Watch a movie and write a critique of the movie 750 words, Your movie response essay (Outsourced)

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INST 110I: Introduction to International Engagement Prof. Quirino de Brito

Suggestions for Successful Completion of your Film Essays Description

There are many styles and approaches to writing about movies. For example, in “A Short Guide to Writing About Film”, Timothy Corrigan (2012) lists five main styles: 1. The Screening Report; 2. The Movie Review; 3. The Theoretical Essay; 4. The Critical Essay; and 5. Opinion and Evaluation. While the purpose of these guidelines is NOT to discuss all 5 strategies for writing about films, I would like to highlight a few important points, which will help you complete your assignment successfully: a. In INST 110I we will prioritize items #s 2 (The Movie Review) and 4 (The Critical Essay).

. A movie review (written for a large audience: i.e. newspaper reviews) allows, among many things, for a comprehensive look at a particular film (example: “Outsourced”); . The critical essay provides comparisons with other films and puts in check the reality of the screen against the background of life, and living. The critical essay falls between the theoretical essay and the movie review.

b. Although we will not adhere to a particular style (please feel free to mix and bland styles as you write your own essay), I recommend that you avoid #s 1: The Screening Report, and 5: Opinion and Evaluation (above). Academic writing is NOT about opinion. Our intent in INST 110I is to produce a thoughtful, intellectual exercise (outcome); such exercise will help us to grasp the relevance and significance of the film, and whether its content/message facilitates a better understanding of what we do, how live.

Thus the suggestions presented here are meant to help you to reflect on some of the main themes articulated explicitly or implicitly throughout the film. Be original, be creative. Tell me what the movie is about, how the story makes sense to you: was the story interesting? How does the content of the movie relate to our readings in INST 110I, the discussions carried out in class? In a nutshell, please try the following:

Activity We will be viewing and analyzing two movies, during Fall 2017: “Outsourced” and “Lost in Translation.” Both movies have been uploaded to Blackboard Learn [under FILMS].

1. View the film once (if necessary, view it again) FYI: “Outsourced” (2006), directed by John Jeffcoat, is the first movie we will view this semester.

2. Write a critique of the movie [750 words maximum: roughly, two double-spaced pages], by highlighting: a. A quick summary encompassing the film’s storyline, plot, relevance;

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b. Critical points of contact with the materials covered in INST 110I so far; and c. The extent to which the movie has implicit/explicit connections with communication across

culture [our major theme this semester]. Assessment Each film critique is worth 50.0 points. Points will be assigned based on: a. Clarity; b) Grammatical Correctness; c) Style and originality; and d) Connections with the content of INST 110I [Refer to this Assignment’s RUBRIC, under COURSE GUIDELINES]. Note: Ground your discussion on the materials (i.e. PDFs) that we have read so far in the semester. Engage the Guest-Speakers’ presentations with your own thoughts as to how the content of this class connects with the cross-cultural themes which run through the movie. Deadline Your first movie response essay (Outsourced) is due on September 26th, 2017 by midnight. The second one on Lost in Translation is due on Thursday, November 7th, 2017 by midnight. Please take note that I will NOT accept late work as per syllabus. TIP 1: As to your write up format, use the writing style you are most familiar (comfortable with). Whether it is MLA, APA or something else, it does really matter to me). TIP 2: Successful stories from the past classes have evolved from essays which used your typical five- paragraph format (recall this from writing techniques you may have amassed during your academic life?). This approach should do it. Just be sure to write a compelling story which apply some of concept(s) that we have introduced to in INST 110I this Fall. Use your own writing talents to express your reactions and perceptions about the movie. If you are really fond of an idea, or concept from an author, the best way about this is to paraphrase the writer. BUT, whenever you would bring the author into a conversation with the theme at hand, quote his/her work appropriately: Please use quotation marks, write down the source where you borrowed the information from (i.e., book title, journal article), author’s name and year of publication. Whenever NOT sure about something, please ask; write me an e-mail message ([email protected]); call me, (530) 898-3251; alternatively, check my office hours on your course syllabus, and stop by ARTS 333 [Arts and Humanities Building] at your convenience.