Paper
OK, it’s now the end of Week 3, and
your final project is four six weeks from tonight, on August 7. If you can get a draft in ahead of time, I’ll
be happy to read it and give you some feedback that evening. Handing in a draft is optional.
This project will be a paper (5-6 pp.)
focusing on an individual topic that is somehow related to African film. It should be a topic that allows you to
relate the film(s) to larger issues involving the African experience or African
filmmaking. Some examples of topics that students have worked on
in the past include the following:
· “Portrayal of the Modern
African City in African Film”:
· “Highlighting the Heroines:
Positive Images of Women in African Film”:
· "Generational Conflict
in Three African Films"
· Sembene’s “Thiaroye”:
the Real Historical Event
· “Hollywood vs. Africa”:
· “Zimbabwean Use of Film to
Spotlight Urgent Social Issues”
· “And a Little Child Shall
Lead Them” (Children in Three African Films)
· “Coming of Age for Women in
Islam in African Film”
· "Food in African
Films"
·
"The Role of the Female Elder in African Films"
If any of these topics intrigue you, feel free to pursue
them yourself. You might also want to
work on additional films by directors whose works we're seeing this
quarter.
How many films should you use for this paper? In general, three is a good number for a
paper this length. (Ideally, your paper
will be full of descriptions of particular scenes from the particular
movies.) You can use a combination of
films seen in class and films from the outside.
Our library has a very large collection of
films from
You don’t need to do much research for
this paper, just enough to help get some background on
the films that you’re using or the issues that you’re exploring. The focus should be on the films themselves.
Any questions? My email is mdembrow@pcc.edu; phone is 503-978-5213.
Length: 5-6 pages
Paper Due: August 7