film author argument paper

Film Paper Requirements

Select an aspect of auteur theory (from Truffaut or Sarris) such as a director’s style.

Once you have decided whether you are supporting or refuting the element you have

selected, substantiate your position using examples from the films of Julie Dash,

Spike Lee, or Ava DuVernay and use one film from the directors we have not screened in class Total at least four authors. (Julie Dash, Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay and one outside source authors to support your argument)

If you are supporting auteur theory, mention some of the critiques of this position. If you do not support auteur theory, provide examples from the films as evidence for your argument in addition to authors.

Your paper should be six to eight pages in length.

• Identify a specific point from Truffaut or Sarris; don’t argue pro/con “auteur theory” in general terms

• !!!Pick one of the directors and at least two films (or TV shows), 3+ films recommended

• Four theorists we’ve read, e.g. Sarris, Kael, hooks, etc. 

• For example, Do the Right Thing or BlacKkKlansman if you’re writing about Lee

• 1500-2000 words (please use 12-point font, double spaced) 

1.Thesis statement (Be specific!!!) Must follow the format!

Thesis statement Exampe:

Another example:

In Spike Lee’s film School Daze (1988), Do the right thing(1989), Malcolm X(1992), and When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts(2006), writer-director Spike Lee abides to Andrew

Sarris’ definition of auteurship in the way he constructs a narratively diverse body of work under a continuous artistic style, and his confrontation around issues of black culture in America as a filmmaker of color fosters a unique tension between himself and his subject matter that Sarris would define as substantial “interior meaning”.