I will assign two or three people to post a film commentary on each film as a blog entry on this Voices site. These commentaries are due to be posted by Sunday evening at 5pm so others can read them before class. The rest of the class is required to read these commentaries before we meet on Monday to discuss the film.

The assignment for the formal film commentary: write a short commentary (of about 250 to 400 words or 2 to 4 ¶s) to present a critical perspective on the film. I give you wide latitude. You might: connect the film to its historical context; address the larger message of the film; explain the social, political, or cultural tensions that are played out in the film; analyze the meaning of the film’s soundscape (or its cinematography or editing or mise-en-scene), analyze a particularly important scene, or something else. In any case, make it interesting. Give concrete examples from the film to help make your point. Use the language of film criticism and historical analysis. Give your commentary a suitable organization and make sure that it is clearly written and free of errors of grammar and spelling. Give it a title that expresses your main idea.

There is no need to read outside reviews of the film. These can often impede your own understanding. However, if you do make use of reviews or user comments, the same standards of attribution and citation apply to these commentaries as to a formal paper. If you need to cite outside sources you may do so with a bracketed footnote and a reference at the bottom of your commentary.

Post your commentary by Sunday evening at 5pm as a blog post on our website. Note that to do this you will need to be enrolled as a user and logged in to the website.