Remember: If York is closed for some reason on the 30th, you have to hand in your essay as soon as the university reopens. You need to place it in the drop box in the film department. If you cannot attend the tutorial you need to find someone else who can "deliver" your essay. I cannot accept essays by email. No exceptions.
CRITICAL ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Due in tutorial March 29/30, 2011
- This is worth 30% of your final grade
- Late penalty: 5% per day off the graded result (not including weekends)
The essay must be on white 8 1/2” x 11” paper in 12 pt font. It will have a title page (which will include the essay title, the course number, your name, and your TA’s name), page numbers, and minimum 1” margins. As well, your essay must be written in a consistent style (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago) and include proper citations, bibliographical information, and a filmography.
For this assignment you will write a 2,500 word essay (~8-10 pages). This is a formal essay (i.e., minimal first person perspective; presentation of a thesis substantiated by critical analysis and research). Evaluation will be based on the strength of the writing (including the clarity of the thesis statement, essay organization, and coherence of the presentation of evidence) and the quality of the research and critical analysis. You should use your assigned readings as exemplary film analyses and attempt to develop an essay writing style that is clear, well researched, and thoughtfully argued. Bordwell & Thompson include several sample analyses in their text and they discuss writing a critical essay on pp. 443-451.
Already, in your essay proposal, you will have selected a question to respond to and you will have provided your thesis, your critical methodology (e.g., formal analysis, ideological analysis, auteurism, genre study, etc.) and the sources that will help shape and substantiate your argument. Your essay should use the proposal as a blueprint and you should include a variety of sequence analyses to illustrate your thesis. If your TA has indicated where your proposal could be improved you should make a special effort to respond to that advice in order to produce a stronger essay. Whenever possible you should use terminology, concepts and insights that derive from the material you have learned in the course.
Academic Honesty:
Any thesis or research which you borrow from another writer should be cited in a footnote, endnote or by other acceptable form of reference to source material. Theft of intellectual property is dealt with harshly by the university and can lead to academic penalty. For rules about plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty please refer to the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty. In this document there is ample discussion of the issue, including definitions of breach of academic honesty. Among other things the Senate policy discusses offences such as cheating; submission of one piece of work in satisfaction of two assignments without prior consent; impersonation; plagiarism and other misappropriation of the work of another; abuse of confidentiality; falsification or forgery of documents; obstruction of the academic activities of another; and aiding or abetting academic misconduct. If you are unclear about these definitions, please consult the course director or visit this location: http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm
No email submissions are accepted. If you do not submit the essay at tutorial you should submit to the assignment drop box beside CFT 223. The drop box is cleared by 3PM each day and its contents are date-stamped. In order for your assignment to be considered “on time” it must be in the box by 3PM of the due date
PROPOSAL: CRITICAL ESSAY
ESSAY PROPOSAL ASSIGNMENT
Due in tutorial February 01/02, 2011
- This is worth 5% of your final grade – Late penalty: 5%/day late (not including weekends)
This assignment is intended to prepare you for writing your critical essay (which will be ~ 2500 words and will be confined to one of the following topics). Pick a topic, research it, and develop a thesis based on your research – these are the fundamental elements of an essay proposal. The length of this proposal will be three (3) pages double-spaced (~750 words including bibliography). It will include your topic of research (chosen from the following list), a thesis statement, an outline of the essay’s structure, the methodology you will use, and at least six (6) bibliographical sources. Evaluation is based on: evidence of research, clarity of thesis, essay organization and structure, and the quality of the bibliography
Please choose one of the following essay topics:
1) In what ways do modernist narrative films (like Breathless) challenge the meanings of classical narrative films (like Stagecoach)? Discuss their different approaches to plot, diegesis, genre, and editing.
2) Consider the history of the use of highly rhetorical style in government films including those of the National Film Board of Canada and those of Pare Lorentz (including The River).
3) Discuss the relationship between expressionism and film noir. Your analysis should include consideration of plot and story as well as elements of mise-en-scene and should make reference to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Collateral.
4) Develop a comparative auteur study using pairs of filmmakers whose work you interpret by analyzing thematic and aesthetic similarities and differences. Choose from the following pairs: John Ford and Wong Kar-Wai; Julie Taymor and Luis Bunuel; Ozu Yasujiro and Maya Deren.
5) Consider the ways that early film was experienced and compare this to contemporary media experiences like the Internet and gaming. Discuss similarities and differences.
6) Discuss independent filmmaking by asking: what defines an independent film? what is the history of independent filmmaking? how do independent filmmakers relate to formal innovations? to formal conventions? Include analyses of Rude and El Mariachi.
7) Do genre films reproduce a society’s dominant ideologies? Discuss popular genre films as representations of particular historical conjunctures including their social and power relations.
8) Discuss the history of feature filmmaking in Canada with particular attention paid to Hollywood’s influence on this nation’s film culture (including production, distribution, and exhibition). Consider Rude and Trailer Park Boys: The Movie in your analysis.
9) Consider the relationship between modernity and modernism (including artistic movements such as Futurism, Dadaism, Surrealism, and Constructivism) by discussing avant-garde films (including Un Chien Andalou and Battleship Potemkin) as reactions to social change.
10) How does participatory documentary style contribute to an ethical film practice? Consider how the NFB’s Challenge for Change program is part of this history.
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FA/Film 1401 6.0 A FW10-11
Course Director: John McCullough
FALL TERM TAKE HOME EXAM
Due: Monday, December 13, 2010, by 3pm
Submit your exam to the Dept. of Film Assignment Drop Box
beside Room 223 of the Centre for Film and Theatre
- This is worth 15% of your final grade
- Late penalty: 5% per day off the graded result (not including weekends)
Answer the following three (3) questions in essays that are ~900 words each (your exam will be approx. 2,700 words in total length which is 9-10 pages). For this assignment you will be evaluated on the quality of your writing and analysis including your ability to synthesize course readings, lectures, screenings, and tutorial discussions. When substantiating your claims you should make explicit reference to scenes in the films, mentioning techniques and formal qualities that illustrate your answer. You must use cinema studies terminology accurately and you must cite your sources in footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography (you should use a recognized style guide with which you are familiar). Your essays should be double-spaced with pages numbered, ~3 cm margins, 12 pt font, black ink on white paper, stapled in the upper left, with a cover page that includes: Title: FALL TAKE HOME EXAM; Course Title & Number (Course Director’s Name): INTRODUCTION TO FILM, FILM 1401 (McCullough); Your Tutorial Number; Your Tutorial Leader’s name; Your Name & Student Number; Date.
Academic Honesty:
The take home exam format allows students to work on projects collaboratively and with a variety of forms of study and writing aids. This is helpful in developing fully rounded arguments and clear lines of analysis and thesis presentation. Nonetheless it is imperative that your essay be original and not a copy of others’ work. Those students suspected of cheating will be penalized according to the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty. If you are unclear about the definitions of academic dishonesty please consult the course director or visit this location: HYPERLINK "http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm"http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm
Please answer these questions in three essays of ~900 words each:
1. Describe the scene from each of Wizard of Oz and Stagecoach that represents the beginning of each film’s “development”. Explain your reasoning.
2. Discuss the implied meanings of the endings of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Citizen Kane, and Bicycle Thieves.
3. Discuss Battleship Potemkin and Stagecoach as expressions of nationalist values.
FA/Film 1401 6.0 FW10-11 McCullough
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RESPONSE PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Due Oct. 26/27, in tutorials
- This is worth 10% of your final grade
- Late penalty: 5% per day off the graded result (not including weekends)
Please answer the following question in a 5 page response paper:
In his essay “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” André Bazin presents the case that film’s greatest achievement lies in its ability to capture reality and preserve time. But he concludes that essay by acknowledging that film is also a language. How can Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North (US, 1922) be said to illustrate Bazin’s essay?
A response paper is a short essay that is focused on specific information and reflection on particular issues. For this assignment you will be evaluated on the quality of your writing as well as the quality of your discussion of the following question. The question must be answered clearly, with references to relevant readings and screenings, and you should endeavour to organize your response paper as a critical essay. That is, the best essays will show evidence of an ability to synthesize a coherent response. When substantiating your argument you should make explicit reference to scenes in the films, mentioning techniques and formal qualities that illustrate your point. You should also refer to the readings, citing your sources accurately in footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography (you should use a style guide with which you are familiar). For help with citation styles, please refer to the Scott Library website and search for on-line help with essay writing. If you have difficulty with writing you should consult the Centre for Academic Writing at 416-736-5134.
Your response paper should be ~5 pages (1300 words, each page numbered not incl. the cover page), double-spaced, ~3 cm margins, 12 pt font, black ink on white paper, stapled in the upper left, with a cover page that includes: Title: RESPONSE PAPER; Course Title & Number: INTRODUCTION TO FILM, FILM 1401; Tutorial Number; Tutorial Leader’s name; Your Name & Student Number; Date.
Academic Honesty: Any thesis or research which you borrow from another writer should be cited in a footnote, endnote or by other acceptable form of reference to source material. Theft of intellectual property is dealt with harshly by the university and can lead to academic penalty. Among other things, the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty discusses offences such as cheating; submission of one piece of work in satisfaction of two assignments without prior consent; impersonation; plagiarism and other misappropriation of the work of another; abuse of confidentiality; falsification or forgery of documents; obstruction of the academic activities of another; and aiding or abetting academic misconduct. If you are unclear about these definitions, please consult the course director or visit this location:http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm
Note: If you miss handing in work at a tutorial, you should submit the work (prior to 3pm on the due date to avoid the late penalty) to the assignment drop box, which is located on the wall beside CFT 223. Please put your tutorial leader’s name clearly on the cover page, and verify later that they have received it. Due to the large number of students in the course, no email submissions are accepted.
