Write a 5-6 double spaced paper on one of the following topics, approximately 1,500 words, using the films watched as points of discussion.
Note: While you’re allowed to address other films you may have seen on your own as examples of your viewpoint, the questions are all geared towards a discussion of films primarily viewed in the class. If you don’t address those films, you will lose major points. However, all the questions allow for some variation and for you to use contemporary examples in addition to the ones viewed in class.
You may choose from one of the following topics:
Actors form the most numerous (and therefore) most influential voting bloc of the Academy. In both films, “Network” and “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the acting ensembles managed to win three out of four acting awards for the same film. Discuss how these two acting ensembles distinguish themselves. What are the themes of both films? How do they differ but also what do they have in common? Are there individual performances that stand out (note that both films won for Best Actress, for instance)? At the core of these films, what is it about them that allow the actors to stand out so prominently that the films went on to be honored with multiple nominations and awards for their acting? Could you identify a recent award-winning performance that also compares to the above?
The prestige film is a well-established concept that we have discussed throughout the semester. What exactly is a prestige film and why is that type of film more likely to win Best Picture? How do films like “All Quiet on the Western front,” “The Godfather” and “Rebecca” fit the bill? What are other examples that you may have seen?
How would a film like “Midnight Cowboy” or “American Beauty” not fit the bill (unless you feel that they do?) What is meant by “prestige” anyway and is such a concept still valid today with more recent winners such as “Twelve Years a Slave” and “Moonlight”?
The Academy used to be criticized for awarding big epic adventures and/or war films (i.e. expensive films) best picture through the years and becoming at times predictable in its deliberations. But among the various films that we saw, “smaller” films, independent or low-budget, also managed to make it through, particularly “American Beauty,” “On the Waterfront,” and “Midnight Cowboy” and recently, “Moonlight” and “Birdman.” What makes these films special enough to beat back the bigger, more expensive films?
*An update on this: Critics have reversed themselves recently in complaining that big-budget hits like “Black Panther” are being ignored and the Academy tried to set up a “Popular Film” Award which ultimately was criticized and was not instituted. The history of voting for big epic films has recently been upended when independent low-budget films have been winning. The theory is that if the Best Picture winner is an independent film that critics love but audiences ignore that it’s bad for ratings, which was the reason behind the push to create a “Popular Film” award.
Can the Academy do both? Find a happy medium? The most recent “Green Book” found an audience as a modest hit but was often criticized by critics for its retrograde attitude towards race. Care to comment on this controversy? (Always use examples from our class.)
Directors guide a film to completion and it is their vision that is usually realized on the screen. Some of them distinguish themselves through superior technique or sometimes the choice of material (which could be part of their technique.)
Choose among the variety of the directors who directed the various pictures we saw. Give examples from the various films (three minimum) and try to assess what creates great direction, in your opinion. Is it a vision? Is it superior ability to gather a great cast and match it with a great script?
The various best picture winners we saw (and the two non-winners which were also best picture nominees) had in common strong screenplays. Who were the screenwriters and what themes and stories and characters did they bring forward? Were the screenplays adaptations of novels or stories? Discuss at least three of the films watched and analyze what made the writing stand out? (Don’t forget screenwriters’ names since this section is devoted to them.)
6. The issue of diversity has become a major focus of the Academy’s mission in the 2010s. Using the New Yorker article provided in Unit 4, discuss the issues and how they affect the watching of major Oscar-winning films today. Analyze some recent winners such as “12 Years a Slave,” or “Moonlight,” “Green Brook” or “The Shape of Water” and compare them to a couple of older films discussed in class that may show some aspects of diversity or lack thereof. You’ll find films such as “Network” and “Casablanca” including some minority characters, not always in prominent roles.
You may also venture into other older films such as “In the Heat of the Night” in which racial issues become central, or a Best Picture winner such as “The Last Emperor” which is completely a Chinese subject matter but still has to include a major European character in order to appeal to mainstream American/European audiences. You will find issues of casting in “West Side Story” (the casting of non-Latino actors in Latino roles, for instance) or stereotyping in a classic film such as “Gone with the Wind.” This major contemporary topic can go in many different directions, so try to keep it focused on Oscar-winning films and the contrast between contemporary and older films. Most important is for you to engage with a major issue of today as it is being discussed right now in the Academy and how it affects your viewing of both current and classic films.
FOR ALL THE ANSWERS:
Always, try to use the films themselves–their story, characters, themes, and their production values (acting, directing, writing, technology)–as the main evidence for your argument. Use scenes or moments in the film to illustrate your point, or the work of the actors, directors and all other artists. Try to avoid generalizations and vague statements. Always, be concrete and specific.
