Category: Film studies

Over the next 1+ weeks you will learn about some forms of popular entertainment in the U.S. through archival material and embodied practice, more commonly known as performance.
Amusement Parks (week 3)
Wild West Shows (week 3)
Variety/Vaudeville (week 3)
Minstrel Shows (week 4)
Your assignment:
As you read and watch the content for each of the four topics (chapters from Don Wilmeth’s 1982 book), take notes, making as many connections as you can between the historical forms of entertainment presented by Wilmeth and more modern versions per my examples and/or any examples you can think of from your own interest/experience.
Your report should consist of:
1) a summary of the connections you made for each submodule (Amusement Parks, Wild West Shows, Variety/Vaudeville and Minstrel Shows), from Wilmeth to the examples I shared and/or your own interest/experiences/research.
2) any questions and/or issues that were raised for you as you moved through each form.
AND (as a result of your academic engagement and critical thinking)
3) ideas for further research.
Scoring: (4) sections each worth (5) points each.
Per my video, rubric for this assignment now added (3pm 7/25)
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Questions & Answers (as of 7/29):
Question:
Dear Professor,
I am currently working on the report and I know that the instructions are to write the report in a summary style. Do I need to include in text citations from the Don Wilmeth readings? In text citation and or formal citations at the bottom of the paper? I know the instructions are too share 3 facts from the reading from each section and I am wondering if the citations need to be included.
Answer: yes, please – both!
So, when you use a quote or paraphrase from Wilmeth in your summary, you should include the page # and then have the book cited at the end of your report.
Follow Up Answer: … & apologies: I may have said no need in the video (ie. I know the source you are citing from), but reading your email/thinking about it again in relation to Pop Up#3, I need citations!
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Here’s a freebie for your Works Cited page!
Wilmeth, Don B. Variety Entertainment and Outdoor Amusements: A Reference Guide. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1982.
Examples of in-text citations:
Direct quote: According to Wilmeth, “most published material on the Wild West concerns “Buffalo Bill” Cody and his exhibition” (83).
Direct quote: As stated in Variety Entertainment and Outdoor Amusements: A Reference Guide, “most published material on the Wild West concerns “Buffalo Bill” Cody and his exhibition” (Wilmeth 83)
Paraphrase: In 1982, Wilmeth said the majority of published material on Wild West shows is about William F. Cody (83).
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
Due on Aug 2, 2023 9:00 AM
Available on Jul 24, 2023 11:59 PM. Access restricted before availability starts.
Available until Aug 2, 2023 9:00 AM. Access restricted after availability ends.

Use 1.5 line spacing, no font size larger than 12pt.

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<br />Set your top and bottom margins at 1”, left and right margins at .75”

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<br />Cite sourced material parenthetically, follow MLA standard format for all documentation as required.

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<br />CONTENT:

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<br />Compare, contrast (OR combine comparison and contrast) two of the three plays assigned as viewing. You may not use the subject of your Critique paper as a subject here. (Example: If you write a critique on Tartuffe, because it's essentially a souped up version of the review you already had to write and you're really smart like that, you must then compare or contrast Oedipus Rex with Death of a Salesman)

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<br />The focus of your paper is up to you to decide. How you compare or contrast the two works is entirely up to your determination. The two links given below provide excellent explanations and strategies of how to be successful with this type of writing and how to find focal subjects. I strongly encourage you to adopt the tactics offered by these websites in terms of choosing subject and organizing your paper.

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<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7lGIUzUKOE

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<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTQ-qK-m6mo&t=1834s

TIP: Pick a film from the list (on the assignment document attached below) that you think you may enjoy. Watch the film. Then write about it using the outline/questions provided in the assignment sheet.
Please do not plagiarize — use your own words.
You need to demonstrate that you are able to apply the ideas discussed in the presentations to the film you chose to view. Specific examples in your answers will help in showing that you have viewed the film.
Find the films online through various streaming services, whether through purchase or subscriiption. No links will be provided by the instructor.
YOU MAY FOLLOW THE NUMBERED OUTLINE PROVIDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT SHEET. DO NOT WRITE OUT THE QUESTION. SIMPLY NUMBER YOUR RESPONSES.
Follow the directions provided in the attached assignment sheet.
Use as many terms as possible to make the paper more interesting such as:
Noir films
Dadaism, surrealism, etc
screwball comedy
silent actors
and other cinema terms such as symbolism etc.

Pick and watch a Title/Intro from the website artofthetitle.com (https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/nappily-ever-after/) What I’d like you to do, in particular, is watch the title and discuss it for a half to a full-page typed covering the below
1 . How is the type displayed (is it static and faded in/out? Or does it move across the screen? Does it do all these things? etc).
2. Use the categories of “Calligram” and “Rebus” to describe the text when appropriate so PLEASE READ THESE before you write your Assignment).
3. How does the Title/Intro communicate the story or plot of the film (is it fairly direct? Abstract? Does it start before the film, or is it part of the film right away? etc).
4. Does the Title/Intro tell the story of the film well (or do you think it hampers it, or is so “out there”, that it misses its chance to help out the film)?
5. Also, any other thoughts you find of interest to fill out the discussion.

Pick and watch a Title/Intro from the website artofthetitle.com (https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/la-casa-de-las-flores/) What I’d like you to do, in particular, is watch the title and discuss it for a half to a full-page typed covering the below
1 . How is the type displayed (is it static and faded in/out? Or does it move across the screen? Does it do all these things? etc).
2. Use the categories of “Calligram” and “Rebus” to describe the text when appropriate so PLEASE READ THESE before you write your Assignment).
3. How does the Title/Intro communicate the story or plot of the film (is it fairly direct? Abstract? Does it start before the film, or is it part of the film right away? etc).
4. Does the Title/Intro tell the story of the film well (or do you think it hampers it, or is so “out there”, that it misses its chance to help out the film)?
5. Also, any other thoughts you find of interest to fill out the discussion.

Introduce the chosen film (The Great Debaters) and state the particular aspect you will focus on and why. Address an original and specific thesis statement about how one or two film techniques (mise-en-scene, casting, camerawork, lighting, editing, and sound) are effectively used to emphasize one key theme in the film.
For instance,
The impact of types and length of shots, camera angles, and movements, edits in the development of a specific theme in the film.
The significance of the mise-en-scene, the placement of actors and the arrangement of the scene. How does this scene represent the theme of the movie?
The body of the paper:
Descriiption (1 paragraph): Explain the general patterns/motifs over the entire film: Explain one key theme in the film (race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, patriotism, postcolonialism, formalism, etc.)

Analysis (1-2 paragraphs): Analyze 1-2 scenes that serve as important examples of the key theme.

Evaluation (2 paragraphs): Focus on and evaluate how one or two film techniques (mise-en-scene, casting, camerawork, lighting, editing, and sound) are effectively used to emphasize one key theme in the film.

Conclusion (1 paragraph):
Restate your thesis in a conclusive (as opposed to introductory) matter. Briefly summarize the evidence you have highlighted in support of a key theme you focused. Discuss its broader implications (for example, what social issues does the film respond to).

Margins: No larger than 1” around
Font type/size: Times New Roman/12 pts.
Underline or italicize film titles
Just an indent between paragraphs
Double space, typed
Clarity and conciseness
1. Eliminate unnecessary words
2. Minimize jargon
3. Simplify, but don’t talk down
4. Completeness: Is everything there to help the reader completely understand the topic?
5. No errors
6. Neatness: Presents a compelling package

Write about Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and examine how the spanish civil war influenced the films setting, magical realism elements, and themes of resistance escapism, and the brutalities of francoist spain