Essay #2

Carefully read the two essays about John Ford's Stagecoach (especially the essay about space). Something you may notice in both essays is how little attention is paid to the specifics of the plot. While particular scenes or shots are described in detail, the authors don't discuss broad story arcs or go into great explanations of who characters are.

When writing academic-level film analysis, you always start with the assumption that your reader has not only seen the film or films you plan to discuss but that she or he knows the film quite well. Your job, then, is not to remind the person about the story but, instead, to reveal an entirely new aspect of the film. Simply put, we can sit together and watch a car chase: there are two cars, driving through the city, crashing into fruit carts. What you need to do now is explain why this scene is so important: what does it represent thematically? what is the artistry in that scene? are the cars metaphors for some greater social issue?

For your second essay, I want you to take a careful viewing of Imitation of Life and offer an analysis of the film based on one of the topics below. To make this first attempt at film analysis a little easier, you do not have to write a formal essay. Instead, what I want is an introductory paragraph of about 200 words in which you lay out the main idea or thesis. Again, think about the examples I gave you in the lectures and how the various theses I presented did not talk about the plot. Instead, they focused mostly on the central idea behind the film. Your introductory paragraph then should focus mostly on explaining that idea WITHOUT talking about plot details. 

Here are your topic choices:

• PARENTING: This film is obviously about two mothers who struggle as single mothers. While they may succeed financially, they fall short in other ways. For this topic, I want you to think about what this film might teach us about the role of being a parent (or speficially being a mother). Be careful not to rely on something trite as "parents sacrifice themselves for their children's happiness." While that certainly may be true, your thesis should look a little deeper than that. 
  
  
• RACE: While by today's standards there are many elements in this film that we might consider racist, during its time Imitation of Life was considered a very progressive film, one that actively sought to counter the racism of its time. What then is the specific argument that this film is trying to make? In other words, in what way might this film be considered anti-racist? Please keep in mind that this is a film from 1934.
  
  
• GROWING UP: While race is an obvious central theme, one can also look at the struggles of Peola as being emblematic of larger and more general struggles of growing up, of making that transition from a child to an adult. Looking beyond the immediate racial difficulties that Peola faces, explain how Peola's struggles might be considered universal to all young people going through the difficulties of that transition into adulthood. For this topic, I want you to focus on the character of Peola. You can and certainly should consider Jesse as well but the central focus should be on Peola. 

Once you have your introductory paragraph, I want you to find two scenes in the film that support your thesis. Remember, this is anaysis. Avoid just summarizing the scene. You need to explain the meaning of the scene in relationship to your thesis. As part of your analysis, you must also take into consideration the cinematic aspects of the scene (visual and aural). Do not treat the analysis like you would a short story or novel. Each of these scene analyses should be about 300 words each.

So, to review:

• Come up with a thesis and an introduction that explains the thesis (about 200 words) based on the topics I've given you.
• Analyze two scenes that help support your thesis (about 300 words each). Remember, DO NOT summarize or just describe. You need to offer insightful analyses.
• You do not need to have the essay flow together. You can have three clearly marked sections (Intro, Scene 1, Scene 2)

The total length of your paper should be a minimum of 800 words. Please make sure to double space your paper.

I'm willing to look at rough drafts but they must be turned in at least one week in advance. You must have at least part one of the essay. You do not have to have the scene analyses finished for the rough draft.