Sample Response to Homework Assignment  2:  Elements of Effective Cinema Studies Papers

Question

The writer is responding to Homework Assignment 2, which asked students to list elements of effective cinema studies papers and to cite examples of writers who had incorporated the elements into their prose.

Response

1. I believe that an effective cinema studies has to be concise.  Since you are offering your opinion about a film that you have seen, you should already know what happened in the film.  However, the audience or reader of your paper may or may not have seen the film.  If the reader have seen the film you are discussing and you spend a great deal of time retelling the story, the reader maybe get disinterested and may even miss the real point of your argument.  On the other hand, if your reader has not seen the film, your detail description of the film may diminish their interest in the film or spoil the excitement of seeing the film for the first time.  From an excerpt in the Corrigan text, a woman discussed why she liked Pulp Fiction despite the graphic violence in the film.  In a very concise manner, she pointed out her reasons and her comparison without giving away much of the plot.  She explained her case very well despite the brevity of her passage.  (Corrigan P. 2-3)

2. I think that another element of effective writing concerning the cinema would be the use of more well know films as comparison for the film that the writer is trying to endorse or recommend.  In Vincent Canby’s review of Terrence Malick’s Badlands for the New York Times, he cleverly cited famous movies such as Bonnie and Clyde to emphasize his conviction that Badlands is an important film and is worth seeing. (Corrigan P.8)

3. A captivating introduction is another important element when writing for film.  The introduction is very important because it is usually where you make your argument.  It’s where you present your thesis and draw the attention of your readers.  Since the beginnings of movies are often very engaging, we must try to do the same with our essays so that our readers would understand our point.  An example of an effective introduction would be the small paragraph from page 119 of the Corrigan text: 
 

“In the late 1930s. public discussion about Hollywood changed. Clergymen in backwater towns could still raise a crowd by railing against sin on the silver screen, and judges and reformers here and there continued to maintain that movies led impressionable youth to crime.  Among academics and in literary circles, however, and in the principal newspapers and magazines, the moviemakers were regarded with considerably more respect, awe and even envy, as the possessors of the power to create the nation’s myths and dreams.” (Corrigan P. 119)

4. Cinema studies papers can be most effective when the writer has his audience in mind.  There are many different way to write about films thus the audience for the different types of film essays varies as well.  For example, if I were writing a movie review for a major magazine, I would avoid using too much technical term because my audience may not be very familiar with them.  However, if I’m writing an essay for a philosophy journal on the philosophy of film, I may use more technical or philosophical terms since my audience are more knowledgeable in those fields.  An example of a paper for targeted toward a specific audience would be Peter Wollen’s lengthy discussion of the auteur theory.  After scheming through the reading, I have a good idea that it’s probably intended for people that are very familiar with films and the work of great directors from the past.

5. Finally, I believe that the most important element of an effective cinema studies paper is a good organization of ideas and examples.  Like any form of critical writing, cinema writing demands a good structure that’s carefully organized.  In many ways, film writing demands even more organization because we often have to draw from different parts of the plot of a film to find support for our arguments.  Sometimes, we may even need to incorporate external sources.  The best example of a very well organized piece of writing about films would be Andrew Sarris’ "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962."  In his writing, he organized all the little pieces of information that he acquired from different sources and line them up into a rather clear attempted explanation of the mysterious auteur theory.