Essay #1: Analyzing Scenes from Two Films

Length and Due Dates

Length:  3-4 pages, formatted according to these guidelines
First Draft Due:  Friday, January 21; bring three copies to class
Final Draft Due:  Friday, January 28; attach all drafts and reviews

Topics

Select one of the topics below as the basis for your essay. 

1)  Alicia Huberman is two women:  one is notorious, the other is an angel. Uncle Charlie is two men:  one is charming, the other is deadly.  Examine how the dual ("double") sides of these principal characters are revealed at the opening of their respective films.  That is, you will examine Alicia up to the point where she and Devlin arrive in Rio and meet at the cafe; you will examine Uncle Charlie up to the point where he arrives in Santa Rosa and is welcomed by a dinner with his sister's family.

2)  One of Hitchcock's favorite themes concerns the relationship between public selves and private selves.  Indeed, his films recurrently offer ironic commentary on the conflict characters experience between public duty/appearance and private morality/behavior. Discuss Hitchcock's representation of public/private distinctions in any two films we have seen this quarter.  You will want to select and discuss one scene from each of the two films in your answer.  You may choose any scenes for your analysis, but the following are recommended:  a) the closing sequence of Notorious; b) the closing sequence of Shadow of a Doubt; c) the sequence in Rebecca where Max De Winter confesses to his second wife what happened to his first wife; d) any scene in The Lady Vanishes which focuses on the two "proper" British gentleman yearning for a cricket game.

3)  The notion that  "the image doesn¹t lie" is a traditional cultural platitude, but Hitchcock would probably argue that "the image is deceptive."  Indeed, Hitchcock's films often explore a disjointed relationship between "image" or "appearance" and "truth."  Offer a careful analysis (segmentation) of the home-film viewing sequence in Rebecca as a way of discussing this Hitchcockian theme.  If you wish, you may pursue this theme by analyzing a scene/sequence of your choice from any of the films we have seen thus far. 
 

Guidelines and Expectations

1)  During the first week of class, we discussed the importance of argument in film analysis.  A successful essay will pose a clear, defendable argument regarding the chosen topic and develop that argument over the course of the essay.  Rather than offering a catalogue of your observations on the film, the essay will make an argument about the overall significance of your observations.

2)  Remember that you are writing to an audience who has viewed the films.  Therefore, you do not need to summarize the plot.  Instead, you should incorporate summary, paraphrase, quotation, or description of images into an analysis.  Each reference to the film should support your argument. 

3)  When describing a film's plot or stylistic techniques, use the present tense (for example, "Mrs. Danvers beckons the second Mrs. De Winter to Rebecca's underwear drawer," or "the camera focuses on Uncle Charlie's hands as he twists the napkin").

4)  If you want to check the spelling of a character's name, review a plot summary or, in the case of The Lady Vanishes, watch the film via the Web, look at the class film resources on the links page. 

Grading 

To view grading criteria for this assignment, click here.