When people focus on film, they often focus on the sociopolitical commentary embedded within them. Movies, as the argument goes, offer a space for social and political change, and, when their messages are heeded, they offer an opportunity for personal and political growth. Seriously watching film hones your critical thinking skills, your focus, your knowledge of the world. All of this is irrefutable, of course, and movies should be viewed for these academic, personal, and professional benefits. In recent years, however, more attention has been paid to the social-emotional value of fiction, including movies. In this paper, we will think about how watching film impacts personal well-being and society. Specifically, we will be considering how fiction has the power to teach us about human relationships, benefitting us on both a personal and social level. While watching film can broaden our perspectives and help us to become more empathetic, it can also teach us how to improve, evaluate, and reconsider our interpersonal relationships. In particular, film has the potential to demonstrate the power of all sorts of love, and in so doing helps people to enrich their interpersonal dealings, which in turn can improve society.
Rather than focus on romantic love and perfect relationships – sorry Titanic and The Notebook – we will be looking at dysfunctional ones. In particular, I want you to pick a relationship that is unhealthy and analyze what has gone wrong. You can pick any type of poorly functioning relationship; you are not limited to romance.
The Task:
You will select an English language film and write a research paper that answers the following question: By showing the darker side of relationships, WHAT does this movie teach its viewers about love? And why does it matter? What does it put into perspective?
In this assignment, you will take the ideas you’ve developed from watching the movie and your research to make a claim about the value of your chosen film. Your essay should be a well-written, researched response to “What does your film teach its viewers about love and why does it matter?
There is a file in the Research Project module that contains a correctly formatted example of a Research Checkpoint. Note that NONE of the entries contains quotations.
1. Find 3 sources from the library database or Internet that pertain to your topic. You can find sources on the film or on love. These sources should be academic sources, or online sources written by academics (such as essays from Aeon, The New Yorker, The Economist, or The Atlantic). Blogs, personal websites, popular media, and news sites are not acceptable sources.
2. Compose a research checkpoint following MLA format. Your checkpoint should have two parts: an introduction and the citations itself.
3. The Introduction should be around 300 words and it should discuss what you plan to write about in your essay. DO NOT use quotations, just share your plans in your own words.
4. The checkpoint should follow MLA. Each of the two entries should be two paragraphs. The first paragraph should be a summary that follows our four-part summary format. It should NOT contain quotes and should be done completely in your own words. In a second paragraph explain in 150 or so words why this source is relevant. Here, too you should NOT use quotes.
Requirements:
• MLA Formatting
• 3 sources authored by academics (2 must be from the library)
• NO Quotations
• For each entry, a summary of the source and an evaluative paragraph.
A 4-part summary for nonfiction includes:
1. The source’s argument
2. The main points the author makes to support the argument
3. The author’s purpose
4. The intended audience and expected outcome of reading
Please see the writing guide for more information on how to write the summary.
Here, you will take the ideas you’ve developed from watching the movie and your research to make a claim about the value of your chosen film. Your essay should be a well-written, researched response to “What does your film teach its viewers about love and how does that enrich them personally and as members of society?”
There is a Writing Guide that takes you, paragraph-by-paragraph, through what you are supposed to do.
A sample essay is also available.
Requirements:
Automatic Grades:
Major Citation Error (missing a WC page, quotes from the film, or in-text citations): 65
Academic Dishonesty (AI or blatant plagiarism): 0
Too-short (paper is shorter than 800 words): 50