a C or above, your essay should meet the following requirements:
1.5 full pages of double-spaced writing measured with one-inch margins and 12-point Times New Roman font (as in this very document). No extra spaces between paragraphs.
2.An introductory paragraph that discusses the background and context of the contemporary issue the show or film is representing. Why are people concerned about this issue?
3.A thesis statement that claims not only that the director uses specific strategies (camera angles, music, choice of cast, etc.), but also whether the director successfully achieves their purpose with their intended audience.
4.A brief summary of the show or film. This can be your first body paragraph.
5.Topic sentences and body paragraphs that directly relate to the claim of your thesis. Your essay can have as many body paragraphs as you see fit as long as you are meeting the minimum four-page length requirement. Please do not feel like you must force your sophisticated argument into the high school formula of a three-part thesis resulting in a five-paragraph essay, which almost always means your argument will oversimplify complex ideas. Give yourself credit, and experiment!
6.Paraphrased (and/or possibly directly quoted) dialogue from the show or film you are analyzing as support for your argument.
7.Paraphrase and direct quotations from your 2 COC database sources and your 2 other reliable Interne or print sources.
8.A conclusion that avoids summarizing your essay and instead leaves the reader with something further to think about.
9.In-text parenthetical citations in correct MLA format for paraphrases and direct quotes from your outside sources using the author?s last name, like this (DiFrancesco). If you use a source with pages numbers, such as a .pdf of an article or book, your citation will look like this (Weinstock 43).
10.A correctly formatted MLA works cited page that is also numbered (but does not count towards the page minimum). It should include the film as well as your other sources for a total of 5 source entries.
11.CANVAS upload in BOTH .docx AND .pdf file formats before the deadline.
Primary Source:
Your primary source will be the television show/series or film that you choose to analyze. Since the possibilities currently seem endless, I?ve compiled lists of suggestions for television shows and films below. My choices tend to address issues of representation directly, but remember, in The World is a Text, Johnathan Silverman and Dean Rader point out that ?What is not there is often as important as what is . . . The ethnicity of the casts may send a message about the target audience for the show but also what kind of family, relationship, or group is considered normal or cool . . . While there are a few shows attempting to reflect the diversity of America . . . most of our programs feature white and black actors? (246-247).
***This statement was made in 2018, so if you disagree, just take it ?with a grain of salt.?***
