Description
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapter 8 of Film: From Watching to Seeing, as well as your instructor’s guidance and lecture materials, and Chapter 7 from Film Genre Reader IV. The ENG225 Research GuideLinks to an external site. in the University of Arizona Global Campus Library will be particularly helpful in locating required sources. This assignment is your opportunity to apply the auteur theory to the work of one selected director. To do that, you will watch at least two feature-length films by the same director as the basis for your analysis and argument.
Choose a film from the Approved Films List Download Approved Films Listand identify that film’s director (e.g., Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing).
Choose another film directed by the same director (e.g., Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman).
Watch your chosen films twice—once to ensure that you have grasped the storytelling and once more to more specifically note on how each film fulfills the criteria of auteur theory.
Note: If you would like to write about a director whose films are not listed, you must email your professor for approval in advance or you may not receive credit on this assignment.
Reflect:
Think back to the film you chose in your Week 2 written assignment, to see if the film’s director meets the criteria of auteur theory and look ahead to the Week 5 final paper guidelines to ensure that you choose films for this assignment that will work with the requirements on the final paper. You may opt to write about the same film in your Week 2 written assignment and Week 5 final paper, and applicable pieces of this assignment can be used to write both. If you do this, you should reflect on and revise this assignment based on your instructor’s feedback before you incorporate it into any future writing assignments.
Review the Week 3 Sample Paper Download Week 3 Sample Paper, which provides a clear guide for developing a solid analysis as well as insight on composition. For additional support, review the Summary vs. AnalysisLinks to an external site. resource.
Write:
In your introductory paragraph,
Explain auteur theory in your own words and why this is a useful approach to the study of film.
Tip: review Chapter 8.3 in Film: From Watching to Seeing for a clear definition of auteur theory and why auteur theory is one useful approach to the study of film. Do you think the director is the sole owner of a film’s success or its failure?
Describe, using Chapter 8 of the text as a reference, the criteria for what makes a director an auteur.
Tip: review Chapter 8.3 in Film: From Watching to Seeing for a clear guide to Andrew Sarris’s criteria for auteur theory. Remember to evaluate specific examples from your chosen director’s films to decide whether or not they meet the criteria.
Identify a director who meets the criteria posed by auteur theory.
Example: you will identify one director and two of that director’s films: for instance, Sofia Coppola and her films The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette.
Summarize briefly the ways in which this director meets the criteria using examples from at least two of the director’s films.
Example: you have evaluated specific examples from your chosen director’s films to decide whether or not they meet the criteria. Now, name those examples: costuming, mise-en-scène, light and color, actors, and dialogue.
Develop a thesis statement that focuses on how your chosen director and their films meet the criteria posed by auteur theory and advances the possibilities of storytelling through the medium of film.
Tip: visit the Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site. resource from the UAGC Writing Center.
Example: In her films The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola demonstrates that she belongs among the list of auteurs for her elaborate costuming, consistent use of light and color, her reliance on actor Kirsten Dunst in the lead roles, and telling stories that focus on young women coming of age amidst formidable obstacles.
In the body of your paper (at least three paragraphs),
Apply the lens of auteur theory in breaking down the director’s technical competence, distinguishable personality, and interior meaning using specific examples of their work (e.g., particular scenes or plot components).
Tip: use at least one paragraph for each criteria (or two paragraphs for each criteria, one for your analysis of each of two films) to analyze specific techniques and themes that demonstrate how your director meets the three criteria of auteur theory.
Analyze the specific ways in which filmmaking techniques, consistent themes, and storytelling distinguish your chosen director as an auteur among their peers.
Example: the elaborate costumes in Coppola’s Marie Antoinette help to establish the period in which the film is set, and go beyond it by drawing particular attention to the extravagance and excess of Pre-revolutionary France. The ornate and colorful dresses worn by Kirsten Dunst’s Marie Antoinette allude to the equally colorful cakes, for which she is infamous, having said, “let them eat cake.”
Evaluate your chosen director’s ethos, that is what they have to say about complex social and cultural issues.
Tip: the ethos is the director’s characteristic spirit, evidenced by their beliefs and aspirations. A director’s ethos is directly connected to the type of stories they tell and what they intend to communicate in telling those stories.
In the conclusion of your paper,
Connect each element of your analysis to show how your chosen director meets the three criteria of auteur theory and what this director’s body of work has to say about social and cultural issues.
Tip: your conclusion should restate your thesis and remind the reader which specific examples demonstrate how your chosen director meets—or doesn’t meet—the criteria of auteur theory and remind us why auteur theory is a valuable tool for film analysis.
The Directors and Auteur Theory paper
Must be 900 to 1200 words in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA StyleLinks to an external site. as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft WordLinks to an external site.
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper in bold font
Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
Student’s name
Name of institution (The University of Arizona Global Campus)
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Due date
Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic VoiceLinks to an external site. resource for additional guidance.
Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
For assistance on writing Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site. and Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site., refer to the Writing Center resources.
Must use at least two scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source.
To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view the Quick and Easy Library ResearchLinks to an external site. tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper guide.Links to an external site.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References ListLinks to an external site. resource in the Writing Center for specifications.
