Pick a non-US film from the period 1960-present

This research paper should be approximately 2500 words (not including the bibliography or footnotes)

Chicago manual of Style is to be followed for citations:

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html (Links to an external site.)

Include a bibliography at the end of your paper

Please maintain academic integrity. If you plagiarize, it will be reported and you will fail the class

• Pick a non-US film from the period 1960-present.
• You may write a comparative paper if you so wish, but please do not write about more than 2 films.
• You must use at least 5-6 sources you have found during research. All 5/6 sources may be secondary, but if you want to include primary sources, limit these to 2, with the others being scholarly, secondary sources rather than popular sources (check with your TA if you are unsure which is which)
• The choice of film is yours, you may use a film from the syllabus, or from off the syllabus, but you must have access to the film (so you can watch it repeatedly in order to write your paper)
• Write a research based paper in which you critically analyze and discuss the film through a historical framework. When thinking about which kind of framework or focus you want to take, consider some of these potential avenues:
  • How concepts of authorship or film style were affected by the political environment in which the film was made e.g. under fascism, post-colonialism…
  • The role the government played in constricting or liberating film production, for example, through legislation or subsidies and other financial support.
  • Other cultural or social issues that the film/s may address directly, such as youth culture, feminism, immigration, violence, etc. These issues must be historically situated within a specific national context (in other words, think about why are your issue is important, or being debated in the time and place the film is being made?) This information will help you analyze your film, by providing historical context for your analysis.

Tips

• Try to identify a question you want to answer through writing the paper. You can make this question the title of your paper. Answering this question will result in your thesis.
• Show your research in your writing – include information from primary sources you have used, and cite/quote what other film scholars have written about your chosen topic. However, remember to keep the thesis original and your own.
• Use your chosen film to support your argument and discuss your topic. There should be a good balance between presenting your research, and analyzing the film/s.
• Once you’ve written your paper, read it out loud. You can improve flow by checking your writing this way.