Draft Due for Peer Review: Thursday, Sept. 30
Final Draft Due: Monday, Oct. 11
Length: 5-7 pages, double-spaced (not including Works Cited page)
Audience: Fellow students who are probably familiar with the creative work, but likely have never considered it from a scholarly critical perspective.
Sources: One popular creative work (movie/TV show) and two scholarly sources of five pages or more are required. You may use additional scholarly sources to support your argument.
Documentation: Because this paper focuses on issues in the domain of the humanities, the MLA documentation form is most appropriate.
Purpose and Audience
The focus of this project is on issues of argument, interpretation, and critical evaluation, processes at the heart of humanistic inquiry.Most casual viewers fail to realize that popular film and television can provide more than entertainment value. There are many popular films and television series that possess intellectual and scholarly value. You will choose a film or TV series that has generated discussion in academic journals; your goal is to explore the interpretive complexities that scholars have raised and use their conclusions to argue for the scholarly value of that particular film or show. The assignment is designed to help you (1) explore the nature of critical perspectives by examining the interpretations of published scholars, (2) apply your understanding of written argument to explain the arguments of others while using those scholarly findings to support your own thesis, and (3) continue to familiarize yourself with online research databases and conventional ways of citing and using the work of other authors.Your aim is to introduce your audience of classmates to the scholarly issues raised by your chosen creative work, and thereby defend its scholarly value.
Focus and Scope of Argument
For this topic, you will choose a creative work—a film or TV series from the list below (or another of your choosing that I have approved). You must find at least two sources to support your argument that your chosen work does indeed have scholarly value. You will need to introduce and explain the arguments made in the scholarly sources in detail to help readers understand the interpretations of the scholars.You might also find it helpful to discuss how the sources compare to each other. Do they focus on similar aspects of the creative work? Or are their critical interpretations quite different? Choose your creative work early and take your time exploring the academic literature for critical interpretations that you can use to support your argument. The MLA International Bibliography database is a good place to start your research.
Suggested/Recommended List of Creative Works
Taxi Driver
Citizen Kane
Psycho (the original Alfred Hitchcock version)
Forrest Gump
Independence Day
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Wizard of Oz
The Matrix
South Park
CSI
The Simpsons
Structure
This paper, like your previous essay, needs an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Unlike your previous essay, I will not suggest an organizational structure, as there are many successful ways to structure a complex argument like this one. Questions about structure must be answered on an individual basis. Remember that you are welcome to ask for individual help during my office hours.
Evaluation
I will be grading your paper based on the quality and complexity of your argument, as well as how thoroughly you support it using well-chosen scholarly sources.I will also be looking for your ability to integrate evidence correctly to support your argument (meaning quotation, paraphrase, etc.). Don’t get trapped into merely summarizing your primary “text” or the articles you have quoted. You must make an argument for the value of your text and use your articles/secondary sources to support that argument. In addition, your paper will need to meet the general criteria of any good academic writing: a clear focus, logical and purposeful organization, strong use of supporting evidence, and thoughtful development of the ideas you are presenting. It will need to be well written, both stylistically and grammatically. In addition, we will discuss specific evaluation criteria in class.
Developed from an assignment by Rebecca DeHaas.