Critical Analysis: Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality, and Other Topics in Film

In my essay I want you to be discussing how genders differ in Cinderella the movie, and talk about how we get to know more of the women’s characters than the men.

Again, the first step for this essay will be to pick a film that you can watch and re-watch and then engage with critically. This essay asks, though, that you go beyond simply analyzing one text – the film – as we did for the first essay. We are broadening our understanding of analysis to include a critical resource: Weber’s “A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality.” You will create a critical conversation that goes beyond simply examining a theme. This assignment requires you to use the “lens” text in order to delve into your film. Thus, your essay will combine the textual analysis of the first alongside the critical lens to create a stronger and more detailed investigation. You will need to use specific quotes from the resource as well as clear citations. Ultimately, you will create a synthesized argument.

As always, the possibilities for this are quite endless. Possibilities include but are most certainly not limited to: construction of masculinity in the war film; femininity in horror; race in horror; masculinity in James Bond; the white savior trope in many Hollywood films (think sports, etc.); stereotypical portrayals of gays and lesbians (in just about anything); a film that challenges stereotypical portrayals of fill in the blank; gender and sexuality in adolescent films; romantic comedies and sexuality; ideal of the American dream, etc.
Further Clarification of the Must Haves:
• Presents a thesis that integrates the critical resource with the film
• Supports the thesis through well-developed paragraphs that are organized
• Includes specific details and evidence from the film (scenes, dialogue, characters, etc.)
• Quotes from the critical resource used to support the discussion
• MLA format
• Uses the terminology from A Short Guide to Writing about Film and Blackboard articles alongside my presentations and our discussions
• Avoids too much summary
• Introduction and conclusion
• Organization, flow, and transitions
• Strong mechanics