America History movie analysis

Dr. Melody M. Miyamoto Walters HIST 1301 WC1 and W1C

Movie Analysis Paper Due: June 22 at Noon CT

This paper is worth 10% of your final grade. Be sure to follow the Rules for Writers. Papers

which constantly violate the Rules for Writers will not earn better than a “B” grade, no matter how

good the content. Upload your paper to Canvas (for evaluation by TurnItIn.com). Also, email

me your completed checklist, by the due date. Your paper will not be graded without a checklist

and papers submitted without a checklist by the deadline will start with an automatic 5 point

deduction from your score. Use Chicago Manual of Style footnotes or endnotes for your citations.

You will write a five paragraph essay evaluating a popular movie that focuses on a

historical topic. The topic must be one that falls within United States history, during our time frame

(prior to 1877). Watch a motion picture made for a popular audience. Movies that are suitable for

this assignment include, but are not limited to, The Crucible, Glory, Twelve Years a Slave, The

Patriot, and The Last of the Mohicans. Do not choose a biographical film or one in the fantasy or

science fiction genres. You may choose other movies, but if you question your choice, obtain my

approval before doing the assignment. Your assignment is to consider the concept of personal

responsibility when watching movies based on historical topics. To do this, identify the movie,

address its value as a source of history, and then argue whether or not movies should be watched for

their historical value. Your paper must be two and half to four pages long, with five paragraphs.

Papers that fall short of the 2.5 page minimum and/or fail to follow basic grammar standards will not

earn better than a D grade. A solid paragraph, with a topic sentence, evidence, analysis, and a

transitional sentence will be about one-half of a page long. Be sure to answer ALL of the questions in

the assignment. Write in third person- you are a historian providing a discussion on the use and

productivity of using films for studying history.

Paragraph #1: Introduction. Hook me in. Start your essay with a question, or a quotation, or

some statement that makes me want to read your paper. And within the introduction, tell me what the

movie is. Give me background information about the movie. Who made it? When? Who stars in it?

What is it about? This is the basic information that you would give a friend who asks you to tell

him/her about the movie. Present your thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph. Your thesis

statement is the argument you are going to make. An acceptable thesis may be resemble, “The movie,

The Crucible, is a poor historical movie from which to learn and audiences should be cautious about

using it as a source because…” or “The movie, The Crucible, is an excellent historical movie from

which to learn and audiences should have no qualms about using it as a source because...”

Paragraph #2: Based on your knowledge as an intelligent human being who has great

knowledge of American history, explain what is historically correct about this movie. How do you

know? Can the average American gain historical knowledge about the topic from this movie? What

would that knowledge be? Start your paragraph with a topic sentence.

Paragraph #3: Also based on your expertise, can you deduce what is factually incorrect about

this movie? Be critical. Consider ideas like race, gender, setting, clothing, dialogue, etc., in addition

to historical facts. On what issues might the average watcher be deceived, and mistaken in his/her

understanding of the historical event? Can you tell? Can the average movie-goer tell what is

incorrect? Start your paragraph with a topic sentence.

Paragraph #4: It is your turn to give your opinion. Whose responsibility is it to determine if

the movie is historically correct? Should general audiences watch popular movies to gain historical

knowledge? Is it up to each person to figure out what is correct and to decide to use the movie for

historical knowledge? Do movie producers/writers have an obligation to the audience to provide a

factually correct film? Can a person enjoy a movie about a historical topic if it includes information

that is not correct? Does it matter if the information is correct? Why or why not? Start your

paragraph with a topic sentence.

Paragraph #5: Wrap it up. Re-argue your thesis. Summarize your key points and be sure they

all relate back to your thesis statement. Conclude with something relevant and thoughtful.

Dr. Melody M. Miyamoto Walters Name: ________________________

Check List for Paper

Directions: Mark a check on the line, indicating yes or no, as you honestly answer these

questions. Email this checklist to me, as a one page document, via Cougarmail or Canvas.

Yes No

1. I clearly stated my thesis sentence. _____ _____

2. I had topic sentences for my paragraphs. _____ _____

3. My paragraphs contained evidence. _____ _____

4. My paragraphs were each about ½ page long and my paper is 2 ½ to 4 _____ _____

pages long.

5. I answered all of the questions in the assignment. _____ _____

6. I finished my paper at least one hour before the deadline. _____ _____

7. I CAREFULLY proofread my paper. _____ _____

8. I double-spaced my paper. _____ _____

9. I used a 12 point, Times New Roman font and one inch margins. _____ _____

10. I did not use contractions, like didn’t. _____ _____

11. I wrote in third person; I did not use “I,” “we,” “us,” “our” or “you” _____ _____

unless I was quoting someone.

12. My nouns and pronouns matched; my subjects and verbs matched. _____ _____

13. I anchored my quotations and cited them using Chicago Manual of

Style footnotes or endnotes. _____ _____

14. I avoided “wiggle” words like “things,” “interesting,” and “important.”_____ _____

15. I used proper capitalization and punctuations. _____ _____

16. I limited my use of passive voice. _____ _____

17. I underlined or italicized my movie title. _____ _____

18. My tenses were consistent. _____ _____

19. I eliminated the extra space between my paragraphs. _____ _____

20. I followed my Rules for Writers when completing this paper. _____ _____

I want comments to view on Canvas. _____ _____

The amount and quality of effort I put into this paper is: _______________________________

The grade that I deserve on this paper is: _____ because________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________.