Ideally, this essay should be about a film(s) from one of the national cinemas that we have covered in the module, including Japanese, Middle East, Indian and Mexican, but you can also write about films from another national cinemas (not Hollywood). The essay should involve the analysis of a relevant film(s) in relation to the specific contexts of its production, distribution, and/or exhibition.
There is no fixed structure to this essay, however, you can consult pages 27-29 of Tim Corrigan’s A short Gide to Writing about Film for information on what is expected from a critical essay. Corrigan’s book (chapter 4) provides a succinct but pretty thorough summary of the main approaches to writing about film. This chapter also includes two sample essays (pp.114-125).
Examples of essay titles from previous terms (You can use these titles as inspiration)
– When modernity meets tradition, the portrayal of women in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (The Big-Hearted Will Take the Bride, Aditya Chopra, 1995)
– Understanding stardom in Indian Cinema, the case of Nargis
Portrayals of La Movida in Pedro Almodovars Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980) and Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
– Expressionism and the Gothic Imagination in Guillermo del Toros Crimson Peak
– The influence of Italian Neo-realism in Dariush Mehrjuis films of the Iranian New Wave
– Hollywood’s remakes of World Cinema films: The Ring and Vanilla Sky
– The influence of Disney in Japanese animation, the case of Osamu Tezuka
– Depictions of class divide in Latin American films, the case of The Rose seller (La vendedora de rosas, Vctor Gaviria 1998)
– Understanding Post War Japan through cinema, the case of Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988)
– The female gaze in Lucrecia Martels The Headless Woman (2008)
