(1) Write an essay in which you make an argument about two of the following films: Godard’s Weekend, Getino and Solanas’s Hour of the Furnaces, Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon, Gerima’s Bush Mama, von Trotta’s Second Awakening of Christa Klages, Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia, Haynes’s Superstar, or Kiarostami’s Close-Up.
You are welcome to refer to any of the readings assigned for the course as well as to any other sources that you consult while preparing to write. (If you do cite written sources, whether printed or digital, please provide both in-text citations and a bibliography. You can follow MLA or Chicago style guidelines—whichever you’re most familiar and comfortable with.) Bear in mind, though, that this is not primarily a research assignment. Instead, your argument should be supported mainly by evidence drawn from your own viewing and analysis of the films that you have chosen to compare.
Comparative arguments can take many forms, and you do not need to give equal weight in your argument to the two films you’ll be discussing. It may be that you focus on one film and simply devote a paragraph one the other, treating the latter as a counter-example.
Please remember that the strongest arguments are contestable (that is, not self-evident), clearly stated, sustained throughout an essay, and supported by ample cinematic evidence.
Again, as in your midterm essay, this evidence can be narrative, verbal, visual, or auditory; it can involve the analysis of camera work, editing, mise-en-scène, music, acting, casting, dialogue, and any number of other aspects of a film. The most important thing to remember is that you’ll need to gather evidence to support your argument through close attention. Please leave yourself plenty of time to thoughtfully compose and revise your essay.
Please also proofread your essay carefully before turning it in; you don’t want minor errors or sentence-level infelicities to distract your reader from the important, even ingenious interpretive point you’re making.
If you choose this option, then your essay must be five to six pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font, with one-inch margins.
