Analytical Screening Essay Assignment | Get Paper Help
You will write an analytical essay on one of the films listed below. You must select one element of the film to write on: either cinematography, editing, or mise-en-scène. State a clear thesis in your introductory paragraph, then spend the paper arguing that point specifically. Analysis is not description nor is it evaluation. Don’t waste time summarizing the film, or explaining why you think it’s “good” or “bad.” A good strategy to make your argument is to use specific scenes as evidence. How did a specific editing decision shape the rhythm of an interaction or reveal character? How did the framing of a shot set the tone for the story unfolding onscreen? It is advisable to watch the film multiple times so that you can recognize patterns or aesthetic choices that you might miss on a first viewing. The essay should be 6 pages. Your film choices: • Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino 2018): A coven of witches runs a Berlin dance school in this graphic remake of the 1977 horror classic. (Not for the faint of heart!) • The Last Black Man in San Francisco (Joe Talbot 2019): The poetic story of a young man’s attachment to a family home that centers issues of friendship and gentrification. • AHiddenLife(TerranceMalick2019):AmeditativeepicaboutanAustrianfarmerwho refused to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler during World War II. • The Farewell (Lulu Wang 2019): In this dramedy, a family decides not to tell the grandmother of her cancer diagnosis and throw one last family gathering before she dies. • Knives Out (Rian Johnson 2019): A flamboyant detective investigates the suspicious death of a mystery writer in this comic whodunit.
