Category: Film studies

In your introductory paragraph,
Identify your selected film, including writer, director, year of release, and genre.
Example: Oppenheimer, a biographical, historical drama, was written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and released in July, 2023.
Summarize the film in which you apply your knowledge of the difference between the film’s story and its plot.
Tip: review your Week 1 Discussion post and think about everything you now know about story and plot.
Describe one of the broad theories you have learned about in class (auteur theory, genre theory, formalist theory) that you will use to analyze your film in this paper.
Tip: review Film: From Watching to Seeing for a refresher on film theory.
Example: Auteur theory is the systematic approach to understanding the complex role of the director in some, but not all, films. According to Goodykoontz, et. al (2022), “When applied to film directing, auteur theory posits that the director is indeed the author of the film, imprinting it with his or her personal vision.”
Develop a thesis statement that describes how the specific elements of your chosen film work together to communicate themes relating to a particular social issue.
Tip: visit the Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site. resource from the UAGC Writing Center.
Example: Nope (2022) is the third film from auteur director Jordan Peele, and breaks the mold of the UFO horror trope by using a predominantly black cast, which draws further attention to ideas of self and other, while foregrounding the black experience in an otherwise classic cinematic spectacle.
In the body of your paper,
Analyze your selected film using one of the broad theories you have learned about in class (auteur theory, genre theory, formalist theory).
Tip: use at least one paragraph to give an overview of how your chosen theoretical lens serves an analysis of your chosen film. In subsequent paragraphs continue to draw connections between your close analysis and the theory.
Evaluate the use of three specific techniques and design elements employed in the film as they contribute to the overarching narrative, theme, and social commentary of your chosen film. This can include elements of mise-en-scène (e.g., lighting, sound, composition of frame, costuming, etc.) and editing (e.g., cuts and transitions, shots used, angles, etc.).
Tip: here’s where you can bring in pieces from your Week 2 and Week 3 Assignments.
Tip: dive deeper into a scene or scenes, describing what happens and how. Focus on the techniques used and describe how and why they contribute to specific themes so you can draw detailed and direct connections between visual/thematic elements and your chosen film theory.
Describe the ways in which your chosen film has impacted society or how it has called attention to a particular social issue (i.e., politically or culturally, positive or negative).
Tip: this is a key point of your paper and you’ve likely already begun to address it in Week 2 and Week 3 Assignments. Think about what your chosen film tells us about society—class, race, gender, violence, climate—and whether it is effective in making its argument. Explain why this cause is important for people to know, to think about, and to choose whether or not to take a stand. Does it serve as a call to action?
In the conclusion of your paper,
Draw connections between each element of your chosen film and how they contribute to the film’s overall stance on a particular social issue, if it is effective in doing so, and why addressing this issue is necessary to society.
Tip: your conclusion should restate your thesis and remind the reader which specific examples demonstrate how your chosen serves as an exemplar of your chosen film theory and remind us why a film’s social resonance is an important part of cultural engagement.
Final Film Critique: Film and Social Resonance Analysis final paper
Must be five to six double-spaced pages (1500 to 1800 words) in length (not including title page and references) and formatted according to APA StyleLinks to an external site. as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft WordLinks to an external site.
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper in bold font
Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
Student’s name
Name of institution (The University of Arizona Global Campus)
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Due date
Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic VoiceLinks to an external site. resource for additional guidance.
Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
For assistance on writing Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site. and Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site., refer to the Writing Center resources.
Must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source.
To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view the Quick and Easy Library ResearchLinks to an external site. tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper guide.Links to an external site.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References ListLinks to an external site. resource in the Writing Center for specifications.

Complete your title page and start numbering pages per APA guidelines.
Create a working thesis statement that will be the organizational principle of your paper.
If you are having trouble with developing your thesis, try using the Writing Center’s Thesis GeneratorLinks to an external site. Remember that your thesis should name the film (title in italics), address the major techniques it uses to tell its story, and state how it ultimately comments on or impacts society. Your thesis should serve as the organizing principle of your paper. When you write your final paper, you will want to include your thesis toward the end of your introductory paragraph.
Outline your introduction.
Outline your body paragraphs.
Outline your conclusion.

Our feature this week is Paris Is Burning, an extraordinary documentary about the drag ball and voguing subculture of the late 1980’s (right before Madonna’s 1990 hit single Vogue created a certain degree of mainstream exposure for this scene).
Director Jennie Livingston shot the film as her NYU film school thesis project, choosing a style that is way more impressionistic, immersive and personal than we find in many traditional documentary films. (For instance, there is no omniscient voiceover narration, and the subjects get to tell their own story very directly.)
Even though Paris Is Burning was not conceived or meant as a historical documentary, it captures a moment in New York City history that is now long bygone – the time before Mayor Giuliani ‘cleaned up’ the city, when gay culture was less assimilated, existed more on the fringes of society and was beset by the spectral cloud of AIDS, especially for the disenfranchised gay people of color whose lives the film documents. Your homework is to answer these questions about the film, which you can view via this link:

1. Which one of the various prominently featured individuals in the film did you personally find the most interesting (or relatable) in terms of the experience they talked about or the perspective they offered, and why? (AT LEAST 150 WORDS)
2. This is the link to Madonna’s famous live performance of Vogue at the 1990 MTV Music Awards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTaXtWWR16A. What are the notable similarities and/or differences between the way in which she and Livingston – both white women – represent the Black and Latino performers in vogue and drag ball culture?