Analysis film .

FILM 2340

Final Exam Study Guide

The final exam for this course is a single essay question, which will look something like this:

Explain how the aesthetics and story in Natural Born Killers confirms Marshall McLuhan’s idea

that “the medium is the message.”

In order to successfully respond to this prompt, you must do the following:

1) Explain exactly what McLuhan means by “the medium is the message.” 2) Explain what Oliver Stone’s stated intentions were with the film; what message did he

say he was trying to convey?

3) Identify salient aspects of film form and how they confirm how these choices by Stone reflect both his stated goal with respect to the film’s message and reflect McLuhan’s

observation that “the medium is the message.”

4) Demonstrate an understanding of how McLuhan’s ideas are reflected in Mickey and Mallory’s relationship to one another and their relationship to society by drawing from

evidence from the film.

HOW TO BEST STUDY:

 Review the DVD booklet, in particular the essay by Oliver Stone.

 Review the first two pages of McLuhan’s Understanding Media.

 Review the Natural Born Killers Power Point, especially the clips.

 Review your notes from class discussion on the film.

 Review the five scenes from Natural Born Killers posted on Blackboard.

 Write a mock answer to this prompt. While you can’t use notes for this exam, writing a response before the exam is an extremely helpful way to organize your thoughts and

improve your argument. Consequently, when you write an answer a second time for the

actual exam, your response will be much stronger.