Essay Assignment Detail: (approx. 7 pages not including bibliography or cover page)
Determine what historical period your film is produced in. What are the main historical influences (ie. Vietnam war, cold war, Watergate, Iraq war, introduction of television, etc.) on your film? How do those influences impact your film?
NOTE: This does not mean the historical period your film is about. As you have learned in the class, all films carry with them the imprint of the historical period in which they were produced. For example, male anxieties stemming from returning from WWII to find their wives had gone to work outside the domestic space, ends up in the Film Noir movement represented in its most explicit form, by the femme fatale character. Another example: Little Big Man was a western produced in 1970, near the end of the Vietnam war. Due to a strong anti war movement and accusations of genocide, the filmmakers chose to represent a Native American village being massacred by the American Cavalry from the perspective of the Native Americans. This is very different from representations of Native savagery and ruthlessness in earlier westerns. Keep in mind, the nature of the studio system has a strong influence on the films we see also. Films today, especially independent films are much less constrained by the rigid structure of the studio system than say Singin in the Rain.
Research your topic (books, periodicals, newspapers and selected web sources). Look for writing about your film. See if these writings give any relevant information about your film and its historical period.
View your film several times
Develop a one sentence thesis, example: “Easy Rider is a prime example of the 1960’s counterculture in both content and form.” This thesis pairs the major historical events with the film Easy Rider. This thesis further narrows your investigation. At this point you may want to find other writings that apply as specifically as possible to your thesis.
Sketch and outline your argument. This allows you to lay down a road map of your paper that you will fill in as you write.
