Reference no: EM133516033
Assignment
Movie: MALCOM X
Write:
In your introductory paragraph,
1. Explain genre theory in your own words and why this is a useful approach to the study of film.
• Tip: review Chapter 3.1 in Film: From Watching to Seeing for clear explanation of genre and why genre theory is one useful approach to the study of film.
2. Describe the common conventions (story, theme, mise-en-scène) of the genre you have selected.
• Example: Western films often display themes of man v. nature or good v. evil and are visually recognizable by being set in dusty towns, under natural light (or low-key light to establish a villain in a saloon), and featuring a man, a horse, and an adversary.
3. Identify a feature-length film that fits your selected genre and state the year it was produced, its director, cinematographer (or director of photography), and top-billed cast.
• Tip: place film titles in italics throughout your paper.
4. Develop a thesis statement that argues how specific elements of your chosen film fit or expand the conventions of the genre and sub-genre(s) and establish an overarching theme or message.
• Tip: visit the Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site. resource from the UAGC Writing Center.
• Tip: Film Title displays [story convention], [thematic convention], and [visual convention-think: setting, lighting, world] that places it firmly within the [primary] genre and suggests that it expands the boundaries of that genre by incorporating elements of [secondary / sub-genre].)
In the body of your paper (at least three paragraphs),
1. Summarize the movie. As you develop this summary, remember to distinguish between the film's story and the film's plot and be sure to highlight specific genre elements (theme, story, mise-en-scène-actors, set, world, lighting).
• Tip: your plot summary should be brief-no more than one paragraph-as you want to spend the most of your time analyzing the specific conventions beyond plot (setting, costuming, actors, lighting, editing, sound) that tell us what genre and sub-genre of the film.
2. Interpret at least two genre conventions exhibited in your chosen feature-length film that help classify it in the selected genre. Be sure to provide a specific example of each convention (e.g., the elements used in a scene, type of story, plot component, or theme).
• Example: The Spaghetti Western film A Fistful of Dollars (1964) is set in a Mexican town, in a remote, dusty landscape, under in natural light. In the scene, "Get Three Coffins Ready," The Man With No Name (Eastwood), wearing a cowboy hat and poncho, saunters slowly down the town's one main street, puffing on the stub of a cigar.
3. Evaluate a third convention (e.g., the elements used in a scene, type of story, plot component, or theme not yet addressed) from your chosen feature-length film and how this convention expands the boundaries of the specified genre.
• Example: In Cowboys & Aliens (2011), when gunslinger Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) wakes up with a futuristic metal shackle around his wrist, this unusual addition to his otherwise conventional costume suggests that two genres are about to collide.