ENGLISH WRITING(1) - Reading Task #4

Reading Task #4
For the fourth reading task for the term, please read the sample film analysis essays from the website linked below and write your responses to them in your own words. What I would like to see is how you address the strengths and weaknesses of each essay, given what we have learned so far about academic writing and analysis with narrative vocabulary. The reading task and the sample essays will be the focus for our class on Friday, April 28, and we will discuss them in groups and in detail. 

https://williamashline.tripod.com/Writing/film_analysis_final_draft--LYT.pdf

https://williamashline.tripod.com/Writing/Film_Analysis_for_Final_Portfolio--SDP.pdf

https://williamashline.tripod.com/Writing/hyoujung_filmanalysis_portfolio--KHJ.pdf

https://williamashline.tripod.com/Writing/JHJ.pdf

Minimum 300 words for the assignment. Be sure to count and write down the number of words written for the assignment. The assignment is due at the beginning of class on Friday, April 28. As with all reading tasks, late submissions are not accepted. The reading tasks serve as proof that the reading has been completed PRIOR to the start of the class in which the readings will be discussed.

 

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Film analysis 

 

LYT’s

 

This is an essay about a film titled "Pride and Prejudice," whose story originated from the famous English novel written by Jane Austen. In the beginning of the essay, the author started the essay with the quote, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." This quote is also the first quote of the original Austen book and probably the first narration of the movie. I think starting with famous intro lines or quotes makes readers think of the plot of the movie and the original book, as well as their background knowledge, which they have heard before. This will make readers familiar with the content of the analysis essay. And this can make some readers who have read Austen’s book interested in the subject of the essay.

 

At the end of the first paragraph, the author of the essay explicitly tells readers what the author thinks about the film and what the author thinks the film's theme is. This gives the reader of the essay a clear view of the author's perspective and intention for the essay.

 

In the next paragraph, the author of the essay gives readers a summary of the film along with the author's interpretation of the film.

 

After the summary of the film is finished, the author of the essay uses a very interesting expression: "If the plot is the engine of the story, then the operator of the engine is the character." Starting with this quite impressive metaphor, the author starts to describe the details of the characters in the film. The author of the reader uses quotes from the film to strengthen his opinions on the characters. I think the author of the essay showed a good way to defend one’s opinions.

 

One thing I would like to mention is that when the author of the essay tells about the plot summary, he insists that Darcy showed true love to Lizzy by saying "I am truly in love with you" I think Darcy saying that he truly loves Lizzy isn’t sufficient evidence of his true love. Anyone can say such a word without true intention. I wouldn’t mention true love in the essay if I were the author.

 

After the author of the essay analyzes the characters, he moves on to the society in which the characters he analyzed in the previous paragraph live. After seeing each individual tree, it is time to see the whole forest. In this view, the readers might find out about new emergent properties that they were unable to see from the smaller point of view.

 

I think the strong point of the essay is that the author dealt with all the detailed characteristics of the film. The author used lots of literary terms and devices to analyze the film. So I would say that the essay touches the film deep inside. One weak point I would like to mention is that the book is so well known and famous that some people who are familiar with the story or who are majoring in English literature might find the essay boring and typical. Since the original story of the film is so universally acknowledged, the analysis of the film lacks novelty and uniqueness. So choosing too many well-known stories to analyze may end up writing the same work as Wikipedia.

 

 

SDP’s

 

His essay follows the general plot of the film while he is analyzing it, so even though I am unfamiliar with the names of the characters, I could follow the story line easily. I think this is a good strategy for writing an essay about unfamiliar and somewhat minor films.

 

The writer of the essay tells readers that there are four conflicts between the characters in the film, both internal and external. The main plot of the film is actually the process of solving the problems and conflicts between them, and the ending of the film is actually the solution of the conflicts. Coincidentally, the essay of the film follows the plot line of the film, so the content of the essay is mainly the process of analyzing and solving the conflicts, and the conclusion of the essay is what the writer of the essay thinks is the solution to the conflicts.

 

One thing worth noticing is that the author of the essay poses the meaning of the title of the film and gives a brief, general meaning. But in the conclusion paragraph, the author of the essay presents the new, in-depth meaning of the title by mentioning the Korean translation of the title. This is a really fresh approach, I think. By doing this, the author of the essay gives the reader a precise conclusion without any vagueness, reinforcing his opinion above. Also, it connects the intro paragraph and the conclusion paragraph, so I felt that such writing strengthened the structural stability of the essay.

 

JHJ’s

 

In the beginning of the essay, the writer introduces a quote from a famous person, which gives readers a hint about what the essay is going to address. I think starting an essay with an interesting fact is a good way to draw attention from the readers.

 

Since the film’s gerna is a thriller and mistery, the author tries to explain the plot and hidden message with various literary devices. Since the character in the film goes into flashbacks often and the film is going back and forth to tell the story, it is difficult to understand the plot for some audiences.

 

While explaining the plot of the film to the readers, the author talks about the key with the letter ‘black’ written on it. Both the key and the letter ‘black’ are used as literary devices to maximize the intention and curiosity of the audience. The author of the essay catches it and mentions it.

 

After finishing the plot analysis, the author moves on to the character analysis. The author placed as much importance on character analysis as on plot analysis. The writer of the essay focused more on external problems while writing about the plot, and when he moved on to the characters analysis, he tended to focus on the internal conflicts between them and with society. I found this approach interesting.

 

While reading the analysis. I found out that the quote the author mentioned in the beginning of the essay is somewhat off-topic with the main idea and the conclusion of the essay. The quote from Jonathan Safran Foer is good enough to draw the attention of the readers, but it is not related to the main idea and theme of the essay, which is how to deal with trauma. Also, I think the conclusion of the essay should be more specific about what the author has dealt with in the essay. I got the feeling that the essay was just abruptly finished without a proper length of conclusion. Also, because the author of the essay tried to explain all the literary devices, some of the literary devices are not related to the main topic. I think it is a good idea to focus on fewer devices and go deeper.

 

 

KHJ’s

 

I found her essay very difficult to understand. And since I lack the English reading ability to fully understand the essay, I think I am not qualified to criticize it. So I am writing the reflection in reserved fashion.

 

The plot of the film and the analysis of the film is intertwined so I found it difficult to follow the main storyline. If I had watched the film before I write the reflection, I would have understood much better.  

 

The essay deals with the philosophy of movie. In the beginning of the essay, the author mentions the first movie in the human history and the meaning and significance which is conveyed by the film to the audience.  

 

The main character of the film is also the director of the film, so the film is more like a documentary autobiography film than general 2 hour length movie we are familiar with.

 

The author of the essay more focus on the technology and the filming techniques. I think the author of the essay took the class about the movie making and film history and then she wrote down what she have heard from that class.