Unit 3 (Humanities)
Interpretation

feeder 3A / feeder 3B / unit project

Feeder 3A: analysis of a scene

Purpose: to demonstrate a working knowledge of film terms while closely analyzing a scene
Audience: an "insider" familiar with the film
Writing foci: creativity, concision

Choose a brief but important scene from your assigned film, and analyze one or two technical aspects of the scene in a 1-2 page paper (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-pt font, 1" margins). Familiarize yourself with and employ terms from this list, and glance over these informal means of breaking down film into its constituent parts. Please choose from the following elements: 1) lighting, 2) camera work, 3) set design, 4) soundscape, 5) editing (pace, etc.)

Your essay should quickly present evidence supporting a narrow, debatable thesis that claims the director and crew have achieved something very specific. Using your detailed notes concerning the technical elements you have chosen to discuss, piece together a tight argument that addresses one of the following: characterization, tone, theme, or representations of disability. Employ MLA guidelines for citation and format.

In other words, discuss exactly how the technical composition of a scene contributes to its rendering of character, tone, theme, or disability.

For sample papers, click on these analyses of scenes from Jessie Nelson's I Am Sam (2001): paper #1 / paper #2
 
Draft due (workshop): Tuesday, Nov. 14
Final paper due:  Thursday, Nov. 16

Feeder 3B: oral presentation

Purpose: to convince others that your particular "spin" on events is truth
Audience: some clearly defined group of people (e.g. bystanders, the press, etc.)
Writing foci: pathos & ethos

Choose an event from your assigned film, treat it as a past event, and elaborate on it creatively in a 3-4 minute presentation. You may play either the role of the scene's key character, his/her apologist, or his/her antagonist. Unlike the previous assignment, this one requires a purposely biased, selective texture. While you should stick to the plot provided by the film, you should selectively foreground whatever elements of the situation best support your argument. Feel free to employ pathos.

By 6 p.m. on Monday, November 27, email me two terse summaries of your presentation. (Please paste these into your message instead of sending me an attachment.) Each summary should be only 2-3 sentences in length. One should be objective (summarizing the event as portrayed by the film), and one biased (explaining the spin you will put on the events in your presentation). I will arrange these summaries in the order of your presentations, and hand out a copy to the class. Though not read aloud, these summaries will provide the audience a quick summary of each presentation prior to its delivery.

You may find useful these sample presentations: example 1 / example 2 / example 3 (beware profanity in this last one).

Kerry Hogan (from TEACCH) will deliver a presentation at some point prior to your oral presentations. Consider the social and ethical issues she raises as pertinent variables when shaping your presentation and your unit project.

Unit Project 3: critical analysis of cinematic social commentary

Purpose: to present a persuasive argument concerning the representation of disability in your assigned film
Audience: fellow film critics intimately familiar with your film
Writing foci: concision of phrasing, specificity of argument, appropriateness of evidence

Watch your assigned film again, paying close attention to how disability concerns have been configured by the screenwriter and director. Consider engaging one of the following questions: 1) does the film perpetuate unhelpful stereotypes about individuals with disabilities? 2) does it advance an enlightened, progressive agenda concerning this population? 3) does it help the viewer understand a disabled character's perspective? 4) how does the film's tone shape the viewer's stance towards the disabled character? 5) what might have motivated the creators of this film?

Strong essays will sport a narrowly defined, carefully supported thesis in 4-5 pages. Employ MLA style, and reference at least three outside sources (in addition to the film, which should be included in your Works Cited section).

I strongly encourage you to use your familiarity with the film excerpts we have watched in class and whatever film you worked with in Unit 2 to create a context for this last paper. Consider how these other films configure disability, and whether their strategies correspond to or differ from that of the film in hand.

Cinematograph (Cecil Wray)
35 mm film projection mechanism with claw movement.
A version was sold from 1896 by Riley

Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu