Genre Paper
For this assignment, students will write a 1000-word minimum genre study paper, the purpose of which will be to consider genre conventions as they relate to a single film from the list of film selections, or approved by instructor using the required process (see film page for details).
The main objective in this paper is to answer, or prove, why your selected film classifies as an example of a certain genre. This question can be answered by considering how genre conventions are exemplified in your selected film. These conventions may include: particular narrative formulas, recurring themes, character types, certain settings, iconic imagery, genre-specific lighting, editing, and audio cues.
While the focus of your paper is the analysis of your selected film, the genre conventions you will be considering are identifiable because of the film’s relationship to film history, wherein these conventions have been established. For this reason, you may feel free to mention other films as reference points, as long as you remain focused on analyzing your selected film.[unique_solution]
In addition to considering the explicit genre conventions of your chosen film, you are expected to consider the underlying, implicit meaning of the film. What is your film saying about its content, characters, themes, and the world outside of the movie? What is your selected film communicating through its ideological standpoint? Does your selected film support or subvert the dominant values held by the culture in which the film was produced? Being able to answer these, or similar, questions will be crucial in your ability to wrap up your paper and take a decided stance in relation to your selected film.
You are expected to create a separate plot segmentation of roughly one page in length for your selected film. Within your segmentation, please indicate the scenes or areas of the film that you are referencing in your paper. Please keep in mind that the plot segmentation will not count toward the 1000-word count
You must connect the film to the historical time period in which it was produced either in terms of film history or general/world history. This does not have to be a major part of the paper, but it should be included and will likely play into the underlying meaning of the film.
You must have a clear thesis statement and use at least two outside sources to support the argument found in your essay. IMDB, Wikipedia, and the film itself do not count as outside sources. A properly formatted bibliography must accompany your paper.
Movie + Genre + Conventions + Meaning = Thesis
Movie = your choice of film from approved options
Genre = what is the genre, or subgenre, of your selected film?
Conventions = Mise -en-scene, iconography, situations, character types, story formulas, etc. Meaning = subtext, ideology, social/historical context