The Final Project for this class requires you to take a “deeper dive” into American cinema as a reflection of American culture, this time focusing on a film produced in the 21st Century. 

Choose ONE of the following topics and write an essay in response to the assigned prompt(s):

Topic #1: Scorsese Revisited:Joker (2019)Topic #2: War and Cinema:The Hurt Locker (2009)Topic #3: Romantic Comedy in the 21st Century:Lost in Translation (2003)Topic #4: Race, Identity, and American Culture:Moonlight (2016) or 12 Years a Slave (2013)Topic #5: Non-Traditional Narratives:Memento (2001) orEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Your essay should address all of the following PROMPTS:

What makes this a significant film?  In what ways does the film serve as a reflection of American culture?  For better or for worse, what does this film seem to be suggesting about American culture and the evolution American Cinema?In order to make this assessment, your should consider the following*:

(a) Historical and cultural contexts

(b) Notable themes and motifs present in the film

(c) Ways that the film adheres to, or breaks with, genre conventions (such as setting, character, plot, narrative structure, etc.) (d) Controversies (does the film address any controversial subject matter and/or was the film itself controversial in any way?)(e) Critical Reception (be sure to consider a variety of perspectives)(f) Awards and Box Office Gross (as an indicator of the film’s achievements and/or popularity)

*These could serve effectively as topics or sub-topics within the body of your essay.

Please review the Grading Rubric for this assignment to see the breakdown of evaluation criteria and weights.

Page Requirement:1250 words minimum (which is approximately 5 double-spaced pages), not including the Works Cited page.

Format:

-Intro/Thesis (must clearly address the prompt and your selected film/topic)

-Body (see “Prompts” above and “Content and Context,” below)

-Conclusion (Avoid mere restatement of the Intro/Thesis; Find a way to bring closure to the essay and to emphasize key take-aways from your analysis.)

-Works Cited(Any in-text citation presented in the body of the essay should have a corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.)

Content and Context:Your Intro/Thesis, Body, and Conclusion should clearly address the prompt(s) as they apply to the topic and film selected.

Points and observations should be supported by a mix of:

1.) concrete evidence from the film (in the form of summary, description, quotation, and, if possible, embedded or linked images or video);

2.) concrete evidence from secondary source materials (in the form of paraphrases and direct quotations accompanied by MLA-formatted in-text citations and corresponding Works Cited entries). 

For the purposes of this assignment, your essay must draw upon at least three different secondary source materials and the body of your essay must include at least three direct quotations accompanied by MLA-formatted in-text citations and corresponding Works Cited entries. A number of suggested secondary source materials have been provided for you in the Blackboard folder for each respective topic. You are free to conduct additional research, but the suggested sources are a good starting point.  

Editing and Mechanics:The essay should be carefully proofread for spelling errors, typos, grammatical errors, and MLA-formatting errors. It should also demonstrate the ability to properly paraphrase, quote, and summarize primary and secondary texts in order to avoid plagiarism. Please see the links and resources in this assignment folder for more details re: MLA Documentation and Avoiding Plagiarism.