English 196 Directors Winter 2008 Michael Dembrow, Instr.
Term Project
OK, it’s now Week 4, and your final
project is due five weeks from tonight, on March 4. I’d like to reiterate exactly what you need
to do for this project.
1. You need to decide by next week on the director for your
project. Talk to me if you need help
with deciding.
2. See as many of the director’s films as you can. Ideally, you will see them all, unless the
director has made a huge number. With a
director such as Francis Ford Coppola, for example, you would need to be more
selective. But in general, you want to
have a clear sense of the curve of the director’s career.
3. Get a sense of the director’s biography. Often, details related to the director’s
family, upbringing, education, and previous work experience can offer insight
into her/his preoccupations and particular talents. You don’t need to do much of this, but you
should do some, and be prepared to bring that info into your paper.
4. Focus on a thread that is running through the director’s
work. Then you can make that the focus
of your paper. Some typical
examples: Women in Scorsese, The Importance of
Music in Spike Lee’s Films, Hitchcock
and the Theme of Pursuit, Jim Jarmusch: Clothing and Realism, Parents and Children in the Films of Ron Howard. Etc., etc. In writing about your particular focus,
you’ll eventually shed light on the fundamentals of that director’s style and
world-view in general.
5. Write a paper that focuses on how this theme/motif/pattern works
in (ideally) three films. Try to make
sure that the films that you choose are representative of the director’s work
in general. Your paper should be full of
descriptions of particular scenes from the particular movies.
6. Optional: Write it up
into a half-way decent draft (typed if possible) by Feb. 26. I'll get you feedback by the end of the week.
7. Write a fantastic final draft by March 5.
Any questions? My email is mdembrow@pcc.edu.