introduce the film and its cinematic characteristics (director, genre, year, style, settings, location, narration’s structure…); briefly narrate its plot; describe how
the narration is different from at least another cinematic version of Pinocchio; describe all the metaphorical meanings of the events narrated.
a) The title: should introduce the main aspect of your analysis.
b) Introduction: introduce briefly the film’s essential data.
What defines the film? Essential data (Title, year, Director, where the story takes place, when, film genre);
Film’s cinematic characteristics (scriipt, settings, locations, light, angles, photography, type of narration…) that make this film a cinematic and cultural
relevant work.
Indicate the Director’s purpose in making this film (the audience and the destination of this film is of capital importance).
Points of view of the audience.
Category: Film
Interstellar by Christopher Nolan
Analysis movie named Interstellar by Christopher Nolan. Please watch the movie while doing it. It is hard if not watch the movie.
Stories told through news media and documentary films
Stories told through news media and documentary films continually illustrate the inequities in the criminal justice system. In general, these inequities fall along race and class lines. Considering the multiple components of the system (i.e., law enforcement, the courts, and prisons), where are the greatest injustices found? And what should be done (i.e., policies implemented) to change it? Explain your response and use evidence and examples from the readings and film to support your argument.
Film Analysis on Burden of Dreams and Fitzcarraldo
First, watch the documentary, Burden of Dreams, and take notes on obstacles that the legendary director, Werner Herzog, faced in the making of it. At what points does he consider giving up? Why does he refuse to do so? What does he say compels him to keep going and finish his artistic vision regardless? Write down specific quotes from his interviews. Put these aside for later.
Next, watch the film itself, Fitzcarraldo. Briefly summarize the plot and the main characters in it. Who wants to bring “civilization” to the remote part of the world in which this story is set. In what form? At what cost? How is this vision misguided, both figuratively (think colonialism and the imposition of one way of life on another) and literally? Focus on the scene in which the boat is being hauled up the mountain and take notes on the cinematic techniques deployed in it for a close, shot-by-shot reading. This “close analysis” should be 75-125 words long, more or less.
Finally, combine your analysis of these two viewings in which you discuss the unique problems sometimes faced by directors wanting to film on site in remote locations in “underdeveloped” countries, foreign to their own. Why does it take a “touch of madness” to fulfill their artistic vision?
What light does this combined viewing shed on the relatively late arrival of much Third World cinema onto the international scene?
How film depict a specific event in Asian history
How does this film depict a specific event in Asian history or a historical figure? (A war, a historical person or folk hero, a specific era of history, etc.)
How does this film depict a specific aspect of Asian culture? (Examples: a particular cultural norm or attitude, religious practices, fashion, etc.)
How does the film depict one culture’s view of another culture? (Examples: how the Japanese are depicted in Chinese cinema, or how the Chinese are depicted in American culture, etc.)
How does the film depict a conflict between two cultures?
Book/Film Interpretation
For this project you will choose to analyze a film or book from the list below. Write an analysis of the film’s/book’s contribution to the study of a Spanish-speaking culture. You can look at the book or film in its entirety, or you can focus on a particular chapter or scene if you prefer.
Important: Your essay is not a summary of the book or film. You should analyze the book/film not for a plot or story line, but as a window into the culture.
Use the following points to guide your essay:
1. What is the central issue(s) of the film/book?
2. What have you learned or observed about a Spanish-speaking culture from this book/film? (Think about interpersonal or family relationships, customs, religion, food, music, politics, economics, or any other cultural aspect that are discussed or portrayed in the book/film.)
Narrative Exchange
Discuss three different kinds of film/TV narrative: classical (Stagecoach), post-classical/complex (Westworld), and art cinema (The Rider). Choose one of the three works we watched, and imagine what it would be like if you restructured it using a different narrative style. For example, how would The Rider’s story differ if it were organized in a more classical way, inspired by Stagecoach? What might an art cinema version of Stagecoach’s narrative look like? Could you imagine a complex/post-classical variation of Stagecoach or The Rider?
Movie Analysis
FIRST: Watch or review the film China Blue – start watching at 1:00
THEN: Answer the following questions about the film:
1. What is the full name of the young woman featured in this film?
2. What is the name of the Factory she works at, and what do they produce there?
3. What is the former job of the man who owns the Factory?
4. How many breaks do workers get per shift?
5. How long does one working shift last?
6. How much overtime pay do the workers at the factory receive?
7. How often are these factory workers paid?
8. Who buys the products manufactured at this factory? List a minimum of 3 sources from the film.
9. Write one paragraph that describes your reaction to this video.
Possible Focus questions: Is this documentary realistic? Can you relate in any way to any of the people who appear in this documentary? Why or why not?
10. Research and name at least two other countries where this type of work situation exists, and briefly describe your findings. Remember to CITE YOUR RESEARCH SOURCES.
The Smartest Guys In The Room Film Reflection
Describe ENRON’s corporate culture. How did executives serve to reinforce a culture of privilege?
How did a particular perspective about bureaucracy fit into the corporate culture at ENRON and how were workers subsequently impacted?
How do explain, sociologically, the positive attitude so many ex-employees had of their experiences at ENRON despite the terrible outcome?
At one point in the film, an ex-employee stated that “we all should have gotten out quicker.” Discuss this segment of the film reflectively. What were the signs that employees “should have” seen? Is her speech a fair assessment?
Describe ENRON’s corporate culture. How did “rank and yank” and the comparison to race car driving serve to reinforce that culture? How did a particular perspective about bureaucracy fit into this model?
How did Kenneth Lay “rule as the Master of Manipulation”?
Explain McDonaldization and the outcome of ENRON’s crisis using an example of any former employee interviewed in the film.
Filmmaking
In filmmaking, implied mass makes it possible for the director to create illusions of
great weight in objects that are relatively light. If you were creating your own movie
about building the Great Pyramid, what strategies or materials could you use to imply
heavy stones?