This assignment is meant to build and assess the following skills: critical thinking, close reading, literary analysis, writing thesis statements, and organizing an argument. For this paper, through close reading, you should create an argumentative interpretation of a film of your choosing using rhetorical triangle appeals (pathos, ethos, and logos).

Close reading and literary analysis involves a deconstruction of the text in which you, as the analyzer, explain what you believe are the layers of meaning conveyed by the text. For a written text, you might discover deeper meanings in specific words, punctuation, structure/format, and characters. There is some overlap in a visual text, but in a film, in addition to dialogue and character, you can find deeper meanings in lighting, props and set design/setting, and even costumes. The nature of literature is such that it creates layers of meaning that represent the human experience through story. Your job is to determine what those layers of meaning are and then convey your ideas in a logical, cohesive manner. Your analysis should use quotes and specific examples from the film as evidence for your ideas, and you should then interpret those pieces of evidence for the reader. Click here for an example of a strong literary analysis. Your literary analysis should identify a particular theme within the film. You can identify that theme by asking yourself these kinds of questions:

● What is the purpose of this text?

● What kinds of emotions is this text trying to convey?

● What messages, values, and/or arguments is this text trying to convey?

● Does this text have any political, social, or economic implications? If so, what are they?

● Identify allusions (Biblical or classical): what is the significance of those allusion?

But you should ultimately come up with one single theme that you can center your thesis on. A strong example of a thesis would be: In Disney’s Moana, the theme of female empowerment is evident in the symbolism of water, the hero’s song (“How Far I’ll Go”), and the way Moana’s body is illustrated. In this paper, the author will discuss how those three pieces of evidence emphasize the theme of female empowerment. The most important things to keep in mind as you write the body paragraphs of this paper are the questions “why” and how.” You will need to show why you believe what you believe about the text through a careful and detailed interpretation of quotes and examples from the text. This requires, in every paragraph, a clear showing of evidence and analysis that explains how the evidence proves your thesis. Each paragraphs should have a clear topic sentence that connects to the thesis and indicates the claim/argument of the paragraph. This should be followed by evidence that proves that claim and an explanation of how that evidence proves that claim through an analysis of the evidence. For a detailed handout on paragraph organization, check out this handout. When doing the Literary Analysis, avoid sweeping generalizations: these involve statements about "our time" or the 21st century or "society today" that are difficult if not impossible to improve. Find the personal connection to the play in your pre-writing stages, and when you're finishing up the final draft make sure you connect everything back to the play. All your statements should be supported through evidence. If you think about a certain statement, "it's obvious that this is true, so I don't need to explain it," then you need to rethink that statement. Assignment Requirements:

● Your paper should have a creative/descriptive title.

● Your paper should include an effective thesis with subject, purpose, claim, and specific language. Click here for guidelines on how to create a strong thesis.

● Your paper should include multiple pieces of evidence (quotes, examples, descriptions of images, etc.) that prove your thesis.

● For every piece of evidence, your paper should also include analysis that explains how the evidence proves the thesis.

● Your paper should include well-organized body paragraphs (when in doubt, use the PEAS model).

● Your paper should include a strong introduction; click here for information on how to write an effective introduction.

● Your paper should include a strong conclusion: click here for information on how to write an effective conclusion.

● Your paper should adhere to proper grammar and style guidelines. Note: you will only be deducted points for grammar/style if they prevent understanding of the content.

● Your paper should be roughly 3-5 pages, but if you are slightly under or slightly over, I will not deduct points. The goal is for you to produce a strong literary analysis, and this may require you to write a little less or more.

● This paper does NOT require citations (we’ll work on that later). Grading: The Film Analysis will be graded according to this rubric.