Essay #1

For your first essay assignment, I am asking you a very simple question: what do you think is the BEST film you have ever seen?

Now, of course, a simple question more often than not requires a very complex answer. Notice that I asked you for the best film you've seen and not your favorite film. By best, I am asking you to think about the value of a film. To suggest that something is the best film you've seen is to suggest that it will last the test of time. There are some films that people will watch for decades (such as Gone with the Wind) while other films may make a huge splash at the box office but are quickly forgotten after one or two years. Whatever film you choose as "the best" should be one that you think will be viewed by people for the next twenty to thirty years, something that will not easily be forgotten.

When writing about your film, make sure you DO NOT spend time summarizing the plot or the storyline. You can, for the sake of this assignment, assume that I have seen whatever film you choose. In fact, assume that I've seen it several times so you absolutely do not need to go over plot details. Instead, I want you to focus on the film's central idea or theme and really discuss how that film covers that theme.

For example, if you were going to write about The Hunger Games, you might argue that the film is really about being true to one's self and one's values. You would then spend the rest of the essay pulling examples from the film that help articulate and elucidate this idea. Be careful, however, not to follow the plot. Remember, your paper is about an idea in the film, not about the storyline.

This essay needs to be at least 900 words and DOUBLE SPACED.

YOU CANNOT TALK ABOUT HUNGER GAMES (or CATCHING FIRE). Sorry, if that's your choice of film you need to find another film.

As indicated in the course syllabus, late papers will be accepted up until one week after the due date; however, late papers will be penalized 10% and will not receive any comments. You can either copy and paste your paper into the box below or submit a file as an attachment. If you choose the latter, make sure to follow the directions below.

On a very important side note: titles of films are always italicized. One of my personal pet peeves is when students mess up on the proper formatting of titles. Make sure that you italicize your film titles. You will lose significant points if your film titles are not italicized. I'm usually a pretty easy-going guy but I'm really uptight about people messing up titles.