Analysis of Films

Instructions: Your task is to write a four-to-five-page comparative scene review. The essay will analyze three different scenes from three different films from the “Resistance” portion of the course. Each scene must be from a different film, and you have a choice of four films from the Resistance module.

Prompt: The goal of the paper is to analyze three different scenes (from three separate films) that deal broadly with the historical theme of resistance. First, choose three scenes that you find meaningful and worthy of discussion. You should choose scenes that deal with a similar historical theme or issue related to resistance across the films, in order to provide a good basis for discussion. Second, analyze the scenes in detail using the film theory tools that can be found on your guides. Some questions to consider in your analysis are: How do the scenes capture or deal with the historical issues at hand? Which techniques does the director use in each scene to accomplish her/his goal? What is different or similar about each approach and/or the end results? What is each director trying to convey about the nature of resistance under the Nazis? You do not need to answer all of these questions. Given that you are looking at individual scenes, the goal is to be as descriptive and probing as possible in your analysis, while still anchoring your discussion to the larger historical context of the war and occupation.

Grading: An “A” paper will integrate course readings and use some of the film concepts to describe each scene. Further, it will not simply recount plot lines from the lines, but draw extensively on quotes, images, and specific details within the scenes and films. The paper will be grounded historically by showing a familiarity with the specific historical contexts in which the plots take place and an ability to compare and contrast these contexts between the films.

Formatting (check each box before turning in):
• Your name is on the first page of the paper (not needed on following pages)
• 12 pt font Times New Roman and double-spaced.
• The pages are numbered.
• Citations are in either MLA or Chicago style.
• To cite film scenes, use time stamps (e.g.
Shop 1:12)
• All quotes and references are properly cited (i.e., no plagiarism).

• Bibliography is not necessary unless you use outside sources.
• Do not cut and paste the prompt into your paper.
• A paper that is 3.5 pages is not 4 pages long and will be marked down.
• No changes to the margins.
• There will be a half-grade reduction for every day the paper is late.