Paper details:
Final Essay Assignment: Interpretive Analysis of a Film
Conduct an interpretive analysis of a film of your choice. Focus on aesthetic elements and how they shape the
overall meaning of the film. Consider also how specific historical and cultural contexts affect what the film is
trying to say.
Essay Guidelines:
1. RESEARCH:
Rely on ONE SCHOLARLY secondary source. This can be a book, a scholarly peer-
reviewed article published in an academic journal (i.e.: Cinema Journal, Senses of Cinema), or an article in a
specialized magazine (Cahiers du Cinéma, Sight and Sound, Film Comment, Film Quarterly, American
Cinematographer).
You may also use other secondary sources, such as DVD commentaries, online sources such as film reviews
(preferably from New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times), Internet Movie Database (IMDb), and
similar. However these do not count as the one secondary source you are obliged to use for your final essay.
The one scholarly secondary source you use needs to be ANNOTATED. This means it has to have at least one
paragraph (8 sentences minimum): a) summarizing the text overall, b) outlining the author’s main argument,
and c) an example s/he is using to support it.
2. CONTENT:
Engage in a dialogue with your source. That is, explain why you either agree or
disagree with an author’s assertion. In order for your essay to be successful, you need to engage in at least
one such dialogue where you examine an author’s position in detail.
Give a clear historical and cultural context for the film you are analyzing. That is, explain how the time period
and its cultures/politics (the dominant ideology) affected the overall meaning of the film you are analyzing.
Interpretive analysis of the film should account for the aesthetic elements of film and their effects on how
the audiences experience and make sense of the film.
Interpretive analysis should be grounded in concrete shots, scenes or sequences from the film. That is, give
a detailed description of the visuals you are analyzing.
If appropriate, give an explanation of how the film you are analyzing fits into the larger body of the director’s
work. What are the recurrent themes and visual motifs that can be traced throughout his/ her work? Does
s/ he like to work within a particular genre? If so, explain why.
2. ORGANIZATIONz-The introductionneeds to include:1. Abrief summaryof the filmyou are
analyzing.2.Please, have a clearly discernible thesis-main argument -which needs to be underlined. A
good thesis can be longer than one sentence. It needs to address WHAT is your argument, HOW are
you going to go about proving it (what evidence you are going to use), and WHY is this important for the
reader to know (it answers the “So what?” question).-In order to ensure your essay is cohesiveplease,
clearly develop your argument throughout your essay. This means that every paragraph (or two)
addresses one aspect of your argument supported by a concrete examplefrom a film(= evidence that
illustrates your argument). That is, every paragraphexplains, expands and addsto your main argument.3.
FORMATTING:-Your final essayshould be 5-6pages, double-spaced, and typed in 12-pt font, with one-inch
margins. Please, insert page numbersat the bottom of your page.Please, stapleyour paper.-Please, make
sure you cite your sourcesin footnotes (or endnotes). You may use any citation format you are
comfortable with but please, be consistent-The BIBLIOGRAPHY (LIST OF REFERENCES)needs to be on a
separate page, single spaced, and stapled together with the rest of your final essay.lt will also contain
the ANNOTATED SOURCE.
1.Clearly identified topic-the filmof your choice.2.Three concrete examples (of shots, sequences, ideas) from
the film you will analyze. These examples may both generate and support your main argument.3.Give a
tentative thesis statement. 4.List your sources. Oneof them needsto be annotated. This means that the
source has to have at leastone single-spaced paragraph (Ssentences minimum) summarizing the text overall
and outlining the author’s main argument along with an example she is using to support it. Conclude with a
brief explanation ofwhy you either agree or disagree with author’s assertions and how you plan on
incorporating her ideas into your argument.
