Movie Review
How Squanto: A Warrior�s Tale can be viewed in relationship to anthropological concepts of Image and Culture Change (or Social-Culture), and Savagery.
Critical Review Paper Instructions
Film Choice: Squanto: A Warrior�s Tale
For this assignment you will be required to view one popular �Hollywood Style� feature film that you will select from the list provided for you. You will also select an anthropological topic to use as a frame work to talk about the film (i.e. identity, kinship, ethnicity, image and stereotype creation, self-representation and authenticity, assimilation, colonialism, religion, culture change, ect�). In the paper you will critically discuss a popular film presentation of Native Americans and how it connects to the principles that you have learned in class throughout the semester. Additional research (at least 3 scholarly articles or books) is required. The paper will be five pages in length (of text-does not include bibliography or title page) and double spaced with normal fonts and margins (i.e. 12 pt. font and 1 ” margins). I check. Don�t try and fudge.
Use the �Critical Review Paper Topic and References Submit� link located in the Critical Review Paper folder on Blackboard to submit your film choice, topic choice, and three references.
The paper (100 points) is due Sunday, November 20nd by 7 pm.
Use the �Critical Review Paper Submit� link located in the Critical Review Paper folder on Blackboard to submit the paper.
The point of this assignment:
Too often, students may bring a “seeing is believing” attitude to popular cultural/historically based films, forgetting how editing and subject selection influence the perspective of the people and history involved. Many films of this type are so far off the mark that the film contributes to an alternate popular view of a culture which is inaccurate. Your scholarly sources will help you differentiate between what is �real� anthropologically and what is being portrayed with artistic license. The �training� you have received in this course as it pertains to Native American culture will help you to be more visually literate in other domains as well. Because of this course you will be able to view �Hollywood Style� feature films with a critical eye. Several students have remarked that “regular” movies have more value to them after learning to “read” them anthropologically.
What is a scholarly article or book?
A scholarly article or book is generally based on original research or experimentation. It is written by a researcher or expert in the field who is often affiliated with a college or university. Scholarly writing includes footnotes and/or a bibliography and may include graphs or charts as illustrations as opposed to glossy pictures. Acceptable references will consist of articles that appear in scholarly journals or books that are published by academic presses. These type of references are subject to a peer-review process, which means that other “experts” or specialist in the field evaluate the quality and originality of the research as precondition of publication. The peer-review (as opposed to editorial review) process sets scholarly journals apart from journals and magazines that may otherwise seem quite similar.
If a reference does not fit these criteria you may not use it!
You may use your textbook as an additional reference. It does not count toward the required three scholarly references.
Try these databases first:
1. https://scholar.google.com/
You can find references and then follow the trail of who cited them to find more.
2. Jstor
Go to the UNF libraries homepage.
Select “Databases A-Z�.
Select the “Jstor” database.
This database holds thousands of journals. I’d search rather than browse. You find more that way.
3. Project MUSE
The UNF library has recently acquired a subscription to a new database dedicated solely to social science academic journals.
Go to the library website.
Go to databases A-Z
Select the Project MUSE database
Be creative. When wording your search use as many different variations of your topic as you can think of. Research takes time. Be patient and you will find good sources. Some of the movie choices on the list have been written about by anthropologists as well as other academics. Try typing in your film name. You may get results!
Source: Adapted from library.queensu.ca/webisi/survivalguide/glossary.html
On your bibliography DO NOT include the database you got the article from!!!
ALL articles found on Jstor ect� were originally published in a journal. Databases contain articles from MANY different journals. I just want the original source information. Please see the example posted in the critical review folder to see what a reference citation should look like and take a look at the AAA style guide I posted to see how to properly cite your sources in the text of your paper. Do not turn in web links!!!
How to write a critical review paper:
There are a variety of ways to write a critical review paper. I am only giving you one and there are other methodologies available. If you want to try something different, discuss your method with me.
1. Watch the film and take notes on the main ideas presented in the film, your feelings aroused by the material, and your reactions to the film.
2. Use your notes and summarize/describe the information in the film in no more than 1/4 of your paper.
3. Critically react to and personally interact with the film as it pertains to your anthropological topic in the other 3/4 or more of your paper (see the film list for instructions how to do this). You can do this by using all, or a combination, of the following:
(a) Explain the insights you have gained from the film.
(b) Explain in detail how the film relates to a particular anthropological topic.
(c) Identify what you liked and/or disliked in the film.
(d) Suggest additional material that could have and/or should have been included in the film.
(e) Relate the film to other sources (name them) that have addressed this subject.
(f) Relate the film to your own personal experience.
(g) Evaluate the impact that the film might have on its viewers and its impact on you.
(h) Explain how the cultural system (e.g., ideas, ethics, morality, economics,
politics, personal behavior, religion, kinship and relatives, world view, schooling,
life experiences, culture change, marriage patterns, customs, norms and deviance,
ways of looking at things) shown in the film differs from what is �real� anthropologically (i.e. how these things relate to your topic). Your scholarly sources will help you with this.
(i) Papers filled with opinions not related to the film will be marked down.
4. You MUST use a standard essay format (introduction, body, and conclusion). You MUST provide a thesis statement at the end of your introduction! There are many style guides and online sources available to help you with this.
5. You must properly cite the references you use in the body of your paper and provide a bibliography. Feel free to use your text book as a reference but you must cite it. Use the style guide you are most familiar with, but be consistent. I have posted the American Anthropological Associations Style guide for your use if you choose.
6. Essays should be �free-standing.� This means that a person can read the essay and, while not having seen the film, can understand the point you are trying to make.
7. Again, you MUST provide a bibliography with your final paper. You initial submittal for approval does not count.
Some other things to keep in mind:
� Proper grammar and mechanics count. Papers will be evaluated both on proper grammar and on content.
� Cite specific examples from the film as basis for your points. Rehashing the plot does not say much unless you then go on to explain what the actions in the plot mean.
� Do not make generalizations unless you have data to back it up. For instance, do not assert that arranged marriages have a higher divorce rate than traditional marriages (or vice versa), unless you can back the assertion up by citing a source for the assertion.
� Always use characters� names in your writing. This avoids confusion and strengthens the essay. You can keep track of names by taking notes.
� In formal writing, like these assignments, avoid contractions (i.e. don�t, can�t). Use full words (do not, can not).
� Avoid slang or informal terms unless you are quoting dialogue. If so, identify it with quotation marks.
� Do not over use the first person (i.e. �I think that�,� �It seems to me…,� �I noticed�,�). Although this is not grammatically incorrect and some use is perfectly all right, over use tends to make the paper sound too informal.
� Proofread your papers. Spell-check will not catch every mistake. Read the finished copy of your paper out loud. By doing this, you can really see if it sounds okay.
The following is what the teacher wanted us to submit before we started the paper. By no means is this only limited to the information below. The topic is a working topic and can be added too. Also she made us turn in three references already for the paper. You can use whatever references you want but I need to include the references I included.
** This paper will be submitted to turnitin and must be original**
**Film Choice: Squanto: A Warrior�s Tale**
**Paper Topic: How Squanto: A Warrior�s Tale can be viewed in relationship to anthropological concepts of Image and Culture Change (or Social-Culture), and Savagery.**
Three References:
References
Berkhofer, R. F. (1978). The White Man’s Indian [Vintage]. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYmdE166bz4C&printsec=copyright&source=gbs_pub_info_r#v=onepage&q&f=false
Clifton, J. A. (2007). Squanto and Pilgrims: On Planting Corn “in the manner of the Indians”. In The Invented Indian (5th ed., pp. 71-90). New Brunswick, NJ: James A. Clifton.
Weber, D. J. (2005). Savages and Spaniards: Native Transformed. In Barbaros: Spaniards and Their Savages in the Age of Enlightment (pp. 52-90). Spain and the United States: Annie Fund.