Film Review Visual & Performing Arts Essay Research Paper

Essay Instructions:

CIN205: Final Paper Instructions Due on Quercus by 11:59pm on March 27 • 1,250-1,450 words (not including name, title, course information, and citation information) • The essay will have an appropriately specific and clearly stated thesis that puts forward a claim about the chosen film. This claim should clearly speak to the issue(s) specified in the chosen prompt (see below). The claim put forward by the thesis is an original interpretation. Such a claim is also something that is not self-evident and therefore needs to be elaborated and defended throughout the essay. Lastly, such a claim is not mere opinion or observation; it is, rather, a position of which you are trying to convince your reader. • The essay’s thesis will be elaborated and defended in the essay through detailed analysis of the chosen film. The analysis will reflect detailed interpretive insight into the film—such insight goes far beyond what can be gleaned from casual viewing. (Note: plot summary is neither interpretation nor insight. While some plot summary might be useful to set up the analysis, this summary should be very brief.) Not every aspect of the film needs to be discussed; rather, the focus should be on only what is important to elaborating/defending the thesis. • The reading(s) cited in the essay should be central to the essay’s thesis, and central to the analysis that will be used to elaborate and defend the thesis. Engagement with reading(s) should be maintained throughout the paper. • The essay will demonstrate a deep, precise, and nuanced understanding of the reading(s) cited. The essay will also demonstrate ability to identify and clearly explain the most salient points from the cited reading(s). Citations should be given in MLA format. No bibliography is necessary. • Poor writing will be heavily penalized. • Reference to, or consultation of, any source not listed in the chosen prompt is prohibited. Full compliance with the University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters is required. The essay will respond to ONE of these four prompts: 1. Write an essay on how nation or national identity is represented in Denis Villeneuve’s film Maelström (2000). The thesis and essay should focus on some specific issue, problem, aspect, etc. of the concept of nation or national identity. This specific dimension of nation or national identity will be taken from one of the readings listed below. The analysis of Villeneuve’s film will focus on ONE or TWO scenes. This essay will draw extensively on ONE or TWO of the following readings: S. Hayward, “National Cinemas and the Body Politics” (week 8); B. Marshall, ““Producing and Envisioning the Nation” (week 9); P. Rosen, “Nation and Anti-Nation: Concepts of National Cinema in the ‘New’ Media Era” (week 10); B. Longfellow, “Globalization and National Identity in Canadian Film” (week 10). 2. Write an essay on how nation or national identity is represented in Zacharias Kunuk and Natar Ungalaaq’s film Maliglutit [aka Searchers] (2016). The thesis and essay should focus on some specific issue, problem, aspect, etc. of the concept of nation or national identity. This specific dimension of nation or national identity will be taken from one of readingslisted list below. The analysis of Kunuk and Ungalaaq’s film will focus on ONE or TWO scenes. This essay will draw extensively on ONE or TWO of the following readings: S. Hayward, “National Cinemas and the Body Politics” (week 8); B. Marshall, “Producing and Envisioning the Nation” (week 9); P. Rosen, “Nation and Anti-Nation: Concepts of National Cinema in the ‘New’ Media Era” (week 10); B. Longfellow, “Globalization and National Identity in Canadian Film” (week 10). 3. Write an essay on how nation or national identity is represented in ONE of the following films (discussed in Longfellow’s “Globalization and National Identity in Canadian Film”): Bruce Beresford’s Black Robe (1991), David Wellington’s I Love a Man in Uniform [aka A Man in Uniform] (1993), or Atom Egoyan’s Calendar (1993). The thesis and essay should focus on some specific issue, problem, aspect, etc. of the concept of nation or national identity. This specific dimension of nation or national identity will be taken from the reading chosen from the list below (not the Longfellow essay). The essay will also reference Longfellow’s “Globalization and National Identity in Canadian Film.” The thesis and essay should clearly and significantly develop (rather than repeat or mimic) Longfellow’s own analysis of the film. In other words, the thesis and essay will constitute a major re-working or revision of Longfellow’s analysis. The analysis of the film will focus on ONE or TWO scenes that are not discussed by Longfellow. In addition to Longfellow’s “Globalization and National Identity in Canadian Film,” the essay will draw extensively on ONE of the following readings: S. Hayward, “National Cinemas and the Body Politics” (week 8); B. Marshall, “Producing and Envisioning the Nation” (week 9); P. Rosen, “Nation and Anti-Nation: Concepts of National Cinema in the ‘New’ Media Era” (week 10). 4. Write an essay on the role of gender difference in ONE film by Denis Villeneuve made after 2013. The thesis and essay will focus on a specific aspect of the role of gender in the film and will situate this aspect of the film within Villeneuve’s wider body of work (specifically two of the three Villeneuve films assigned in this course). The essay will include extensive engagement with Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”—this extensive engagement with Mulvey should be reflected in the thesis. Throughout the essay, references will be made to TWO of the films by Villeneuve assigned in the course. These references will compare, contrast, and/or otherwise connect the analysis of gender in the chosen post2013 film to the role of gender in the two assigned films. In addition to Mulvey’s article, the essay will also draw on the reading by Peter Wollen. References to Wollen will be used to articulate and explain the essay’s approach to the films in terms of the auteur theory.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

I Love a Man in Uniform: a Movie Analysis Name:
Professor’s Name:
Course:
Due Date:
Film Review
The Film I Love a Man in Uniform by David Wellington (1993)
I Love a Man in Uniform is a movie that speaks to the complexity of the notion of identity. Tom McCamus plays the lead role as Henry Adler and his acting prowess makes the movie and the theme of identity even more intriguing. The film depicts an aspect of delusion and confusion as Henry struggles to come to terms with his new ‘identity’ as a policeman. From the onset of the film, Adler appears to be struggling with his identity. Adler works in a bank but he is also trying to get his big break on television. He is unsure of the direction he wants his life to take and therefore, is unwilling to give either of his roles unmatched productivity and commitment. Upon getting his big break in Crimewave, as part of the audience, one is certain that Adler is now set on his ways and that he will thrive as an actor. However, soon, his identity struggles continue as he is now torn between his identity as an actor and his role as a policeman in the series. In the movie, as indicated by Longfellow (9), “American popular culture is represented not as something external or foreign, but as a deeply internalized facet of our national psyche.” The movie juxtaposes the Canadian and American identity and showcases the extremism of the American identity. Henry is a man in search of an identity in the same way that Canada has been trying to find a distinct identity and one that is a true representation of the country’s values and principles. There is a void to Henry’s existence and this fact further pushes him to adopt identities that would seemingly offer him an image that truly captures his essence. In this paper, the concepts of conformity, cultural imperialism, as well as the masculinity, shall be addressed as subsets of the film.
Henry’s condition is a representation of a world that has lost touch with reality. In a society where reality comes second, people play a part in life and avoid the actual act of living. Being a part of this world, Henry appears to also be playing a role and one could argue that it was in the series Crimewave that he actually became himself. Like everyone else, he is in search of direction and purpose and hence his doubling as an actor and banker. In one scene, dressed as a policeman, Henry is shown to be out and about walking. He then sees a policeman struggling with a thug who was almost overpowering him. A struggle ensues here because even though he is dressed as a policeman, his first instinct is not to help. At this moment, things become quite real for him because his uniform did not gift him the confirmation he needed. He was still playing a part which had now rubbed off on his reality. He had conformed to the world and did everything by the book. However, this moment confirmed to him another reality that was slowly but surely impacting his life. When asked to help by the policeman, Henry takes off and offers the help that is needed. Towards the end of the scene, however, his identity crisis is also made evident as the policeman appears to ask him questions that again question who he is.

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Film Review Visual & Performing Arts Essay Research Paper

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