International Relations (IR)

Goal: The goal of this writing assignment is for you to hone your skills in identifying accuracy or bias in movies or in "alternative" documentaries which are related to U.S. foreign policy or other aspects of international affairs, including conflict and war.    

Assignment: Choose a movie or an "alternative" documentary that is "substantially" related to U.S. foreign policy or other aspects of international affairs, including conflict and war. Watch the movie/documentary.  Compare the movie or documentary to the conventional wisdom or the dominant historical account of events, often found in "mainstream" documentaries.  Then, write a short paper analyzing the accuracy of the portrayal of the policy or conflict or war or whatever the object of the movie/documentary is.     

Guidelines for the Movie/Documentary Write-up:  Open by describing the message of the movie or documentary.  In other words, what statement is movie/documentary attempting to make?  Be sure to enough detail from the movie or documentary to clearly convey the message/statement. 

Then, analyze the message or statement portrayed in the movie or documentary in the context of conventional wisdom or the dominant historical account of events.  Given this context, is the message or statement accurate?  You may also go further by challenging the conventional wisdom or historical account of events, but give rationale for doing so and support your arguments with evidence-in other words, don't rant. 

You will probably need to do some background research on the conventional wisdom or dominant historical account of events. You are free to use sources that you trust-just be sure to cite your sources.