essay

Guide for the Final Paper:

Your thesis statement must include a consideration of the relationship between the film’s implicit and symptomatic meanings (as posted on Blackboard).

You must reference the DVD extra feature “The Possibility of Hope” in explaining the film’s symptomatic meaning. Remember, given that this is science fiction, the infertility crisis is a symbolic reflection of contemporary anxieties regarding the relationship of science to nature.

Some discussion of the following is required: the opening scene, the scene with Kee in the barn, and the final scene. There are certainly other scenes, sequences, and moments that you should account for but these three are essential. Remember, what you discuss should be in service of a thesis supported by your mapping of the development of Theo as a character and how that works in concert with the film’s symptomatic meaning. This is Theo's story but you also need to consider Theo as a stand-in for all of humanity.

Very importantly, this is not to be written like a Scene Analysis paper. I’m not interested in your ability to identify every single aspect of film form in a scene. The goal of this paper is quite different. You are to only discuss film form when it is salient and necessary to an understanding of the film’s levels of meaning. Your writing should be shaped by your identification of plot and character developments as they relate to the levels of meaning. Salient aspects should only be noted in service of this agenda (e.g., noting the setting of the barn and Kee’s dialogue about the milking machines in the scene in which she reveals her pregnancy to Theo).

All formatting guidelines established for previous papers not only apply to this one but there will be greater grade penalties for not following them. This is the capstone paper for the course and is an opportunity for you to demonstrate what you have learned about writing a formal film analysis paper. Essentials of formatting and style should be second nature by now.

Never use the term “movie.” It is informal. Instead use “film.”

Your final paper submission must be as Microsoft Word document and identified according to this model: “Maysles Final Paper”