semiotics & film
The Research Paper is designed to give you the opportunity to put your comprehensive knowledge about applying semiotics to use. Again, semiotics is just reading signs, and the “artifacts” we explored this semester—advertisements, television shows, films—are all signs to read and interpret. Aside from the collective experience we’ve had analyzing Wall-E, we’ve also read several texts about various films, and these texts all have their unique perspectives and methods of applying semiotics. Take what you’ve learned, and in one lengthy research paper (5-6 page minimum), analyze a film of your choosing.
The film can be recent or one from decades past, and it may be of any genre you choose. It may be popular or not; it may be from any country. It does not necessarily have to be a live-action film, so animated films are acceptable. The only films you may not write about are ones we have read about or ones that were referenced in the articles we read. If you have any questions about this, please talk to me before you begin viewing, researching, and writing.
Each student will write a research proposal that outlines what you hope to address in your analysis of the film. However, there are some criteria every student must consider while researching, planning to write, and drafting:
1. The paper must explore the aspects of the film that are less-than-obvious. For example, Avatar isn’t exactly a film about race, but we have read an article that explores how the film portrays indigenous people. Or, think about the vampire articles we read. Vampires are treated as metaphors for something bigger, which may not be obvious to moviegoers watching the movie in the theater.
2. The paper must thoughtfully explore specific scenes from the film for analysis. Generally, assume your reader has seen your movie but needs help understanding it. This means that when you bring in specific scenes for analysis, you need to offer readers some context, but you do not need to summarize who characters are, what their relationships are to one another, etc.
3. Appropriate outside sources must be incorporated into the body of the paper. Details can be found below, but please know that at least 6 outside sources must go into this paper. That means there will be—at minimum—6 quote sandwiches in the body of your research paper.
4. This should be thoughtful, analytical, but also entertaining. If you look back to the texts we’ve read this semester, and not just the ones about film, they all attempt to be engaging and interesting. After all, this is popular culture we’re talking about, so make the paper insightful but fun to read as well.
5. Be firm in your analysis and argument. This paper is, as all your papers have, argumentative in nature because you’re informing readers that a movie they perhaps enjoyed for pure entertainment is actually a lot deeper than it appears on its surface. The way you see the movie may be drastically different from the way other viewers view the movie, and that’s just fine. As long as you clearly back up your analysis with strong support, your interpretation is just as valid as anyone else’s is.
Several outside sources must be cited in the body of the paper and in the Works Cited page:
– 1 source must be a Film Review, Editorial, or Opinion piece about the film or about film in general
– 1 source must be a book or ebook
– 3 sources must be newspaper/journal/magazine articles
– 1 source may be a reliable website, but it must be a legitimate source, or a documentary may be used (if a website or documentary aren’t used, an additional newspaper/journal/magazine article may be substituted)
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