Philosophy film paper compare two films and two theories

General Summary of What You Are to Do:

You will pick one film from those we have watched in class and one reading selection that goes along with that film. You will then write a paper based on this reading and film PLUS another film (that you choose and watch on your own). You will supplement the reading with an additional source that you research on your own that connects to the reading provided in some relevant way. This additional reading can be in philosophy, in film theory, in film criticism, or in cultural studies. If you are unsure whether or not a source you’d like to use will meet the requirements for this paper please email me for approval.

Clarification on acceptable sources:

1) One of the required sources used must be a reading assigned for class.

2) The second required source must be a primary source – which means that it must be by the original author and not a book about that author.

a. Website blogs, Wikipedia, etc. do not count as primary sources, although they may be used to guide your thinking provided you do not plagiarize from them. In general .edu sites for information on authors is better than .com sites. Also scholarly encyclopedia articles.

b. scholarly journals: EBSCO or JSTOR. Philosophy, literary theory, film theory and studies, and film criticism are all sub-fields from which you can choose sources.

Format:

- 2500-3000 words, based on the course material, and class discussion.

- Single-spaced with a blank line between paragraphs.

- 12-point font with 1 inch margins.

- You will need to include a Bibliography or Works Cited List and use MLA style both for this and for in-text citations. Don’t forget that films need to be listed in the Works Cited page as well as all sources used.

Paper Content:

I. Introduction

[Thesis statement, overview of paper in connection to the two films chosen including which theories you will use and how you will apply them to the films chosen.]

II. Body of Paper [you can organize this in your own way to follow your thesis]

a. Set forth the theories you are using and explain what claims they make that you will compare and contrast your chosen films with, including appropriate in-text citations. You MAY NOT use a source without citation or represent another author’s work as your own. If your paper does this it will receive a grade of F. Both direct quotations and close paraphrases must be cited. You can use some of what we discussed in class discussion as part of your analysis and there is no need to cite to that or to me.

b. Analyze the features of the movies you have selected in connection with the theories you have provided in a, above. How do they fit? How do they not fit? What might this mean?

c. What happened as a result of this analysis? Do the theories stand? If not, why not? What alternative theory is suggested instead that would fit better? Here is where you may feel free to provide your own, improved theory that covers your genre! Don’t be afraid to be a philosopher!

III. Conclusion

This should summarize the findings of your paper plus suggest how or why this change (or additional support for the theory provided if it has not changed) is relevant to how we understand the theory of film under discussion.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

- Do not waste a lot of time on plot synopses of movies

- Do not plagiarize. If you “borrow” a movie description or critical review without citing it your paper will fail. All papers will be run through the “Turnitin” plagiarism detection system so be on guard against this

- Getting the philosophy right is the hardest part of these papers for most students. This is first and foremost an upper-level philosophy class so the biggest component of your grade will be based on your understanding of and application of the philosophy at issue. Take a lot of care on this aspect of your paper and email me/consult me if you’re not sure about your take on something.