Film Genres Term Paper

This is a short analytical exercise (not to be confused with a research paper). You will make a clear and concise claim, such as women are portrayed pejoratively in the film(s), and substantiate that claim by using specific examples from the film(s). Description of a film is NOT analysis -– as has been thoroughly discussed in class. However, when establishing your claim, be sure to use specific examples from the relevant film(s). If outside sources have been consulted they should be listed on a separate page at the end. Any outside source incorporated into the paper should be followed (in parentheses) by the author’s name, page number, e.g., (Shull, p. 15). Do not employ “quotitus” -– a situation where a substantial part of the paper is made up of quotes from the film and/or outside sources. Also, avoid excessive use of “I”. Do not assume godlike powers by telling the reader what a particular character was thinking; the attitudes of historical individuals/a society at a given time. Inter-textual references, where appropriate, can be quite useful in an analysis paper -– such as referring to how a particular action in another film you have seen tends to substantiate your claim. The paper will contain a title page (a title at the top; also the number of the one question answered), with your name at the bottom right. The paper will be four minimum to five maximum pages in length -– one inch margins; double-spaced; 12 point font; no extra spaces between paragraphs. Grammar and spelling matter! A note: All titles should be either italicized or underlined -– upon initial use in the paper, in parentheses after the title, will be the studio (such as Paramount) and the date of release.

1. Since this is a course on genre, yet the concept of genre is so in flux, make clear to the reader exactly what you mean when discussing elements of a particular genre(s). Referencing Langford and/or Dick might be appropriate.

2. Choose your favorite genre; define it (does it comport with Langford?); pick a primary aspect of that genre; use examples from a recent film of that genre to explore that theme.

3. Using Langford’s Chapter 2 and its analysis of Melodrama, discuss the melodramatic elements of Pick Up on South Street (US, 1953).

4. Make a claim re the key generic element(s) of City of God (2002) and defend that claim. Questions 2/3 should not be a class decussion rehash.

5. Pick a classic Noir film, other than one seen in class, and compare it in some way with a classic neo-Noir film. Reference Langford’s Chpt 9. The 1947/2021 versions of Nightmare Alley, for instance.

6. Pick a favorite film of yours and discuss it in terms of being a hybrid genre; concentrate on its two most prominent generic components.

Do you concur with Langford’s definition of war drama? Use a classic film from that genre as your template to analyze either Dunkirk (2017) or 1917 (2019). Or, does the doc, They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)?