English 101: Essay #2

For your second essay, you have four (4) options:

1.) Rick Pieto and Kelly Otter insist that The Osbournes presents a domesticated version of a formerly rebellious cultural figure, the rock star. Considering their position, write an argument that supports, challenges, or complicates the proposition that, even when considered "trailblazing," TV programming nonetheless tends to preserve traditional cultural values. To develop your argument, you may also want to consult Marisa Connolly's "Homosexuality on Television: The Heterosexualization of Will and Grace" (287-297) and Andre Mayer's "The New Sexual Stone Age" (284-286).

2.) Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the representation of both mob life and Italian-American culture in The Sopranos with one (1) of the following films: Goodfellas, Carlito's Way, Scarface, or Casino. To develop your ideas, be sure to consult James Harold's "A Moral Never-Never Land: Identifying with Tony Soprano" (241-248).

3.) Re-read Michael Omi's "In Living Color: Race and American Culture," and then write an essay, using Omi's critical framework, in which you analyze how race is represented in a current Hollywood film. Be sure to address whether or not, to use Omi's terms, the film creates, reproduces, and sustains racial ideologies.

4.) Re-read David Denby's "High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies" (343-348). Then, develop a list of (fairly) current teen movies. Using this list as evidence, write an essay in which you debate the validity of Denby's claim that the enemy in teen films is not "authority," but rather "other teens and the social system that they impose on one another" (344-345). Be sure, of course, to provide specific examples (characters, scenes, images, etc.) from the various films to support your argument.

The requirements for the essay are as follows:

  • Essay must be 3-4 pages in length
  • Essay must be argumentative in nature
  • Essay must adhere to MLA standards and guidelines (click here)
  • Rough draft of essay must be exchanged with another class member (see below)

Regardless of which option you choose, here are a few things you should keep in mind as you are writing your essay:

  • You should follow the steps for conducting a semiotic analysis of a film outlined in the film handout
  • Your objective is to analyze the social significance of the film(s)
  • Your essay should contain a well-argued thesis statement
  • The "body" of your essay should work to support your thesis statement
  • Your essay should be free of grammatical and punctuation errors

EXCHANGING DRAFTS

For the second essay, you will be required to read and make comments on the rough drafts of your classmates' essays. To do so, you will need to access the discussion forum and post your comments in the conference folder entitled "Essay Two Drafts."