The topic this week is working with critical sources. Choose either Rey Chow’s or Zachary Sng’s reading of Secret Sunshine. Discuss the argument as a group and summarize its main points together. Go over the scenes, shots, and plot points that the article uses as its evidence for the argument. Now respond to the following questions.
1. In one paragraph, reiterate the main points of the critic’s interpretation of the film. What does the critic say about the film’s themes of trauma, religion, metaphor, conversion, forgiveness, light, dark, etc.? If you feel like one or two sentences serve as the critic’s thesis statement, write it out. Next, in bullet point format, pick out any passages or claims that you had a difficult time understanding and write those out (or cite them with a brief excerpt and page number). Discuss these points that you are still trying to understand as a group.
2. In a second paragraph, provide a critical evaluation of the critic’s argument. What do you think the critic got right or missed in their reading of the film?
