Gender Signifiers

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the way that gender is portrayed, stereotyped, explored, overturned, or criticized in a film or television show. We will look “gender signifiers” such as visuals, actor portrayals, themes, etc. Here are the steps you should take:

Pick a film or tv show to analyze. If you pick a tv show, please do your analysis of several episodes, maybe even a whole season. Analyzing all the episodes of a tv show might be too much. The idea is to pick a piece of visual art that you think explores gender in an interesting way. Maybe it makes a statement about gender roles in the past. Maybe it imagines a different way to do gender in the future. Maybe it thinks through some issues that we prefer to ignore that still go on today. Maybe it has some striking visuals or themes of gender that make us feel uncomfortable and you want to explore that.
Come up with a Research Question. What issue behind this movie do you want to explore—the historical context? The director’s intention? The book or real life story it’s based on? Maybe you want to look up what other critics have said about the movie or show. We will work on generating a research question in class.
Based on your question, come up with a clear and specific argument (thesis statement) that states what you think the movie is showing us about gender. What does it mean? So what?
Conduct library research to help support your analysis of the film/show.

You must use a minimum of 2 sources for the paper, although you are allowed and encouraged to use more than 2 sources. The sources you use for this paper must only be from websites ending with .edu. This means that Sparknotes, About.com, Wikipedia, biography.com, etc. are not allowed for this paper.
A clear introduction and conclusion that are separate paragraphs from the body.
Clear analysis of the film. This may include analysis of visuals, analysis of film technique, analysis of acting, or just analysis of what the movie is about and what it is saying about gender. Do not write a lot of plot summary, but balance plot detail with analysis. Support your evidence with quotes and examples from the film.
A thesis statement that is the last sentence of the introduction and that argues what you think the movie is showing us about gender.
Structure and development. your paper should have three body paragraphs, and they should be organized and developed. This would make a 5-paragraph essay. (A 4 or 6 paragraph essay could also be acceptable for this assignment, but no more or less).
Proofreading: fix errors that you already know about it and make sure that the paper is formatted correctly and looks good, in MLA format.
Reflecting lessons learned in class. In class, we will go over thesis statements, paragraphs, development, formatting, grammar, etc. Your paper should show that you paid attention to these lessons. In other words: take notes!
Your paper should be minimum 1100 words long. It will be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman size 12, NOT bolded or enlarged. Your header should follow the MLA format as described in the syllabus, the textbook, and on Purdue OWL. The word count does NOT include the Works Cited page.
Must meet all the deadlines above. Not turning in a Rough Draft will drop your grade 10 points.