ENGLISH WRITING(1) - Reading Task #5

Reading Task #5
For the fifth 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, May 12, and we will discuss them in groups and in detail. 

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

https://williamashline.tripod.com/UIC/Sample_D.pdf

https://williamashline.tripod.com/UIC/Sample%20G.pdf

https://williamashline.tripod.com/Writing/Sample_Essay--Nomadland.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, May 12. 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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English Writing(1)

 

reading assignment #5

 

Jee Hye Kim’s essay

 

The author of the essay started the essay with an interrogative sentence. It was one of the options of a hook or a lede that we discussed in the Writing 1 class. This question is very related to the theme and thesis of the essay. The author didn’t leave the opening question hanging, but she connected it to the thesis, which she will discuss in the essay. The author of the essay gives lots of information about the settings and background of the film to readers, which makes it easy to understand the situation and the atmosphere of the film. The author of the essay wrote about the conflict between people and society. I think this kind of conflict is much more complicated and has more to say than a conflict between individuals. The author confused the name of the main character’s daughter, and she used Jane and Janie for the reference to Lester’s daughter. The author of the essay insists that she found that the way of combining first- and thirdperson narrative shown in the film is comical, but I don’t see what is comical and funny. Only reading the essay doesn’t make me understand what the author wants to say. Based on the author’s essay, the film shows characters who struggle to find the meaning of life. I think this is a very deep and heavy topic, not comical. The way the author of the essay interpreted the camera angle to show suppression is very interesting.

 

Soo Min Kim’s essay

 

The plot of the movie was very interesting. As I was reading the second paragraph of the essay, I got the thought that I would like to watch the movie. The author of the essay should have warned the readers about spoilers before revealing the ending of the film in the essay. The author of the essay mentioned blood and the symbol red. But all people have red-colored blood, and no one gets to choose what color one’s blood looks like. So interpreting blood as a symbol of red is somewhat difficult to agree. The author again revealed the huge plot twist in the film. "Dojun’s mother gave him pestiside when he was 5". Beside this huge spoiler, I found it interesting to read the way the author interprets and explains Mother’s maneuvering, possessive, and overpowering attitude toward her son to the readers. The theme and main idea of the essay are very clear and somewhat relate to my own experience in real life. Out of the four given essays, this is my favorite. The theme of the film is similar to David Herbert Lawrence’s book, Sons and Lovers.

 

Alizah Bolar’s essay

 

Since the movie Get Out is one of the few movies I actually watched, I find it easy to understand and follow the author’s explanation. Since the author of the essay is a native English speaker, the essay contains rich expressions and descriptions and advanced vocabulary. This aspect made me think that the essay is of high quality. The author of the essay uses topicalization and to-clause subject-rising syntax structure frequently, and I think this is very interesting. This reminds me of Roald Dahl, who is the writer of the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as he frequently used X, Y, and Z structures in his book. I think using unique writing styles and sentence structures is a good way to attract and appeal to readers. Talking about and addressing problems related to racism is a good way to make the world a better place. I think the only weakness of the essay is that the author poses the problem and alerts the reader, but doesn’t give a resolution, leaves the problem unsolved, and finishes the essay. I think this is because we still don’t know the answer to solving the problem in real life in our society.

 

Nguyen Huy Dieu Anh’s essay

 

At the end of the second paragraph, the writer of the essay says that the main character, Fern, found the meaning of her life. But it seems to me that nothing has actually been solved. So I think it is preferable to give more details to the readers to help them understand the conclusion more clearly. The writer of the essay talked a lot about the camera angle of the film. Also, the writer talked about the visual imagery and elements of the film. And his explanation of visual imagery in the essay is very good. The author of the essay talked about the music in the film, but I think it is not good to mention the music element of the film because Professor Ashline told us not to. Also, he wouldn’t like the picture attached in the last paragraph of the essay. The conclusion of the essay is very clear, and it repeats the initial hook or lede in the first paragraph.