For this assignment, you're going to write a 3-4 page essay in which you evaluate the mise-en-scene from Sunrise, City Lights or Citizen Kane. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your ability to apply what you have learned from Film Studies Chapters 1-3 and in academic writing style, develop a clearly organized, specific analysis of one of the films mentioned above.

For this assignment, you’re going to write a 3-4 page essay in which you evaluate the mise-en-scene from Sunrise, City Lights or Citizen Kane. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your ability to apply what you have learned from Film Studies Chapters 1-3 and in academic writing style, develop a clearly organized, specific analysis of one of the films mentioned above.

Your essay should have a clear thesis statement. What do I mean by thesis statement? Consider the following: What claim will you be making about how something functions in the film; the film’s interpretations; its effects on audiences; its place in or interaction with the spirit of the times or, whatever other point of interest about the film that you have decided is worth investigating?

If you’re writing about Sunrise, you may choose to draw on aspects of the film that illustrate the filmmaker’s view on romance. How is romance portrayed throughout the film? What evidence can you point to in order to support your claim? If you’re writing about City Lights, you may choose to describe how Chaplin creates comedic moments. And if you choose to write about Citizen Kane, you may write an essay that argues how Orson Welles portrays power dynamics and shifts.

A substantive essay will first and foremost, be specific. That is, your essay will draw on specific details from the film you’re writing about. Your writing will demonstrate how well you can “read” or interpret the film by applying film techniques from Film Studies Chapters 1-3. Remember to review the example of a strong opening paragraph as well as the other essay samples. Notice how specific the writers are about each and every frame. They go into detail to describe but also to analyze lighting, framing, performance, etc. in order to support his/her argument. Your essay is not a synopsis; rather it is a close examination of the film, the world in which it is set, and an opportunity to properly apply key filmic language to an academic essay.

A successful essay will be clearly organized and include an opening paragraph, three specific examples of scenes to support your argument and a closing paragraph.