• Due Date: FRIDAY, December 6th by 11:59pm
• Format: 2 pages, double-spaced, .pdf or .docx ONLY. No pages files or Google Drive links.
• Essay Structure: While this paper is short, it still needs the features of an academic essay (intro, thesis, supporting paragraphs, conclusion).
• Submission Instructions: Papers must be submitted via Canvas (NO EXCEPTIONS). Go to “Assignments” to access the submission link.

Choose ONE of the following essay prompts:

1. Arab/Muslim Representation: Examine Arab/Muslim representation in The Night Of. Consider examining how and if Hollywood stereotypes specific to this ethnic/religious group are evident in the show. Are patterns of representation repeated uncritically, challenged, or both? Explain how. This program also falls into Alsultany’s “simplified complex representations” theory. Explain how the episode bears evidence of her theory, referring to details from the show and/or larger themes. Refer to specific scenes/characters/visual details and concepts from the readings and/or lectures.
2. Hollywood Cinema and Class: Examine Trading Places for how it repeats or upends Hollywood’s common class tropes. Investigate the film for one or more of the following: the Horatio Alger myth, solving narrative problems by buying something, class consciousness within characters or the film overall, exposing/revenging Wall Street corruption, class-based stereotypes, and/or the intersection of class and race in the film. Refer to specific scenes/characters/visual details and concepts from the readings and/or lectures.
3. Gender in Classical Hollywood Film: Examine the gender implications and issues in Sunset Boulevard. Investigate one or more of the following: primacy of male characters as agents (“doers”), women as secondary characters (objects), gender issues for both male and female characters in Film Noir, narrative qualities of the “women’s film,” formal (technical) differences in gender construction (“suture” editing, 3-point lighting, fetishized editing, narrative halt, etc.). How does the ending “manage” the issues raised throughout the film? Refer to specific scenes/characters/visual details and concepts from the readings and/or lectures.

NOTE: While this assignment is short in length, “A” papers will be polished in presentation, including: an introduction, thesis statement, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. The goal is to demonstrate comprehension of the course ideas and the ability to synthesize readings, lectures, and screenings.