Anthropolgical Analysis

FILM REVIEW PAPER - INSTRUCTIONS

Anthropology 201: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Fall Semester 2018

Section 002 (9:30 Class)

Your film review paper is a required element of the course and counts 20% of your final grade.

Form:

Your paper must be a minimum of five (5) full pages of content and a maximum of seven (7), double spaced, typed using no larger than 12 point font. The five-page minimum length requirement assumes your 12-point font is typed in Times New Roman. If you use a larger font, or a style that appears larger, your paper’s length must be increased accordingly. Use 1” margins throughout the paper: left, right, top, and bottom. Beginning with page two, please include the page number on the upper right corner of each page of your paper. Please note that deviations from the above requirements will be considered in the evaluation of your paper. Papers must be submitted in hard copy form only; no emailed versions will be accepted or graded. In fairness to all students, there are no exceptions.

Content:

View a commercially produced feature/Hollywood film. I have included a list of suggested films with these instructions. My approval in advance is required for a film not on the list. Please note that films which are fully and entirely animated are not permitted, but “motion capture” technique is perfectly acceptable. Your paper must include the following elements: a short summary of the film, a critical assessment of the film’s contents, and most importantly, an anthropological analysis. Specifically, you must demonstrate the relevance of the film, or its connections, to anthropology. Your paper may not be 90% plot summary and 10% analysis.

In your assessment of the film’s contents, you are to critique the film from a film critic’s perspective. You may consider aspects such as the following: Examine the filmmakers’ “world” (the cultural setting and time frame): Middle-earth, the American West in the 1860s, modern-day India, 1950s American suburbia, Germany during World War II, Afghanistan under the reign of the Taliban, the Roman Empire in the 2nd century, etc. Are the characters, situations, or plot stereotypical, unrealistic, illogical, etc.? For example, does a film featuring Native Americans portray them as stereotypical “wild Indians” or, conversely, as unrealistically strong, wise, and perfect in every respect? Is Indiana Jones representative of a typical archaeologist, or is he a stereotype? An extreme example: whereas it is neither unrealistic nor illogical to see elves and orcs in Middle-earth, it would violate the film’s internal logic to see them in a romantic comedy (not a fantasy) set in modern India. How does the filmmaker use such elements as set/art decoration to further the plot or enhance the film? For instance, in Children of Men, the setting is London in the not too distant future. Everything in the culture is going “to hell in a hand basket.” The sets of London are very dark, drab, with stacks of garbage everywhere: they emphasize the depressed nature of the culture. The sets in Fellowship of the Ring, especially in the eleven areas, are graceful, elegant – much as Tolkien described the elves themselves.

Your anthropological analysis could include a number of different approaches. Several films on the list include horrendous examples of ethnocentrism, and some even portray the results of a belief in racial determinism or Social Darwinism. Cultural relativism is another principle worth exploring. Your analysis could examine if either a culture history or a group of people is depicted from an ethnocentric point of view. Although fictional, is a rich, detailed culture history portrayed, including appropriate material cultures and invented languages? (Think of The Fellowship of the Ring, based on the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy The Lord of the Rings.) Was an extinct language recreated for the film? (For The New World a linguist resurrected the Algonquian language.) What about gender roles and the importance of kinship and family obligations? These are critical, fundamental elements of culture, areas that we are examining cross culturally and in detail this semester. Many films on the list revolve around these aspects of culture. Two films especially – Osama and Kadosh - depict cultures in which women are treated quite differently from the generally accepted norms in our culture. (Can you describe such “alien” cultural practices without sounding ethnocentric yourself?) Consider the film The Stoning of Soraya M. (Based on an actual event, this film is understandably very difficult to watch.) Here you could examine the concept of the possible limits to cultural relativism. (By contrast, do you believe there should be no limits to cultural relativism?) What evidence did you see of social stratification (or lack thereof) and the economic systems, belief systems, or subsistence patterns of the portrayed cultures? Review the anthropological theories we have covered in class. What can you see, for example, of Radcliff-Brown’s theories (especially his ideas regarding cultural practices undergirding social values) in the wedding scene of The Deer Hunter? On many levels, the new Blu-ray version of How Green Was My Valley is a perfect candidate for a Structuralist analysis. Matt Damon’s film Elysium depicts a society which perfectly illustrates Social Darwinism. Many approaches could be taken. These are simply a few suggestions.

This is to remind you that all students are expected to abide by the Student Conduct Code as stipulated in the Student Handbook 2018-2019. The handbook may be found online at: https://www.winthrop.edu/studentconduct/. Do not violate the Student Academic Misconduct policy. Specifically, do not plagiarize. The penalties are extremely severe. It is perfectly acceptable and will enhance the quality of your paper to utilize material outside the film itself; if you do, however, you must cite the sources. This stipulation includes not only material from our textbook, but also such sources as information from the Internet, summaries, critiques, and marketing/advertising information about the film. At a minimum, you MUST include a Works Cited page and cite the film itself + Bates and Fratkin. The textbook is your chief source for anthropology citations. (Failure to include this information carries a minimum half-grade penalty.)

Deadline: Tuesday, November 27, 2018

You may turn in your paper at any time prior to the deadline. No papers will be accepted after Thursday, November 29, the last regular class meeting of the semester for Tuesday/Thursday classes. In fairness to all students, there are no exceptions to this policy.

Please note: The paper deadline stipulated above is for your class only . Other ANTH 201 sections that I also teach may have different deadlines.

On an individual basis and well before the deadline, I will look over early draft copies if you have serious concerns about the direction of your paper. Obviously, the most basic requirement is a well written paper including a comprehensive introduction and a succinct conclusion. I strongly recommend seeking help from the Writing Center, especially if you have concerns regarding the quality of your writing since grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. are considered in the evaluation. (Suggestion: whereas a comprehensive introduction is expected, do not make your introductory paragraph so long that it covers the entire first page of your paper. That would be acceptable for a 20-page paper but not a 5-page paper.)

Film Suggestions

The Emerald Forest Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Gorillas in the Mist Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Quest for Fire The Gods Must be Crazy – features the !Kung San (Ju/’hoansi)

The Mission Dances With Wolves

The Robe The Searchers

Gattaca The Color Purple Grand Torino

Little Big Man Inherit the Wind (about a trial over teaching evolution in schools)

Indiana Jones, Parts I, II, or III American History X Nell

The Deer Hunter The Last of the Mohicans Titanic

The Scarlet Letter The Crucible Daughters of the Dust

Colors City of Joy Fiddler on the Roof

Beyond Rangoon The Killing Fields Australia

Schindler’s List The Clan of the Cave Bear Slumdog Millionaire

The Last of the Dogmen The Walkabout Revolutionary Road

Waterworld The Lost World (not the Jurassic Park series)

The Planet of the Apes The Thirteenth Warrior Little Chenier – A Cajun Story

Karma Sutra Avatar District 9***

My Big Fat Greek Wedding The Believer 300

The Air up There I Dream of Africa Children of Men

The Help Whale Rider Apocalypto

Kadosh Bend it Like Beckham Water (about child widows in India)

Not Without my Daughter Ararat End of the Spear

Rabbit Proof Fence The Fast Runner The New World

Osama Medicine Man Letters from Iwo Jima

North Country Hotel Rwanda** Sometimes in April

The Joy Luck Club Himalaya (about yak herders) Monsoon Wedding

The Motorcycle Diaries The Last Samurai Bride and Prejudice*

A Man Called Horse Hidalgo The Quiet Man

The Stoning of Soraya M. Memoirs of a Geisha Gladiator

Elysium The Hunger Games, Part 1 Pride and Prejudice

How Green Was My Valley Wind River

Reminder: the film you choose does not have to come from this selection. My approval (in advance) is required, however, if you choose a film not on the list. The important thing, moreover, is that you must relate the film to anthropology.

* Yes, this is the correct spelling. This is a “Bollywood” film, which is a satire of Pride & Prejudice.

**There is excellent background information in Bates & Fratkin regarding the genocide depicted in this film. It is critical

that you make use of this resource.

***This South African science fiction film is a metaphor condemning apartheid. Read online the eye-popping back story

regarding the true events upon which the film is based.