You may choose to view one of the following films and write a 10-12 page paper in which you address the following questions:
Briefly describe the overall subject or topic.
How much did you know about the subject of the film before watching it?
What historical period did the film cover?
Did the film seem to be taking a particular side or arguing for or against anyone or anything?
If so, in what ways did it try to make this case?
Describe some scenes from the film that seem to be trying to persuade the viewer one way or the other.
Did you find anything in the film that challenged your previous knowledge or assumptions of the subject?
What is your overall evaluation of the film, both in terms of history and as a movie?
Movies to choose from include:
Truman (bio film with Gary Sinise)
Path to War (Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam)
Nixon (Oliver Stones bio film)
The Fog of War (Based on interviews with Robert McNamara, the architect of US military involvement in Vietnam.)
George Wallace (TNT film about the segregationist governor, with Gary Sinise and Angelina Jolie.)
Argo (US hostage crisis in Iran 1979; won Best Picture Oscar)
Bridge of Spies (Speilberg/Hanks Cold War spy exchange film from 2015)
Explore beyond just the movie, for any background material one might need to more fully understand the issues involvedand cite this additional material in your text. Include a Sources Consulted page citing the works you are examining. Include at least a few brief quotes from the material. Cite via footnotes or endnotes all material you use directly from your sources.
