ESSAY : "Reel Life"

4 pages, 1.5 spaces, 12 points, TNR

Prompt:

Three powerful films: two overtly wartime pieces -- the Nazi Triumph of the Will and the US response with Why We Fight, as well as the great fiction film, Casablanca. How is meaning created in these films? Make sure you use what you are learning from the "drive through film theory" website and the Umberto Eco article on Casablanca. 

As you “decode” the films, be specific: for example, discuss shot size, camera moves, editing, storytelling. Use concepts like syntagmatic analysis; metaphor and metonmy in discussing the work.