Film Study Paper

The end of the semester will culminate in your choice of a final research paper or creative 

project.  The project needs to 

demonstrate active research

into some topic raised by the films 

we have read. The key here is to take an issue that motivates you, and deepen your intellectual 

and creative engagement with it. You will present your research and/or creative projects during 

the last two weeks of the semester in a mini-conference. 

With the first option, you will analyze some key issue from the course with a research paper.  

Using the critical readings in our class as a model, write a scholarly piece that makes an original 

argument or insight into gender issues in film.  You can then submit this paper for a WGS, FST 

or ENG prize for best critical essay.

Think of yourself as a film critic or blogger bringing fresh insights about a film (or range of 

texts) and/or particular production.  In other words, what “cultural work” does your topic 

produce?  Why should we care about it?  What are the stakes?  You may agree or disagree with 

others who are writing about this topic (and it is a good idea to reference those critics), but don’t 

merely repeat their arguments.  Most important is for you to 

articulate your own scholarly 

voice

here and say something about the stakes of a particular work.  

The final paper should be 

8 - 10 typed, double-spaced pages plus appropriate bibliography in MLA or Chicago style.  

You should consult, and cite within the paper, 

at least 8 scholarly sources

(i.e. articles from 

scholarly journals and books)—but why not use more?  Three of these sources can be from our 

course readings—the rest comes from your own research.