drama films essay

How to Write a Film Analysis Essay: Examples, Outline, & Tips

A film analysis essay might be the most exciting assignment you have ever had! After all, who doesn’t love watching movies? You have your favorite movies, maybe something you watched years ago, perhaps a classic, or a documentary. Or your professor might assign a film for you to make a critical review. Regardless, you are totally up for watching a movie for a film analysis essay.

Our specialists will write a custom essay specially for you!

However, once you have watched the movie, facing the act of writing might knock the wind out of your sails because you might be wondering how to write a film analysis essay. In summary, writing movie analysis is not as difficult as it might seem, and Custom-writing.org experts will prove this. This guide will help you choose a topic for your movie analysis, make an outline, and write the text.️ Film analysis examples are added as a bonus! Just keep reading our advice on how to get started.

❓ What Is a Film Analysis Essay?

• 🚦 Film Analysis Types

📽️ Movie Analysis Format

✍️ how to write a film analysis, 🎦 film analysis template, 🎬 film analysis essay topics.

• 📄 Essay Examples

🔗 References

To put it simply, film analysis implies watching a movie and then considering its characteristics : genre, structure, contextual context, etc. Film analysis is usually considered to be a form of rhetorical analysis . The key to success here is to formulate a clear and logical argument, supporting it with examples.

🚦 Film Analysis Essay Types

Since a film analysis essay resembles literature analysis, it makes sense that there are several ways to do it. Its types are not limited to the ones described here. Moreover, you are free to combine the approaches in your essay as well. Since your writing reflects your own opinion, there is no universal way to do it.

• Semiotic analysis . If you’re using this approach, you are expected to interpret the film’s symbolism. You should look for any signs that may have a hidden meaning. Often, they reveal some character’s features. To make the task more manageable, you can try to find the objects or concepts that appear on the screen multiple times. What is the context they appear in? It might lead you to the hidden meaning of the symbols.
• Narrative structure analysis . This type is quite similar to a typical literature guide. It includes looking into the film’s themes, plot, and motives. The analysis aims to identify three main elements: setup, confrontation, and resolution. You should find out whether the film follows this structure and what effect it creates. It will make the narrative structure analysis essay if you write about the theme and characters’ motivations as well.
• Contextual analysis . Here, you would need to expand your perspective. Instead of focusing on inner elements, the contextual analysis looks at the time and place of the film’s creation. Therefore, you should work on studying the cultural context a lot. It can also be a good idea to mention the main socio-political issues of the time. You can even relate the film’s success to the director or producer and their career.
• Mise-en-scene analysis . This type of analysis works with the most distinctive feature of the movies, audiovisual elements. However, don’t forget that your task is not only to identify them but also to explain their importance. There are so many interconnected pieces of this puzzle: the light to create the mood, the props to show off characters’ personalities, messages hidden in the song lyrics.

To write an effective film analysis essay, it is important to follow specific format requirements that include the following:

• Standard essay structure. Just as with any essay, your analysis should consist of an introduction with a strong thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The main body usually includes a summary and an analysis of the movie’s elements.
• Present tense for events in the film. Use the present tense when describing everything that happens in the movie. This way, you can make smooth transitions between describing action and dialogue. It will also improve the overall narrative flow.
• Proper formatting of the film’s title. Don’t enclose the movie’s title in quotation marks; instead, italicize it. In addition, use the title case : that is, capitalize all major words.
• Proper use of the characters’ names. When you mention a film character for the first time, name the actor portraying them. After that, it is enough to write only the character’s name.
• In-text citations. Use in-text citations when describing certain scenes or shots from the movie. Format them according to your chosen citation style. If you use direct quotes, include the time-stamp range instead of page numbers. Here’s how it looks in the MLA format: (Smith 0:11:24–0:12:35).

Even though film analysis is similar to the literary one, you might still feel confused with where to begin. No need to worry; there are only a few additional steps you need to consider during the writing process.

Just in 1 hour! We will write you a plagiarism-free paper in hardly more than 1 hour

Need more information? It can be found in the video below.

Starting Your Film Analysis Essay

There are several things you need to do before you start writing your film analysis paper. First and foremost, you have to watch the movie. Even if you have seen it a hundred times, you need to watch it again to make a good film analysis essay.

Note that you might be given an essay topic or have to think of it by yourself. If you are free to choose a topic for your film analysis essay, reading some critical reviews before you watch the film might be a good idea. By doing this in advance, you will already know what to look for when watching the movie.

In the process of watching, keep the following tips in mind:

• Consider your impression of the movie
• Enumerate memorable details
• Try to interpret the movie message in your way
• Search for the proof of your ideas (quotes from the film)
• Make comments on the plot, settings, and characters
• Draw parallels between the movie you are reviewing and some other movies

Making a Film Analysis Essay Outline

Once you have watched and possibly re-watched your assigned or chosen movie from an analytical point of view, you will need to create a movie analysis essay outline . The task is pretty straightforward: the outline can look just as if you were working on a literary analysis or an article analysis.

Receive a plagiarism-free paper tailored to your instructions. Cut 20% off your first order!

• Introduction : This includes the basics of the movie, including the title, director, and the date of release. You should also present the central theme or ideas in the movie and your thesis statement .
• Summary : This is where you take the time to present an overview of the primary concepts in the movie, including the five Ws (who, what, when, where, and why)—don’t forget how!—as well as anything you wish to discuss that relates to the point of view, style, and structure.
• Analysis : This is the body of the essay and includes your critical analysis of the movie, why you did or did not like it, and any supporting material from the film to support your views. It would help if you also discussed whether the director and writer of the movie achieved the goal they set out to achieve.
• Conclusion: This is where you can state your thesis again and provide a summary of the primary concepts in a new and more convincing manner, making a case for your analysis. You can also include a call-to-action that will invite the reader to watch the movie or avoid it entirely.

You can find a great critical analysis template at Thompson Rivers University website. In case you need more guidance on how to write an analytical paper, check out our article .

Writing & Editing Your Film Analysis Essay

We have already mentioned that there are differences between literary analysis and film analysis. They become especially important when one starts writing their film analysis essay.

First of all, the evidence you include to support the arguments is not the same. Instead of quoting the text, you might need to describe the audiovisual elements.

However, the practice of describing the events is similar in both types. You should always introduce a particular sequence in the present tense. If you want to use a piece of a dialogue between more than two film characters, you can use block quotes. However, since there are different ways to do it, confirm with your supervisor.

For your convenience, you might as well use the format of the script, for which you don’t have to use quotation marks:

Get an originally-written paper according to your instructions!

ELSA: But she won’t remember I have powers?

KING: It’s for the best.

Finally, to show off your proficiency in the subject, look at the big picture. Instead of just presenting the main elements in your analysis, point out their significance. Describe the effect they make on the overall impression form the film. Moreover, you can dig deeper and suggest the reasons why such elements were used in a particular scene to show your expertise.

Stuck writing a film analysis essay? Worry not! Use our template to structure your movie analysis properly.

Introduction

• The title of the film is… [title]
• The director is… [director’s name] He/she is known for… [movies, style, etc.]
• The movie was released on… [release date]
• The themes of the movie are… [state the film’s central ideas]
• The film was made because… [state the reasons]
• The movie is… because… [your thesis statement].
• The main characters are… [characters’ names]
• The events take place in… [location]
• The movie is set in… [time period]
• The movie is about… [state what happens in the film and why]
• The movie left a… [bad, unforgettable, lasting, etc.] impression in me.
• The script has… [a logical sequence of events, interesting scenes, strong dialogues, character development, etc.]
• The actors portray their characters… [convincingly, with intensity, with varying degree of success, in a manner that feels unnatural, etc.]
• The soundtrack is [distracting, fitting, memorable, etc.]
• Visual elements such as… [costumes, special effects, etc.] make the film [impressive, more authentic, atmospheric, etc.]
• The film succeeds/doesn’t succeed in engaging the target audience because it… [tells a compelling story, features strong performances, is relevant, lacks focus, is unauthentic, etc.]
• Cultural and societal aspects make the film… [thought-provoking, relevant, insightful, problematic, polarizing, etc.]
• The director and writer achieved their goal because… [state the reasons]
• Overall, the film is… [state your opinion]
• I would/wouldn’t recommend watching the movie because… [state the reasons]
• Analysis of the film Inception by Christopher Nolan .
• Examine the rhetoric in the film The Red Balloon .
• Analyze the visual effects of Zhang Yimou’s movie Hero .
• Basic concepts of the film Interstellar by Christopher Nolan.
• The characteristic features of Federico Fellini’s movies.
• Analysis of the movie The Joker .
• The depiction of ethical issues in Damaged Care .
• Analyze the plot of the film Moneyball .
• Explore the persuasive techniques used in Henry V .
• Analyze the movie Killing Kennedy .
• Discuss the themes of the film Secret Window .
• Describe the role of audio and video effects in conveying the message of the documentary Life in Renaissance .
• Compare and analyze the films Midnight Cowboy and McCabe and Mrs. Miller .
• Analysis of the movie Rear Window .
• The message behind the film Split .
• Analyze the techniques used by Tim Burton in his movie Sleepy Hollow .
• The topic of children’s abuse and importance of trust in Joseph Sargent’s Sybil .
• Examine the themes and motives of the film Return to Paradise by Joseph Ruben .
• The issues of gender and traditions in the drama The Whale Rider.
• Analysis of the film Not Easily Broken by Duke Bill.
• The symbolism in R. Scott’s movie Thelma and Louise .
• The meaning of audiovisual effects in Citizen Kane .
• Analyze the main characters of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo .
• Discuss the historical accuracy of the documentary The Civil War .
• Analysis of the movie Through a Glass Darkly .
• Explore the core idea of the comedy Get Out .
• The problem of artificial intelligence and human nature in Ex Machina .
• Three principles of suspense used in the drama The Fugitive .
• Examine the ideas Michael Bay promotes in Armageddon .
• Analyze the visual techniques used in Tenet by Christopher Nolan.
• Analysis of the movie The Green Mile .
• Discrimination and exclusion in the film The Higher Learning .
• The hidden meaning of the scenes in Blade Runner .
• Compare the social messages of the films West Side Story and Romeo + Juliet .
• Highlighting the problem of children’s mental health in the documentary Kids in Crisis .
• Discuss the ways Paul Haggis establishes the issue of racial biases in his movie Crash .
• Analyze the problem of moral choice in the film Gone Baby Gone .
• Analysis of the historical film Hacksaw Ridge .
• Explore the main themes of the film Mean Girls by Mark Walters .
• The importance of communication in the movie Juno .
• Describe the techniques the authors use to highlight the problems of society in Queen and Slim .
• Examine the significance of visual scenes in My Family/ Mi Familia .
• Analysis of the thriller Salt by Phillip Noyce.
• Analyze the message of Greg Berlanti’s film Love, Simon .
• Interpret the symbols of the film The Wizard of Oz (1939).
• Discuss the modern issues depicted in the film The Corporation .
• Moral lessons of Edward Zwick’s Blood Diamond .
• Analysis of the documentary Solitary Nation .
• Describe the audiovisual elements of the film Pride and Prejudice (2005) .
• The problem of toxic relationships in Malcolm and Marie .

📄 Film Analysis Examples

Below you’ll find two film analysis essay examples. Note that the full versions are downloadable for free!

Film Analysis Example #1: The Intouchables

Raising acute social problems in modern cinema is a common approach to draw the public’s attention to the specific issues and challenges of people facing crucial obstacles. As a film for review, The Intouchables by Oliver Nakache and Éric Toledano will be analyzed, and one of the themes raised in this movie is the daily struggle of the person with severe disabilities. This movie is a biographical drama with comedy elements. The Intouchables describes the routine life of a French millionaire who is confined to a wheelchair and forced to receive help from his servants. The acquaintance of the disabled person with a young and daring man from Parisian slums changes the lives of both radically. The film shows that for a person with disabilities, recognition as a full member of society is more important than sympathy and compassion, and this message expressed comically raises an essential problem of human loneliness.

Movie Analysis Example #2: Parasite

Parasite is a 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller movie directed by Bong Joon-ho and is the first film with a non-English script to win Best Picture at the Oscars in 2020. With its overwhelming plot and acting, this motion picture retains a long-lasting effect and some kind of shock. The class serves as a backbone and a primary objective of social commentary within the South Korean comedy/thriller (Kench, 2020). Every single element and detail in the movie, including the student’s stone, the contrasting architecture, family names, and characters’ behavior, contribute to the central topic of the universal problem of classism and wealth disparity. The 2020 Oscar-winning movie Parasite (2019) is a phenomenal cinematic portrayal and a critical message to modern society regarding the severe outcomes of the long-established inequalities within capitalism.

Want more examples? Check out this bonus list of 10 film analysis samples. They will help you gain even more inspiration.

• “Miss Representation” Documentary Film Analysis
• “The Patriot”: Historical Film Analysis
• “The Morning Guy” Film Analysis
• 2012′ by Roland Emmerich Film Analysis
• “The Crucible” (1996) Film Analysis
• The Aviator’ by Martin Scorsese Film Analysis
• The “Lions for Lambs” Film Analysis
• Bill Monroe – Father of Bluegrass Music Film Analysis
• Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Harry Potter’ Film Analysis
• Red Tails by George Lucas Film Analysis

Film Analysis Essay FAQ

• Watch the movie or read a detailed plot summary.
• Read others’ film reviews paying attention to details like key characters, movie scenes, background facts.
• Compose a list of ideas about what you’ve learned.
• Organize the selected ideas to create a body of the essay.
• Write an appropriate introduction and conclusion.

The benefits of analyzing a movie are numerous . You get a deeper understanding of the plot and its subtle aspects. You can also get emotional and aesthetic satisfaction. Film analysis enables one to feel like a movie connoisseur.

Here is a possible step by step scenario:

• Think about the general idea that the author probably wanted to convey.
• Consider how the idea was put across: what characters, movie scenes, and details helped in it.
• Study the broader context: the author’s other works, genre essentials, etc.

The definition might be: the process of interpreting a movie’s aspects. The movie is reviewed in terms of details creating the artistic value. A film analysis essay is a paper presenting such a review in a logically structured way.

• Film Analysis – UNC Writing Center
• Film Writing: Sample Analysis // Purdue Writing Lab
• Yale Film Analysis – Yale University
• Film Terms And Topics For Film Analysis And Writing
• Questions for Film Analysis (Washington University)
• Resources on Film Analysis – Cinema Studies (University of Toronto)
• Does Film Analysis Take the Magic out of Movies?
• Film Analysis Research Papers – Academia.edu
• What’s In a Film Analysis Essay? Medium
• Analysis of Film – SAGE Research Methods
• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to LinkedIn
• Share to email

A critique paper is an academic writing genre that summarizes and gives a critical evaluation of a concept or work. Or, to put it simply, it is no more than a summary and a critical analysis of a specific issue. This type of writing aims to evaluate the impact of...

What is a creative essay, if not the way to express yourself? Crafting such a paper is a task that allows you to communicate your opinion and tell a story. However, even using your imagination to a great extent doesn’t free you from following academic writing rules. Don’t even get...

A compare and contrast essay — what is it? In this type of paper, you compare two different things or ideas, highlighting what is similar between the two, and you also contrast them, highlighting what is different. The two things might be events, people, books, points of view, lifestyles, or...

What is an expository essay? This type of writing aims to inform the reader about the subject clearly, concisely, and objectively. The keyword here is “inform”. You are not trying to persuade your reader to think a certain way or let your own opinions and emotions cloud your work. Just stick to the...

Have you ever tried to write a story analysis but ended up being completely confused and lost? Well, the task might be challenging if you don’t know the essential rules for literary analysis creation. But don’t get frustrated! We know how to write a short story analysis, and we are...

Have you ever tried to get somebody round to your way of thinking? Then you should know how daunting the task is. Still, if your persuasion is successful, the result is emotionally rewarding. A persuasive essay is a type of writing that uses facts and logic to argument and substantiate...

One of the most critical skills that students gain during their college years is assignment writing. Composing impressive essays and research papers can be quite challenging, especially for ESL students. Nonetheless, before learning the art of academic writing, you may make numerous common essay mistakes. Such involuntary errors appear in:...

You’re probably thinking: I’m no Mahatma Gandhi or Steve Jobs—what could I possibly write in my memoir? I don’t even know how to start an autobiography, let alone write the whole thing. But don’t worry: essay writing can be easy, and this autobiography example for students is here to show...

Some people know which profession to choose from childhood, while others decide much later in life. However, and whenever you come to it, you may have to elaborate on it in your personal statement or cover letter. This is widely known as “Why I Want to Be a Teacher” essay.

Assigned with an essay about friendship? Congrats! It’s one of the best tasks you could get. Digging through your memories and finding strong arguments for this paper can be an enjoyable experience. I bet you will cope with this task effortlessly as we can help you with the assignment. Just...

When you are assigned an autobiography to write, tens, and even hundreds of questions start buzzing in your head. How to write autobiography essay parts? What to include? How to make your autobiography writing flow? Don’t worry about all this and use the following three simple principles and 15 creative...

A life experience essay combines the elements of narration, description, and self-reflection. Such a paper has to focus on a single event that had a significant impact on a person’s worldview and values. Writing an essay about life experience prompts students to do the following: evaluate their behavior in specific...

Have you ever read a review and asked yourself how the critic arrived at a different interpretation for the film? You are sure that you saw the same movie, but you interpreted it differently. Most moviegoers go to the cinema for pleasure and entertainment. There’s a reason why blockbuster movies attract moviegoers – cinema is a form of escape, a way to momentarily walk away from life’s troubles.

It’s an interesting point of view. Thank you for your opinion, Sourav!

EXCELENT COVERAGE!

Thank you, Mike!

Hi Rebecca,

Glad you liked the post. Sure thing, feel free to share the link with your audience!

All the best.

Film Analysis: Example, Format, and Outline + Topics & Prompts

Films are never just films. Instead, they are influential works of art that can evoke a wide range of emotions, spark meaningful conversations, and provide insightful commentary on society and culture. As a student, you may be tasked with writing a film analysis essay, which requires you to delve deeper into the characters and themes. But where do you start?

In this article, our expert team has explored strategies for writing a successful film analysis essay. From prompts for this assignment to an excellent movie analysis example, we’ll provide you with everything you need to craft an insightful film analysis paper.

• 📽️ Film Analysis Definition

📚 Types of Film Analysis

• ✍️ How to Write Film Analysis
• 🎞️ Movie Analysis Prompts
• 🎬 Top 15 Topics

📝 Film Analysis Example

• 🍿 More Examples

🔗 References

📽️ what is a film analysis essay.

A film analysis essay is a type of academic writing that critically examines a film, its themes, characters, and techniques used by the filmmaker. This essay aims to analyze the film’s meaning, message, and artistic elements and explain its cultural, social, and historical significance. It typically requires a writer to pay closer attention to aspects such as cinematography, editing, sound, and narrative structure.

Film Analysis vs Film Review

It’s common to confuse a film analysis with a film review, though these are two different types of writing. A film analysis paper focuses on the film’s narrative, sound, editing, and other elements. This essay aims to explore the film’s themes, symbolism , and underlying messages and to provide an in-depth interpretation of the film.

On the other hand, a film review is a brief evaluation of a film that provides the writer’s overall opinion of the movie. It includes the story’s short summary, a description of the acting, direction, and technical aspects, and a recommendation on whether or not the movie is worth watching.

Wondering what you should focus on when writing a movie analysis essay? Here are four main types of film analysis. Check them out!

📋 Film Analysis Format

The movie analysis format follows a typical essay structure, including a title, introduction, thesis statement, body, conclusion, and references.

The most common citation styles used for a film analysis are MLA and Chicago . However, we recommend you consult with your professor for specific guidelines. Remember to cite all dialogue and scene descriptions from the movie to support the analysis. The reference list should include the analyzed film and any external sources mentioned in the essay.

When referring to a specific movie in your paper, you should italicize the film’s name and use the title case. Don’t enclose the title of the movie in quotation marks.

📑 Film Analysis Essay Outline

A compelling film analysis outline is crucial as it helps make the writing process more focused and the content more insightful for the readers. Below, you’ll find the description of the main parts of the movie analysis essay.

Film Analysis Introduction

Many students experience writer’s block because they don’t know how to write an introduction for a film analysis. The truth is that the opening paragraph for a film analysis paper is similar to any other academic essay:

• Start with a hook to grab the reader’s attention . For example, it can be a fascinating fact or a thought-provoking question related to the film.
• Provide background information about the movie . Introduce the film, including its title, director, and release date. Follow this with a brief summary of the film’s plot and main themes.
• End the introduction with an analytical thesis statement . Present the central argument or interpretation that will be explored in the analysis.

Film Analysis Thesis

If you wonder how to write a thesis for a film analysis, we’ve got you! A thesis statement should clearly present your main idea related to the film and provide a roadmap for the rest of the essay. Your thesis should be specific, concise, and focused. In addition, it should be debatable so that others can present a contrasting point of view. Also, make sure it is supported with evidence from the film.

Let’s come up with a film analysis thesis example:

Through a feminist lens, Titanic is a story about Rose’s rebellion against traditional gender roles, showcasing her attempts to assert her autonomy and refusal to conform to societal expectations prevalent in the early 20th century.

Movie Analysis Main Body

Each body paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of the film that supports your main idea. These aspects include themes, characters, narrative devices , or cinematic techniques. You should also provide evidence from the film to support your analysis, such as quotes, scene descriptions, or specific visual or auditory elements.

Here are two things to avoid in body paragraphs:

• Film review . Your analysis should focus on specific movie aspects rather than your opinion of the film.
• Excessive plot summary . While it’s important to provide some context for the analysis, a lengthy plot summary can detract you from your main argument and analysis of the film.

Film Analysis Conclusion

In the conclusion of a movie analysis, restate the thesis statement to remind the reader of the main argument. Additionally, summarize the main points from the body to reinforce the key aspects of the film that were discussed. The conclusion should also provide a final thought or reflection on the film, tying together the analysis and presenting your perspective on its overall meaning.

✍️ How to Write a Film Analysis Essay

Writing a film analysis essay can be challenging since it requires a deep understanding of the film, its themes, and its characters. However, with the right approach, you can create a compelling analysis that offers insight into the film’s meaning and impact. To help you, we’ve prepared a small guide.

1. Understand the Prompt

When approaching a film analysis essay, it is crucial to understand the prompt provided by your professor. For example, suppose your professor asks you to analyze the film from the perspective of Marxist criticism or psychoanalytic film theory . In that case, it is essential to familiarize yourself with these approaches. This may involve studying these theories and identifying how they can be applied to the film.

If your professor did not provide specific guidelines, you will need to choose a film yourself and decide on the aspect you will explore. Whether it is the film’s themes, characters, cinematography, or social context, having a clear focus will help guide your analysis.

2. Watch the Film & Take Notes

Keep your assignment prompt in mind when watching the film for your analysis. For example, if you are analyzing the film from a feminist perspective, you should pay attention to the portrayal of female characters, power dynamics , and gender roles within the film.

As you watch the movie, take notes on key moments, dialogues, and scenes relevant to your analysis. Additionally, keeping track of the timecodes of important scenes can be beneficial, as it allows you to quickly revisit specific moments in the film for further analysis.

3. Develop a Thesis and an Outline

Next, develop a thesis statement for your movie analysis. Identify the central argument or perspective you want to convey about the film. For example, you can focus on the film’s themes, characters, plot, cinematography, or other outstanding aspects. Your thesis statement should clearly present your stance and provide a preview of the points you will discuss in your analysis.

Having created a thesis, you can move on to the outline for an analysis. Write down all the arguments that can support your thesis, logically organize them, and then look for the supporting evidence in the movie.

4. Write Your Movie Analysis

When writing a film analysis paper, try to offer fresh and original ideas on the film that go beyond surface-level observations. If you need some inspiration, have a look at these thought-provoking questions:

• How does the movie evoke emotional responses from the audience through sound, editing, character development , and camera work?
• Is the movie’s setting portrayed in a realistic or stylized manner? What atmosphere or mood does the setting convey to the audience?
• How does the lighting in the movie highlight certain aspects? How does the lighting impact the audience’s perception of the movie’s characters, spaces, or overall mood?
• What role does the music play in the movie? How does it create specific emotional effects for the audience?
• What underlying values or messages does the movie convey? How are these values communicated to the audience?

5. Revise and Proofread

To revise and proofread a film analysis essay, review the content for grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Ensure the paper flows logically and each paragraph contributes to the overall analysis. Remember to double-check that you haven’t missed any in-text citations and have enough evidence and examples from the movie to support your arguments.

Consider seeking feedback from a peer or instructor to get an outside perspective on the essay. Another reader can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improvement.

🎞️ Movie Analysis: Sample Prompts

Now that we’ve covered the essential aspects of a film analysis template, it’s time to choose a topic. Here are some prompts to help you select a film for your analysis.

• Metropolis film analysis essay . When analyzing this movie, you can explore the themes of technology and society or the portrayal of class struggle. You can also focus on symbolism, visual effects, and the influence of German expressionism on the film’s aesthetic.
• The Godfather film analysis essay . An epic crime film, The Godfather , allows you to analyze the themes of power and corruption, the portrayal of family dynamics, and the influence of Italian neorealism on the film’s aesthetic. You can also examine the movie’s historical context and impact on future crime dramas.
• Psycho film analysis essay . Consider exploring the themes of identity and duality, the use of suspense and tension in storytelling, or the portrayal of mental illness. You can also explore the impact of this movie on the horror genre.
• Forrest Gump film analysis essay . If you decide to analyze the Forrest Gump movie, you can focus on the portrayal of historical events. You might also examine the use of nostalgia in storytelling, the character development of the protagonist, and the film’s impact on popular culture and American identity.
• The Great Gatsby film analysis essay . The Great Gatsby is a historical drama film that allows you to analyze the themes of the American Dream, wealth, and class. You can also explore the portrayal of the 1920s Jazz Age and the symbolism of the green light.
• Persepolis film analysis essay . In a Persepolis film analysis essay, you can uncover the themes of identity and self-discovery. You might also consider analyzing the portrayal of the Iranian Revolution and its aftermath, the use of animation as a storytelling device, and the film’s influence on the graphic novel genre.

🎬 Top 15 Film Analysis Essay Topics

• The use of color symbolism in Vertigo and its impact on the narrative.
• The moral ambiguity and human nature in No Country for Old Men .
• The portrayal of ethnicity in Gran Torino and its commentary on cultural stereotypes.
• The cinematography and visual effects in The Hunger Games and their contribution to the dystopian atmosphere.
• The use of silence and sound design in A Quiet Place to immerse the audience.
• The disillusionment and existential crisis in The Graduate and its reflection of the societal norms of the 1960s.
• The themes of sacrifice and patriotism in Casablanca and their relevance to the historical context of World War II.
• The psychological horror in The Shining and its impact on the audience’s experience of fear and tension.
• The exploration of existentialism in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind .
• Multiple perspectives and unreliable narrators in Rashomon .
• The music and soundtrack in Titanic and its contribution to the film’s emotional resonance.
• The portrayal of good versus evil in the Harry Potter film series and its impact on understanding morality.
• The incorporation of vibrant colors in The Grand Budapest Hotel as a visual motif.
• The use of editing techniques to tell a nonlinear narrative in Pulp Fiction .
• The function of music and score in enhancing the emotional impact in Schindler’s List .

Check out the Get Out film analysis essay we’ve prepared for college and high school students. We hope this movie analysis essay example will inspire you and help you understand the structure of this assignment better.

Film Analysis Essay Introduction Example

Get Out, released in 2017 and directed by Jordan Peele, is a culturally significant horror film that explores themes of racism, identity, and social commentary. The film follows Chris, a young African-American man, visiting his white girlfriend’s family for the weekend. This essay will analyze how, through its masterful storytelling, clever use of symbolism, and thought-provoking narrative, Get Out reveals the insidious nature of racism in modern America.

Film Analysis Body Paragraphs Example

Throughout the movie, Chris’s character is subject to various types of microaggression and subtle forms of discrimination. These instances highlight the insidious nature of racism, showing how it can exist even in seemingly progressive environments. For example, during Chris’s visit to his white girlfriend’s family, the parents continuously make racially insensitive comments, expressing their admiration for black physical attributes and suggesting a fascination bordering on fetishization. This sheds light on some individuals’ objectification and exotification of black bodies.

Get Out also critiques the performative allyship of white liberals who claim to be accepting and supportive of the black community. It is evident in the character of Rose’s father, who proclaims: “I would have voted for Obama for a third term if I could” (Peele, 2017). However, the film exposes how this apparent acceptance can mask hidden prejudices and manipulation.

Film Analysis Conclusion Example

In conclusion, the film Get Out provides a searing critique of racial discrimination and white supremacy through its compelling narrative, brilliant performances, and skillful direction. By exploring the themes of the insidious nature of racism, fetishization, and performative allyship, Get Out not only entertains but also challenges viewers to reflect on their own biases.

🍿 More Film Analysis Examples

• Social Psychology Theories in The Experiment
• Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader: George Lukas’s Star Wars Review
• Girl, Interrupted : Mental Illness Analysis
• Mental Disorders in the Finding Nemo Film
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Film: Interpretive Psychological Analysis
• Analysis of Spielberg’s Film Lincoln
• Glory – The Drama Movie by Edward Zwick
• Inventors in The Men Who Built America Series
• Crash Movie: Racism as a Theme
• Dances with Wolves Essay – Movie Analysis
• Superbad by G. Mottola
• Ordinary People Analysis and Maslow Hierarchy of Needs
• A Review of the Movie An Inconvenient Truth by Guggenheim
• Chaplin’s Modern Times and H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau
• Misé-En-Scene and Camera Shots in The King’s Speech
• Children’s Sexuality in the Out in the Dark Film
• Chinese and American Women in Joy Luck Club Novel and Film
• The Film Silver Linings Playbook by Russell
• The Role of Music in the Films The Hours and The Third Man
• The Social Network : Film Analysis
• My Neighbor Totoro : Film by Hayao Miyazaki
• Marriage Story Film Directed by Noah Baumbach

❓ Film Analysis Essay: FAQ

Why is film analysis important.

Film analysis allows viewers to go beyond the surface level and delve into the deeper layers of a film’s narrative, themes, and technical aspects. It enables a critical examination that enhances appreciation and understanding of the film’s message, cultural significance, and artistic value. At the same time, writing a movie analysis essay can boost your critical thinking and ability to spot little details.

How to write a movie analysis?

• Watch the film multiple times to grasp its key elements.
• Take notes on the story, characters, and themes.
• Pay attention to the film’s cinematography, editing, sound, message, symbolism, and social context.
• Formulate a strong thesis statement that presents your main argument.
• Support your claims with evidence from the film.

How to write a critical analysis of a movie?

A critical analysis of a movie involves evaluating its elements, such as plot, themes, characters, and cinematography, and providing an informed opinion on its strengths and weaknesses. To write it, watch the movie attentively, take notes, develop a clear thesis statement, support arguments with evidence, and balance the positive and negative.

How to write a psychological analysis of a movie?

A psychological analysis of a movie examines characters’ motivations, behaviors, and emotional experiences. To write it, analyze the characters’ psychological development, their relationships, and the impact of psychological themes conveyed in the film. Support your analysis with psychological theories and evidence from the movie.

• Film Analysis | UNC Writing Center
• Psychological Analysis of Films | Steemit
• Critical Film Analysis | University of Hawaii
• Questions to Ask of Any Film | All American High School Film Festival
• Resources – How to Write a Film Analysis | Northwestern
• Film Analysis | University of Toronto
• Film Writing: Sample Analysis | Purdue Online Writing Lab
• Film Analysis Web Site 2.0 | Yale University
• Questions for Film Analysis | University of Washington
• Film & Media Studies Resources: Types of Film Analysis | Bowling Green State University
• Film & Media Studies Resources: Researching a Film | Bowling Green State University
• Motion Picture Analysis Worksheet | University of Houston
• Reviews vs Film Criticism | The University of Vermont Libraries
• Television and Film Analysis Questions | University of Michigan
• How to Write About Film: The Movie Review, the Theoretical Essay, and the Critical Essay | University of Colorado

Descriptive Essay Topics: Examples, Outline, & More

371 fun argumentative essay topics for 2024.

Essays About Movies: 7 Examples and 5 Writing Prompts

Check out our guide with essays about movies for budding videographers and artistic students. Learn from our helpful list of examples and prompts.

Watching movies is a part of almost everyone’s life. They entertain us, teach us lessons, and even help us socialize by giving us topics to talk about with others. As long as movies have been produced, everyone has patronized them.  Essays about movies  are a great way to learn all about the meaning behind the picture.

Cinema is an art form in itself. The lighting, camera work, and acting in the most widely acclaimed movies are worthy of praise. Furthermore, a movie can be used to send a message, often discussing issues in contemporary society. Movies are entertaining, but more importantly, they are works of art. If you’re interested in this topic, check out our round-up of screenwriters on Instagram .

5 Helpful Essay Examples 

1. the positive effects of movies on human behaviour by ajay rathod, 2. horror movies by emanuel briggs, 3. casablanca – the greatest hollywood movie ever (author unknown).

• 4.  Dune Review: An Old Story Reshaped For The New 2021 Audience by Oren Cohen

5. Blockbuster movies create booms for tourism — and headaches for locals by Shubhangi Goel

• 6. Moonage Daydream: “Who Is He? What Is He?” by Jonathan Romney
• 7. La Bamba: American Dreaming, Chicano Style by Yolanda Machado

1. My Favorite Movie

2. movies genres, 3. special effects in movies, 4. what do you look for in a movie, 5. the evolution of movies.

“​​Films encourage us to take action. Our favourite characters, superheroes, teach us life lessons. They give us ideas and inspiration to do everything for the better instead of just sitting around, waiting for things to go their way. Films about famous personalities are the perfect way to affect social behaviour positively. Films are a source of knowledge. They can help learn what’s in the trend, find out more about ancient times, or fill out some knowledge gaps.”

In this movie essay, Rathod gives readers three ways watching movies can positively affect us. Movie writers, producers, and directors use their platform to teach viewers life skills, the importance of education, and the contrast between good and evil. Watching movies can also help us improve critical thinking, according to Briggs. Not only do movies entertain us, but they also have many educational benefits. You might also be interested in these  essays about consumerism .

“Many people involving children and adults can effect with their sleeping disturbance and anxiety. Myths, non-realistic, fairy tales could respond differently with being in the real world. Horror movies bring a lot of excitement and entertainment among you and your family. Horror movies can cause physical behavior changes in a person by watching the films. The results of watching horror movies shows that is has really effect people whether you’re an adult, teens, and most likely happens during your childhood.”

In his essay, Briggs acknowledges why people enjoy horror movies so much but warns of their adverse effects on viewers. Most commonly, they cause viewers nightmares, which may cause anxiety and sleep disorders. He focuses on the films’ effects on children, whose more sensitive, less developed brains may respond with worse symptoms, including major trauma. The films can affect all people negatively, but children are the most affected.

“This was the message of Casablanca in late 1942. It was the ideal opportunity for America to utilize its muscles and enter the battle. America was to end up the hesitant gatekeeper of the entire world. The characters of Casablanca, similar to the youthful Americans of the 1960s who stick headed the challenge development, are ‘genuine Americans’ lost in a hostile region, battling to open up another reality.”

In this essay, the author discusses the 1942 film  Casablanca , which is said to be the greatest movie ever made, and explains why it has gotten this reputation. To an extent, the film’s storyline, acting, and even relatability (it was set during World War II) allowed it to shine from its release until the present. It invokes feelings of bravery, passion, and nostalgia, which is why many love the movie. You can also check out these  books about adaption . 

4.   Dune Review: An Old Story Reshaped For The New 2021 Audience by Oren Cohen

“Lady Jessica is a powerful woman in the original book, yet her interactions with Paul diminish her as he thinks of her as slow of thought. Something we don’t like to see in 2021 — and for a good reason. Every book is a product of its time, and every great storyteller knows how to adapt an old story to a new audience. I believe Villeneuve received a lot of hate from diehard Dune fans for making these changes, but I fully support him.”

Like the previous essay, Cohen reviews a film, in this case, Denis Villeneuve’s  Dune , released in 2021. He praises the film, writing about its accurate portrayal of the epic’s vast, dramatic scale, music, and, interestingly, its ability to portray the characters in a way more palatable to contemporary audiences while staying somewhat faithful to the author’s original vision. Cohen enjoyed the movie thoroughly, saying that the movie did the book justice. 

“Those travelers added around 630 million New Zealand dollars ($437 million) to the country’s economy in 2019 alone, the tourism authority told CNBC. A survey by the tourism board, however, showed that almost one in five Kiwis are worried that the country attracts too many tourists. Overcrowding at tourist spots, lack of infrastructure, road congestion and environmental damage are creating tension between locals and visitors, according to a 2019 report by Tourism New Zealand.”

The locations where successful movies are filmed often become tourist destinations for fans of those movies. Goel writes about how “film tourism” affects the residents of popular filming locations. The environment is sometimes damaged, and the locals are caught off guard. Though this is not always the case, film tourism is detrimental to the residents and ecosystem of these locations. You can also check out these  essays about The Great Gatsby .

6. Moonage Daydream:  “Who Is He? What Is He?” by Jonathan Romney

“Right from the start, Brett Morgen’s  Moonage Daydream  (2022) catches us off guard. It begins with an epigraph musing on Friedrich Nietzsche’s proclamation that “God is dead,” then takes us into deep space and onto the surface of the moon. It then unleashes an image storm of rockets, robots, and star-gazers, and rapid-fire fragments of early silent cinema, 1920s science fiction, fifties cartoons, and sixties and seventies newsreel footage, before lingering on a close-up of glittery varnish on fingernails.” 

Moonage Daydream  is a feature film containing never-before-seen footage of David Bowie. In this essay, Romney delves into the process behind creating the movie and how the footage was captured. It also looks at the director’s approach to creating a structured and cohesive film, which took over two years to plan. This essay looks at how Bowie’s essence was captured and preserved in this movie while displaying the intricacies of his mind.

7. La Bamba:  American Dreaming, Chicano Style by Yolanda Machado

“A traumatic memory, awash in hazy neutral tones, arising as a nightmare. Santo & Johnny’s mournful “Sleep Walk” playing. A sudden death, foreshadowing the passing of a star far too young. The opening sequence of Luis Valdez’s  La Bamba  (1987) feels like it could be from another film—what follows is largely a celebration of life and music.”

La Bamba  is a well-known movie about a teenage Mexican migrant who became a rock ‘n’ roll star. His rise to fame is filled with difficult social dynamics, and the star tragically dies in a plane crash at a young age. In this essay, Machado looks at how the tragic death of the star is presented to the viewer, foreshadowing the passing of the young star before flashing back to the beginning of the star’s career. Machado analyses the storyline and directing style, commenting on the detailed depiction of the young star’s life. It’s an in-depth essay that covers everything from plot to writing style to direction.

5 Prompts for Essays About Movies

Simple and straightforward, write about your favorite movie. Explain its premise, characters, and plot, and elaborate on some of the driving messages and themes behind the film. You should also explain why you enjoy the movie so much: what impact does it have on you? Finally, answer this question in your own words for an engaging piece of writing.

From horror to romance, movies can fall into many categories. Choose one of the main genres in cinema and discuss the characteristics of movies under that category. Explain prevalent themes, symbols, and motifs, and give examples of movies belonging to your chosen genre. For example, horror movies often have underlying themes such as mental health issues, trauma, and relationships falling apart. 

Without a doubt, special effects in movies have improved drastically. Both practical and computer-generated effects produce outstanding, detailed effects to depict situations most would consider unfathomable, such as the vast space battles of the  Star Wars  movies. Write about the development of special effects over the years, citing evidence to support your writing. Be sure to detail key highlights in the history of special effects. 

Movies are always made to be appreciated by viewers, but whether or not they enjoy them varies, depending on their preferences. In your essay, write about what you look for in a “good” movie in terms of plot, characters, dialogue, or anything else. You need not go too in-depth but explain your answers adequately. In your opinion, you can use your favorite movie as an example by writing about the key characteristics that make it a great movie.

From the silent black-and-white movies of the early 1900s to the vivid, high-definition movies of today, times have changed concerning movies. Write about how the film industry has improved over time. If this topic seems too broad, feel free to focus on one aspect, such as cinematography, themes, or acting.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the  best essay checkers .

If you’re looking for more ideas, check out our  essays about music topic guide !

Meet Rachael, the editor at Become a Writer Today. With years of experience in the field, she is passionate about language and dedicated to producing high-quality content that engages and informs readers. When she's not editing or writing, you can find her exploring the great outdoors, finding inspiration for her next project.

View all posts

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

50 Film Analysis

Film analysis, what this handout is about.

This handout provides a brief definition of film analysis compared to literary analysis, provides an introduction to common types of film analysis, and offers strategies and resources for approaching assignments.

What is film analysis, and how does it differ from literary analysis?

Film analysis is the process in which film is analyzed in terms of semiotics, narrative structure, cultural context, and mise-en-scene, among other approaches. If these terms are new to you, don’t worry—they’ll be explained in the next section.

Analyzing film, like  analyzing literature (fiction texts, etc.) , is a form of rhetorical analysis—critically analyzing and evaluating discourse, including words, phrases, and images. Having a clear argument and supporting evidence is every bit as critical to film analysis as to other forms of academic writing.

Unlike literature, film incorporates audiovisual elements and therefore introduces a new dimension to analysis. Ultimately, however, analysis of film is not too different. Think of all the things that make up a scene in a film: the actors, the lighting, the angles, the colors. All of these things may be absent in literature, but they are deliberate choices on the part of the director, producer, or screenwriter—as are the words chosen by the author of a work of literature. Furthermore, literature and film incorporate similar elements. They both have plots, characters, dialogue, settings, symbolism, and, just as the elements of literature can be analyzed for their intent and effect, these elements can be analyzed the same way in film.

Different types of film analysis

Listed here are common approaches to film analysis, but this is by no means an exhaustive list, and you may have discussed other approaches in class. As with any other assignment, make sure you understand your professor’s expectations. This guide is best used to understand prompts or, in the case of more open-ended assignments, consider the different ways to analyze film.

Keep in mind that any of the elements of film can be analyzed, oftentimes in tandem. A single film analysis essay may simultaneously include all of the following approaches and more. As Jacques Aumont and Michel Marie propose in Analysis of Film, there is no correct, universal way to write film analysis.

Semiotic analysis

Semiotic analysis is the analysis of meaning behind signs and symbols, typically involving metaphors, analogies, and symbolism.

This doesn’t necessarily need to be something dramatic; think about how you extrapolate information from the smallest signs in your day to day life. For instance, what characteristics can tell you about someone’s personality? Something as simple as someone’s appearance can reveal information about them. Mismatched shoes and bedhead might be a sign of carelessness (or something crazy happened that morning!), while an immaculate dress shirt and tie would suggest that the person is prim and proper. Continuing in that vein:

• What might you be able to infer about characters from small hints?
• How are these hints (signs) used to construct characters? How do they relate to the relative role of those characters, or the relationships between multiple characters?

Symbols denote concepts (liberty, peace, etc.) and feelings (hate, love, etc.) that they often have nothing to do with. They are used liberally in both literature and film, and finding them uses a similar process. Ask yourself:

• In Frozen Elsa’s gloves appear in multiple scenes.
• Her gloves are first given to her by her father to restrain her magic. She continues to wear them throughout the coronation scene, before finally, in the Let It Go sequence, she throws them away.

Again, the method of semiotic analysis in film is similar to that of literature. Think about the deeper meaning behind objects or actions.

• Elsa’s gloves represent fear of her magic and, by extension, herself. Though she attempts to contain her magic by hiding her hands within gloves and denying part of her identity, she eventually abandons the gloves in a quest for self-acceptance.

Narrative structure analysis

Narrative structure analysis is the analysis of the story elements, including plot structure, character motivations, and theme. Like the dramatic structure of literature (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), film has what is known as the Three-Act Structure: “Act One: Setup, Act Two: Confrontation, and Act Three: Resolution.” Narrative structure analysis breaks the story of the film into these three elements and might consider questions like:

• How does the story follow or deviate from typical structures?
• What is the effect of following or deviating from this structure?
• What is the theme of the film, and how is that theme constructed?

Consider again the example of Frozen. You can use symbolism and narrative structure in conjunction by placing the symbolic objects/events in the context of the narrative structure. For instance, the first appearance of the gloves is in Act One, while their abandoning takes place in Act Two; thus, the story progresses in such a way that demonstrates Elsa’s personal growth. By the time of Act Three, the Resolution, her aversion to touch (a product of fearing her own magic) is gone, reflecting a theme of self-acceptance.

Contextual analysis

Contextual analysis is analysis of the film as part of a broader context. Think about the culture, time, and place of the film’s creation. What might the film say about the culture that created it? What were/are the social and political concerns of the time period? Or, like researching the author of a novel, you might consider the director, producer, and other people vital to the making of the film. What is the place of this film in the director’s career? Does it align with his usual style of directing, or does it move in a new direction? Other examples of contextual approaches might be analyzing the film in terms of a civil rights or feminist movement.

For example, Frozen is often linked to the LGBTQ social movement. You might agree or disagree with this interpretation, and, using evidence from the film, support your argument.

Some other questions to consider:

• How does the meaning of the film change when seen outside of its culture?
• What characteristics distinguishes the film as being of its particular culture?

Mise-en-scene analysis

Mise-en-scene analysis is analysis of the arrangement of compositional elements in film—essentially, the analysis of audiovisual elements that most distinctly separate film analysis from literary analysis. Remember that the important part of a mise-en-scene analysis is not just identifying the elements of a scene, but explaining the significance behind them.

• What effects are created in a scene, and what is their purpose?
• How does the film attempt to achieve its goal by the way it looks, and does it succeed?

Audiovisual elements that can be analyzed include (but are not limited to): props and costumes, setting, lighting, camera angles, frames, special effects, choreography, music, color values, depth, placement of characters, etc. Mise-en-scene is typically the most foreign part of writing film analysis because the other components discussed are common to literary analysis, while mise-en-scene deals with elements unique to film. Using specific film terminology bolsters credibility, but you should also consider your audience. If your essay is meant to be accessible to non-specialist readers, explain what terms mean. The Resources section of this handout has links to sites that describe mise-en-scene elements in detail.

Rewatching the film and creating screen captures (still images) of certain scenes can help with detailed analysis of colors, positioning of actors, placement of objects, etc. Listening to the soundtrack can also be helpful, especially when placed in the context of particular scenes.

Some example questions:

• How is the lighting used to construct mood? Does the mood shift at any point during the film, and how is that shift in mood created?
• What does the setting say about certain characters? How are props used to reveal aspects of their personality?
• What songs were used, and why were they chosen? Are there any messages in the lyrics that pertain to the theme?

Writing the film analysis essay

Writing film analysis is similar to writing literary analysis or any argumentative essay in other disciplines: Consider the assignment and prompts, formulate a thesis (see the  Brainstorming Handout  and  Thesis Statement Handout  for help crafting a nuanced argument), compile evidence to prove your thesis, and lay out your argument in the essay. Your evidence may be different from what you are used to. Whereas in the English essay you use textual evidence and quotes, in a film analysis essay, you might also include audiovisual elements to bolster your argument.

When describing a sequence in a film, use the present tense, like you would write in the literary present when describing events of a novel, i.e. not “Elsa took off her gloves,” but “Elsa takes off her gloves.” When quoting dialogue from a film, if between multiple characters, use block quotes: Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin. However, conventions are flexible, so ask your professor if you are unsure. It may also help to follow the formatting of the script, if you can find it. For example:

ELSA: But she won’t remember I have powers? KING: It’s for the best.

You do not need to use quotation marks for blocked-off dialogue, but for shorter quotations in the main text, quotation marks should be double quotes (“…”).

Here are some tips for approaching film analysis:

• Make sure you understand the prompt and what you are being asked to do. Focus your argument by choosing a specific issue to assess.
• Review your materials. Rewatch the film for nuances that you may have missed in the first viewing. With your thesis in mind, take notes as you watch. Finding a screenplay of the movie may be helpful, but keep in mind that there may be differences between the screenplay and the actual product (and these differences might be a topic of discussion!).
• Develop a thesis and an outline, organizing your evidence so that it supports your argument. Remember that this is ultimately an assignment—make sure that your thesis answers what the prompt asks, and check with your professor if you are unsure.
• Move beyond only describing the audiovisual elements of the film by considering the significance of your evidence. Demonstrate understanding of not just what film elements are, but why and to what effect they are being used. For more help on using your evidence effectively, see ‘Using Evidence In An Argument’ in the  Evidence Handout .

New York Film Academy Glossary Movie Outline Glossary Movie Script Database Citation Practices: Film and Television

Works Consulted

We consulted these works while writing the original version of this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find the latest publications on this topic. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the  UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

Aumont, Jacques, and Michel Marie. L’analyse Des Films. Paris: Nathan, 1988. Print. Pruter, Robin Franson. “Writing About Film.” Writing About Film. DePaul University, 08 Mar. 2004. Web. 01 May 2016.

Film Analysis Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

17 Essential Movies For An Introduction To Essay Films

Put most concisely by Timothy Corrigan in his book on the film: ‘from its literary origins to its cinematic revisions, the istic describes the many-layered activities of a personal point of view as a public experience’.

Perhaps a close cousin to documentary, the film is at its core a personal mode of filmmaking. Structured in a breadth of forms, a partial definition could be said to be part fact, part fiction with an intense intimacy (but none of these are necessarily paramount).

Stemming from the literary as a form of personal expression borne from in-depth explorations of its chosen topic, the film can be agitprop, exploratory, or diaristic and generally rejects narrative progression and concretised conclusions in favour of a thematic ambivalence. Due to its nature as inherently personal, the term itself is as vague and expansive as the broad collective of films it purports to represent.

To borrow Aldous Huxley’s definition, the is a device for saying almost everything about almost anything. In built then is an inherent expansiveness that informs a great ambition in the form itself, but as Huxley acknowledges it can only say almost anything; whether extolling the need for a socialist state (Man with a Movie Camera), deconstructing the power and status of the image itself (Histoire(s) du Cinema, Images of the World and the Inscription of War, Los Angeles Plays Itself) or providing a means to consider ones of past (Walden, News from home, Blue), the film is only the form of expression, which unlike any other taxonomic term suggests almost nothing about the film itself other than its desire to explore.

Below is an 17 film introduction to the film that cannot be pinned down and continue to remake and remodel itself as freely as it sheds connections between any of the films within its own canon.

1. Man with a Movie Camera (1929) dir. Dziga Vertov

An exercise in technical experimentation, Man with a Movie Camera is the pioneering, not to mention most lauded, of Vertov’s filmic polemics: espousing not only a new, necessary way of life, but a means of living that is created through cinema.

Shot by Maurice Kaufman, brother of Vertov, the film is a portrait of a city across 24 hours via bold experimentation based on Vertov’s staunchly Marxist ideologies. Its propagandist structure does not however belie its beauty.

Through masterful technique it became the defining film of 1920’s Soviet Union (perhaps on a par with Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin). Its propagation of film as the means through which life is realised, that the camera is now an unequivocal feature of modernity and too a powerful political tool, creates a filmic love letter to industrialisation and the humanist elements of physical labour.

In opposition to Eisenstein, Vertov is a master of his own brand of idiosyncratic montage which, with its sublime manipulative technique combined with realist images, rejects the opiate affects of traditional narrative cinema, attempting to create instead a cinematic language in which the camera becomes the pen of the 20th century.

2. A Propos de Nice (1930) dir. Jean Vigo

Shot by Boris Kaufman, brother of Dziga Vertov (Man with a Movie Camera), A Propos de Nice is a satirical portrait of life in 1920’s Nice. The leisurely upper classes of French society are the subjects of a portrayal the blind escapism and ignorance created by modernity.

Vigo thus contrasts the bourgeois culture of relaxation with the daily grind of the poor in society. The parodic form of the travelogue as anthropological study is employed as a means of document increasing social and economic disparities which Vigo sought to present as necessitating a revolutionary stance (the likes of which cinematographer Kaufman glean from his brother’s agit-prop, propagandist Kino-Pravda series).

Engrained in the very structure of modern society is, for Vigo, deep social inequality; life in this case masks its own inequalities through ignorance and selfishness. Images of women energetically dancing are reduced to slow modern and thus arises from them the absurdity of inherent inequalities.

Like a Jay Gatsby party, the excitement and laughter only serves to mask a profound emptiness whose own ridiculousness is an unacknowledged form of societal freakshow, which only those on the outside can perceive.

3. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967) dir. Jean-Luc Godard

In a year of 3 Godard diatribes against neo-capitalism, 2 or 3 Thing I Know About Her is the most contemplative; if La Chinoise a document of the soon to be riotous students, 2 or 3 is the suburban families watching the events unfold on their television screens.

Fraught with concern for the disintegration of lexical meaning, Godard’s collage of modern life follows the existentially empty Julitte Jeanson, a bourgeise housewife-come-prostitute, as she contemplates her preconceived societal role and the deadened collective consciousness of everyone whom Godard’s camera encounters.

If language is the house one lives in, as Juliette informs her son, then the house is subject to the blind whims of suited right wing repo men.

The portrait of Juliette is a composite sketch of the modern citizen, replaceable, replicable to the extent that Godard introduces Juliette first as Marina Vlady, the actress who plays her, before acknowledging her as a fictional creation; a less subtle evocation of the resignation to role playing in post-war France, watching death in Vietnam while decided whether or not to go and wash the car.

4. Walden; Diaries, Notes, and Sketches (1969) dir. Jonas Mekas

Walden is the film in its most diaristic form. Essentially a suitably handsome extended home video, Mekas’s film, shot from 1964-1969, features a series of chronologically edited video diaries that span from eating Chinese food with John Lennon, footage from the Velvet Underground’s first performance, or just the filmmaker eating a croissant in Marseille.

Given the length, the film could be criticised as an epic exercise in self-gratification (the filmic equivalent of continuous name dropping), or simultaneously as an invitation into the expansive but hermetic world of the New York art scene in the late 60’s, of which Mekas’ himself was a central fixture.

As with Akerman’s News From Home, it is the film’s internal focus, an exposure of the personal, wherein its interest lies. Mekas’ ability to construct a montage that appears at ease with itself in all its fragmentation, relying on meticulous in-camera precision, creates a sea images which with each wave comes harmony and contrast. Walden emerges then as an unpretentious acknowledgment of the inextricability of experience and image, finding within it celebrations of life’s variety and extended harmonies.

5. F for Fake (1973) dir. Orson Welles

Welles’s final film is an explosive and intelligent scrutinisation of the filmmaking process and the concept of authenticity in art. Centrally presenting Elmyr de Hory’s career as an art forger, F for Fake transcends basic narrative or documentary expositions to instead philosophise on the ontology of authorship.

Increasingly Welles rejects infallibility in favour of a profound ambivalence that is read across the careers of various forgers to eventually become, as is naturally the case for such a sublime example of the film, a personal contemplation of his own career and his self-definition as a perpetual sceptic.

Through rhythmic montage editing and questioning of the structure and the power of the image itself, F for Fake eulogizes the image as a consistently fallible, or deconstructible form, and in true Wellesian style, given it is the form that its director made his career,cannot help but find humour within.

6. Le Fond de l’air est rouge/A Grin Without a Cat (1977) dir. Chris Marker

Widely acknowledged as the master of the film, Le fond de l’air est rouge is a personal rumination of discontent on the progression and dissolution of left-wing politics from Vietnam up until the films release in 1977.

10 years after the Marker conceived Loin du Vietnam, a protest film against the Vietnam war structured in segments from a wealth of French Filmmakers including Godard, Resnais, Lelouch, Varda and Klein, the film is markedly more melancholic, plagued by a scepticism highlighted in the French title (directly translated as the essence of the air is red) that implies the socialist sentiment only ever existed in the air.

Opening with shots from Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925), Marker’s mastery of the appropriated image emerges. The film’s first four minutes are perhaps the finest montage sequence of post-war cinema, commending the bravery of those who fought for the socialist ideal but ultimately acknowledging the inevitability of its failure at the hands of right wing opposition, whose growth in power Marker sees as masked by the outward protests of the left.

Behind closed doors centre right solidarity, particularly in Marker’s native France, was only increased in the face of a scattered, disorganised and self-destructive shouts for power from the left.

Marker’s film is archival re-appropriation at its most controlled, his erudition and poetic narration reinforcing the notion of history itself as recreated and retold by individuals, always having an agenda.

7. News From Home (1977) dir. Chantal Akerman

Borne from the influence of the structuralist filmmakers Akerman encountered in New York (see Michael Snow, Stan Brakhage and Hollis Frampton), News from Home is a portrait of a city as seen through the eyes of a foreigner, as she attempts to come to terms with her new surroundings and the contrast to the life she left in Brussels (constantly referenced in the letters from her mother that are used to narrate the film).

Akerman films New York with the intricate eye of someone completely out of their depth, attempting to survive in a city they hardly know, emphasised by the concern of the letters from her mother. News from Home is a contemplation of the inescapability of the past and how it informs the present viewed from a perspective of awe, confusion and intense deliberation.

Akerman’s stares at New York as if to glean some meaning from its landscape as the letters from her mother cannot help make her feel at once a child and to the unchartered explorer entering a new terrain with bravado and wonder.

8. Koyaanisqatsi (1982) dir. Godfrey Reggio

Koyaanisqatsi, meaning life out of balance, is a poetic ode to absurdity constructed through cinematographic deconstructions of time and space. By slowing down images or speeding them up via time-lapse techniques, Reggio presents the fog of modernity as a means to highlight the absurdity of purported meanings, whether it is mass production of hot dogs or humanities destructive capabilities life lived blindly, perceived without questioning, is insignificant.

The film’s rejection of language forces full focus onto the status and power of imagery, especially when contorted, to suppose passivity and acceptance as a way of life, unsurprisingly drawing influence, like Thom Andersen’s Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) from Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle, going as far as to acknowledge him in the credits along with fellow critics of mass communications, big society and the power of technology, Jacques Ellul, Ivan Illich and Leopold Kohr.

As with Godard’s concern for the disintegration of language into base semiotic signifiers, evocative of nothing but materials and the literal, Koyaanisqatsi presents ‘a state of life that calls for another way a living’; a visually stunning but essentially aggressive denouncement of advanced capitalism, its pretence to knowledge and its ability to create an omnipresent complacency that drapes life in a visually pleasing veil, underneath which lies a profound nothingness.

6 Replies to “17 Essential Movies For An Introduction To Essay Films”

Sans Soleil?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

How Can I Write an Essay About a Movie?

By Film Threat Staff | May 23, 2023

Watching movies for a long time has been a major past-time for most individuals. The people expect to sit in front of their screens and get thrilled into a world of adventure, mystery, and wonder.

But how can you gauge your appreciation and understanding of filmmaking? Writing an essay about a movie is one way of showing your grasp of the content.

Movie analysis is a common assignment for most college students. It is an intricate task where every detail matters while tied together to form a part of the story.

A part of the assignment involves watching a particular movie and writing an essay about your overall impression of the movie.

Essay writing services such as WriteMyEssay show that more than rewatching a movie several times is needed to make up for a solid movie analysis essay. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to write your movie analysis:

What Is a Movie Essay?

The world of literature is multifaceted while testing different attributes of students. A movie analysis essay, at its core, seeks to uncover the hidden layers of meaning within the cinema world.

A movie analysis essay is much more than a movie review that seeks to delve into the artistry behind filmmaking. Thus, it seeks to test a student’s prowess in understanding various elements that come together to form a meaningful cinematic experience.

The main purpose of movie analysis essays is to dissect different components employed by a film in making a unique and impactful storyline.

Students can appreciate the filmmaking process’s complexities by analyzing these different elements. Also, students can develop a keen eye for the nuances that elevate a movie from entertainment to a work of art.

Here are top tips by experts when writing an essay about a particular movie during your assignments:

1. Watch the Movie

The first obvious standpoint for writing an essay about any movie is watching the film. Watching the movie builds an important foundation for the writing exercise. Composing an insightful, compelling, and well-thought movie essay requires you to experience it.

Therefore, select an appropriate environment to watch the movie free from distractions. Moreover, immerse yourself in the full movie experience to absorb all the intricate details. Some critical elements to note down include:

• Characterization
• Cinematography

We recommend watching the movie several times in case the time element allows. Rewatching the film deepens your understanding of the movie while uncovering unnoticed details on the first take.

2. Write an Introduction

The introductory paragraph to your movie essay should contain essential details of the movie, such as:

• Release date
• Name of the director
• Main actors

Moreover, start with a captivating hook to entice readers to keep reading. You can start with a memorable quote from one of the characters.

For example, released in 1976 and Directed by Martin Scorsese, ‘The Taxi Driver’ starring Robert De Niro as the eccentric taxi driver.’

After writing an enticing introduction, it is time to summarize what you watched. A summary provides readers with a clear understanding of the movie’s plot and main events. Hence, your readers can have a foundation for the rest of your movie essay.

Writing a summary need to be concise. The entire movie essay should be brief and straight to the point. Ensure to capture the main arguments within the movie’s plot. However, avoid going into too many details. Just focus on giving concise information about the movie.

4. Start Writing

The next vital part is forming the analysis part. This is where the analysis delves deeply into the movie’s themes, cinematography, characters, and other related elements.

First, start by organizing your analysis clearly and logically. Each section or paragraph should concentrate on a particular aspect of the film. Ensure to incorporate important elements such as cinematography, character development, and symbolism.

In addition, analyze different techniques employed by filmmakers. Take note of stylistic choices, including editing, sound, cinematography, imagery, and allegory. This helps contribute to the overall impact and meaning.

Lastly, connect your analysis to the thesis statement. Ensure all arguments captured in your analysis tie together to the main argument. It should maintain a straight focus throughout your essay.

Remember to re-state your thesis while summarizing previously mentioned arguments innovatively and creatively when finishing up your movie essay. Lastly, you can recommend your reader to watch the movie.

Final Takeaway

The writing process should be a fun, demanding, and engaging assignment. Try these tips from experts in structuring and logically organizing your essay.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Murder Mystery 2

NOW ON NETFLIX! The road of excess leads to the palace of popcorn butter in director Jeremy Garelick's sumptuous sequel Murder Mystery 2. The screenplay...

A Story of Survival in Rural Thailand

 Thailand’s national sport, Muay Thai (Thai Boxing), is among the most popular sports in the country and is an integral part of modern MMA fighting....

Netflix Series: Hurts Like Hell

If you're looking for a unique blend of drama inspired by true events and a documentary-style series about sports, Netflix’s "Hurts Like Hell" is...

Line of Fire

Anti-heroes come in all different forms, but my favorite has to be The Punisher, best represented on screen thus far by the Netflix series starring Jon...

NOW ON NETFLIX! You People stars Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill, Nia Long, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with Hill serving as producer. He also wrote the screenplay...

Nollywood: The World’s Fastest-Growing Film Industry

With over $6.4 billion in revenue and more than 2,500 movies per year, Nigeria’s film industry is taking the world by storm. Nollywood, the Nigerian film...

Join our Film Threat Newsletter

Film Analysis

What this handout is about.

This handout introduces film analysis and and offers strategies and resources for approaching film analysis assignments.

Writing the film analysis essay

Writing a film analysis requires you to consider the composition of the film—the individual parts and choices made that come together to create the finished piece. Film analysis goes beyond the analysis of the film as literature to include camera angles, lighting, set design, sound elements, costume choices, editing, etc. in making an argument. The first step to analyzing the film is to watch it with a plan.

Watching the film

First it’s important to watch the film carefully with a critical eye. Consider why you’ve been assigned to watch a film and write an analysis. How does this activity fit into the course? Why have you been assigned this particular film? What are you looking for in connection to the course content? Let’s practice with this clip from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958). Here are some tips on how to watch the clip critically, just as you would an entire film:

• Give the clip your undivided attention at least once. Pay close attention to details and make observations that might start leading to bigger questions.
• Watch the clip a second time. For this viewing, you will want to focus specifically on those elements of film analysis that your class has focused on, so review your course notes. For example, from whose perspective is this clip shot? What choices help convey that perspective? What is the overall tone, theme, or effect of this clip?
• Take notes while you watch for the second time. Notes will help you keep track of what you noticed and when, if you include timestamps in your notes. Timestamps are vital for citing scenes from a film!

For more information on watching a film, check out the Learning Center’s handout on watching film analytically . For more resources on researching film, including glossaries of film terms, see UNC Library’s research guide on film & cinema .

Brainstorming ideas

Once you’ve watched the film twice, it’s time to brainstorm some ideas based on your notes. Brainstorming is a major step that helps develop and explore ideas. As you brainstorm, you may want to cluster your ideas around central topics or themes that emerge as you review your notes. Did you ask several questions about color? Were you curious about repeated images? Perhaps these are directions you can pursue.

If you’re writing an argumentative essay, you can use the connections that you develop while brainstorming to draft a thesis statement . Consider the assignment and prompt when formulating a thesis, as well as what kind of evidence you will present to support your claims. Your evidence could be dialogue, sound edits, cinematography decisions, etc. Much of how you make these decisions will depend on the type of film analysis you are conducting, an important decision covered in the next section.

After brainstorming, you can draft an outline of your film analysis using the same strategies that you would for other writing assignments. Here are a few more tips to keep in mind as you prepare for this stage of the assignment:

• Make sure you understand the prompt and what you are being asked to do. Remember that this is ultimately an assignment, so your thesis should answer what the prompt asks. Check with your professor if you are unsure.
• In most cases, the director’s name is used to talk about the film as a whole, for instance, “Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo .” However, some writers may want to include the names of other persons who helped to create the film, including the actors, the cinematographer, and the sound editor, among others.
• When describing a sequence in a film, use the literary present. An example could be, “In Vertigo , Hitchcock employs techniques of observation to dramatize the act of detection.”
• Finding a screenplay/script of the movie may be helpful and save you time when compiling citations. But keep in mind that there may be differences between the screenplay and the actual product (and these differences might be a topic of discussion!).
• Go beyond describing basic film elements by articulating the significance of these elements in support of your particular position. For example, you may have an interpretation of the striking color green in Vertigo , but you would only mention this if it was relevant to your argument. For more help on using evidence effectively, see the section on “using evidence” in our evidence handout .

Also be sure to avoid confusing the terms shot, scene, and sequence. Remember, a shot ends every time the camera cuts; a scene can be composed of several related shots; and a sequence is a set of related scenes.

Different types of film analysis

As you consider your notes, outline, and general thesis about a film, the majority of your assignment will depend on what type of film analysis you are conducting. This section explores some of the different types of film analyses you may have been assigned to write.

Semiotic analysis

Semiotic analysis is the interpretation of signs and symbols, typically involving metaphors and analogies to both inanimate objects and characters within a film. Because symbols have several meanings, writers often need to determine what a particular symbol means in the film and in a broader cultural or historical context.

For instance, a writer could explore the symbolism of the flowers in Vertigo by connecting the images of them falling apart to the vulnerability of the heroine.

Here are a few other questions to consider for this type of analysis:

• What objects or images are repeated throughout the film?
• How does the director associate a character with small signs, such as certain colors, clothing, food, or language use?
• How does a symbol or object relate to other symbols and objects, that is, what is the relationship between the film’s signs?

Many films are rich with symbolism, and it can be easy to get lost in the details. Remember to bring a semiotic analysis back around to answering the question “So what?” in your thesis.

Narrative analysis

Narrative analysis is an examination of the story elements, including narrative structure, character, and plot. This type of analysis considers the entirety of the film and the story it seeks to tell.

For example, you could take the same object from the previous example—the flowers—which meant one thing in a semiotic analysis, and ask instead about their narrative role. That is, you might analyze how Hitchcock introduces the flowers at the beginning of the film in order to return to them later to draw out the completion of the heroine’s character arc.

To create this type of analysis, you could consider questions like:

• How does the film correspond to the Three-Act Structure: Act One: Setup; Act Two: Confrontation; and Act Three: Resolution?
• What is the plot of the film? How does this plot differ from the narrative, that is, how the story is told? For example, are events presented out of order and to what effect?
• Does the plot revolve around one character? Does the plot revolve around multiple characters? How do these characters develop across the film?

When writing a narrative analysis, take care not to spend too time on summarizing at the expense of your argument. See our handout on summarizing for more tips on making summary serve analysis.

Cultural/historical analysis

One of the most common types of analysis is the examination of a film’s relationship to its broader cultural, historical, or theoretical contexts. Whether films intentionally comment on their context or not, they are always a product of the culture or period in which they were created. By placing the film in a particular context, this type of analysis asks how the film models, challenges, or subverts different types of relations, whether historical, social, or even theoretical.

For example, the clip from Vertigo depicts a man observing a woman without her knowing it. You could examine how this aspect of the film addresses a midcentury social concern about observation, such as the sexual policing of women, or a political one, such as Cold War-era McCarthyism.

A few of the many questions you could ask in this vein include:

• How does the film comment on, reinforce, or even critique social and political issues at the time it was released, including questions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality?
• How might a biographical understanding of the film’s creators and their historical moment affect the way you view the film?
• How might a specific film theory, such as Queer Theory, Structuralist Theory, or Marxist Film Theory, provide a language or set of terms for articulating the attributes of the film?

Take advantage of class resources to explore possible approaches to cultural/historical film analyses, and find out whether you will be expected to do additional research into the film’s context.

Mise-en-scène analysis

A mise-en-scène analysis attends to how the filmmakers have arranged compositional elements in a film and specifically within a scene or even a single shot. This type of analysis organizes the individual elements of a scene to explore how they come together to produce meaning. You may focus on anything that adds meaning to the formal effect produced by a given scene, including: blocking, lighting, design, color, costume, as well as how these attributes work in conjunction with decisions related to sound, cinematography, and editing. For example, in the clip from Vertigo , a mise-en-scène analysis might ask how numerous elements, from lighting to camera angles, work together to present the viewer with the perspective of Jimmy Stewart’s character.

To conduct this type of analysis, you could ask:

• What effects are created in a scene, and what is their purpose?
• How does this scene represent the theme of the movie?
• How does a scene work to express a broader point to the film’s plot?

This detailed approach to analyzing the formal elements of film can help you come up with concrete evidence for more general film analysis assignments.

Reviewing your draft

Once you have a draft, it’s helpful to get feedback on what you’ve written to see if your analysis holds together and you’ve conveyed your point. You may not necessarily need to find someone who has seen the film! Ask a writing coach, roommate, or family member to read over your draft and share key takeaways from what you have written so far.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Aumont, Jacques, and Michel Marie. 1988. L’analyse Des Films . Paris: Nathan.

Media & Design Center. n.d. “Film and Cinema Research.” UNC University Libraries. Last updated February 10, 2021. https://guides.lib.unc.edu/filmresearch .

Oxford Royale Academy. n.d. “7 Ways to Watch Film.” Oxford Royale Academy. Accessed April 2021. https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/7-ways-watch-films-critically/ .

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

101 Riveting Drama Story Prompts

Do you want to write a drama but need help conjuring compelling dramatic stories and concepts? Sometimes reading simple genre story prompts is the easiest way to get those creative juices flowing.

We get our ideas from many sources — news headlines, novels, television shows, movies, our lives, our fears, our phobias, etc. They can come from a scene or moment in a film that wasn’t fully explored. They can come from a single visual that entices the creative mind — a seed that continues to grow and grow until the writer is forced to finally put it to paper or screen.

They may inspire screenplays, novels, short stories, or even smaller moments that you can include in what stories you are already writing.

Read More: Dead Poets Society's Tom Schulman on How to Write an Oscar-Winning Drama

101 Drama Story Prompts

1. Long-lost twins find each other.

2. A father deals with the death of his whole family after a tragic accident.

3. A mother struggles with grief after losing her oldest child.

4. A recently divorced man returns to his hometown and reconnects with his childhood sweetheart.

5. A rich executive realizes the error of their ways and sells everything to travel the world.

6. A family discovers the truth about ancestors.

7. A father and son go on a safari to reconnect.

8. A family befriends a homeless person.

9. Parents learn that their college-age daughter has disappeared.

10. A man befriends the drunk driver who killed his parents.

11. A mother wants to realize her life-long dream and train for the Olympics.

12. A father is tasked with coaching his son's soccer team, even though he has never played the sport.

13. A teacher deals with returning to school after a mass shooting.

14. A group of teen friends decides to stop their partying ways after a friend dies after a party.

15. A little boy struggles to fit in with the kids living in his new neighborhood.

16. A family that loses everything in a fire must rebuild their lives.

17. A family must adjust to the PTSD of the father after returning home from war.

18. An estranged family is reunited.

19. The President of the United States and his family go incognito to live a normal life.

21. A group of friends goes on a quest to bury a time capsule after one of their own dies.

22. A family travels to the American Frontier to find their new home.

23. A star baseball recruit struggles to decide whether he should take a scholarship or go pro.

24. A teen comes out of the closet in the rural Midwest.

25. Siblings learn that their parents were Soviet Union-era, sleeper agents.

26. A family on a wilderness retreat takes in a wounded bank robber.

27. A rich and affluent family loses everything and must live in the ghetto.

28. A group of families decides to move out of the city and live in a commune, cut off from the corrupt society.

29. A family sells everything to buy a sailboat to sail around the world.

30. A family finds a wild wolf pup.

31. Siblings start a successful business after their parents lose their jobs.

32. Two brothers do everything they can to ensure that their family gets to keep their house.

33. Two sisters navigate the difficult world of teen angst as their parents navigate the difficult world of keeping up with the Joneses.

34. A family decides to buy their own island.

36. A racecar driver dies, and his family struggles with grief.

37. An African-American family escapes the crime-ridden ghetto and moves into the suburbs.

38. A woman travels the world in search of love.

39. A family on a canoe trip is whisked away down the Mississippi River during a horrible storm and flood.

40. Kids discover an underground mine shaft and are trapped within it.

41. A bullied boy struggles to stand up to the bullies that torment him.

42. A bullied girl struggles to stand up to the mean girls of the school.

43. A family must survive when their plane crashes.

44. A family is willed in an old castle.

45. Two divorcees meet in a diner as one waits for a bus.

46. A man and woman fall in love during a layover.

48. A town must survive the worst flood in history.

49. A lawyer goes up against the government.

50. Overwhelmed parents leave their kids home and go for an adult vacation.

51. A small farm family avoids the invading armies of World War III.

52. An outcast nerd decides to organize an alternative Prom for other outcasts.

53. An Asian-American teen living in the rural south struggles to realize his dream of becoming a country music singer.

54. Athletic siblings from a split home face up against each other in the state tournament.

55. A dog struggles to find the right human family.

56. Puppy siblings separated by pet adoption escape bad homes to find each other.

57. Siblings in an orphanage escape and find their beloved aunt and uncle.

58. Past prison cellmates find each other after thirty years.

59. A WWII veteran struggles to return to normal life.

60. Two groups of kids from rival gangs are forced to live together in a house.

61. A boy from a rich and spoiled family wants them to live without their mansion, belongings, and money for a year.

62. A rich boy and poor girl convince their families to switch places for a year.

63. A family sailing the ocean waters must overcome the worst hurricane in history.

64. A grief-stricken cop that killed a teen struggles to reconcile with the family.

65. A mentally-challenged student wants to make the football team.

66. A physically-challenged student wants to letter in every sport in high school.

68. A woman that spent 30 years in prison returns to her hometown.

69. A father struggles with becoming a stay-at-home dad.

70. A woman that grew up in a family of football star boys decides to become the high school football coach.

71.  A family struggling in life sell everything to move to Hawaii.

72. A local town bands together as miners are trapped in the local mine.

73. Parents deal with their son robbing a bank and being on the run.

74. A city family inherits a farm.

75. A riverboat captain and his children attempt the first trip down the Mississippi River.

76. Childhood friends have reunited after thirty years apart.

77. The son of a poor family struggles to attain a sports scholarship so he can go to college.

78. A teenage girl decides to join the football team.

79. A World War II-era family starts a minor league baseball team to uplift the town.

80. The high janitor that students make fun of is actually a war hero.

81. A family adopts a puppy after losing the family dog.

82. A family is tasked with going on a unique scavenger hunt at the behest of the grandpa's last will and testament.

83. A girl overwhelmed by middle school drama decides to be homeschooled.

85. Siblings mourn the death of their father and inherit his business.

86. A grumpy executive is forced to live with his family after a stroke.

87. A family must find each other after the worst earthquake in human history.

88. A family discovers that they are the descendants of Hitler.

89. A girl with Asperger's Syndrome befriends a horse.

90. A disgraced boxer begins to train youth boxers.

91. A disgraced professional baseball manager starts a baseball team of inner-city kids.

93. A stay-at-home mother deals with empty nest syndrome.

94. A successful female executive leaves her career to spend quality time with her husband and children.

95. A young student has a crush on their teacher.

96. Former middle school best friends decide to have an old school sleepover after they've all gone their separate ways in high school.

97. A Post Civil War-era Union soldier returns to his southern hometown.

98. A beloved school teacher loses his family as the community bands together to become his new family.

99. A mob boss goes into the witness protection program and struggles to adjust to life in the suburbs.

100. The life of a girl is told as she grows into an adult.

101. A family decides to move into a lighthouse and take on the daily duties within.

Share this with your writing peers or anyone that loves a good dramatic story. Have some prompts of your own? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter !

WANT MORE IDEAS? TAKE A LOOK AT OUR OTHER  STORY PROMPTS !

What entails a drama concept.

Drama can be best defined as a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces. While other definitions can be found, this is best applied to the cinematic context of film and television.  Screenplays and teleplays focus on situations or series of events that involve interesting conflict — with the best kind of drama containing conflict that is intense and cathartic.  Conflict is everything in film and television. Without it, there is no story to tell. Nothing is interesting about a character that doesn't struggle in some way, shape, or form.

Drama is also recognized as a specific genre of storytelling featuring realistic characters forced to deal with true-to-life issues and conflicts.  Yes, there is drama found in superhero movies, spy thrillers, and suspenseful horror stories. However, a drama — as defined by genre definitions — is a story that is embedded explicitly within reality, often involving characters that audiences can identify with because the conflicts they face are everyday struggles.

Read More: The Single Difference Between Cinematic Drama and Melodrama

Please note: Because we’re all connected to the same pop culture, news headlines, and inspirations, any similarity to any past, present, or future screenplays, novels, short stories, television pilots, television series, plays, or any other creative works is purely coincidence. These story writing prompts were conceived on the fly without any research or Google search for inspiration.

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed , and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies.

Get Our Screenwriting Newsletter!

Get weekly writing inspiration delivered to your inbox - including industry news, popular articles, and more!

Facebook Comments

Free download.

Screenwriting Resources:

$ 15.00 $ 12.00 Add to cart

Popular Posts

Recent Posts

Next Related Post

Get Our Newsletter!

Developing your own script.

We'll send you a list of our free eCourses when you subscribe to our newsletter. No strings attached.

You Might Also Like

• Hidden Name
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Connect With Us

Writing competitions, success stories.

© 2024 ScreenCraft | An Industry Arts Company

Wait! Subscribe to get our free Newsletter

Join our community of over 100,000 screenwriters and get weekly inspiration delivered to your inbox.

Screenwriting Newsletter

Join our community of over 100,000 screenwriters and get weekly inspiration delivered to your inbox:

✓ Popular blog posts and industry news ✓ New ScreenCraft online events ✓ Screenplay competition announcements!

" * " indicates required fields

Stage and Cinema

Arts and Entertainment Reviews

Film: HOW TO WRITE ESSAYS THAT UNCOVER THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL IMPACT OF MOVIES

by Aveline MacQuoid on July 2, 2023

in Extras , Film

Movies have long captivated audiences with their ability to transport us to different worlds, evoke emotions, and provoke thought. Beyond mere entertainment, movies hold a significant role in shaping and reflecting the social and cultural landscape of our society. They have the power to shed light on pressing social issues, challenge norms, and influence our collective consciousness. As students and scholars, we have the unique opportunity to delve into the social and cultural impact of movies through insightful essays. In this article, we will explore the art of writing essays that uncover the profound influence of movies on society, and provide valuable guidance on how to effectively analyze their impact.

In today’s digital age, where a vast array of online resources and services are readily available, it is essential to approach essay writing with precision and depth. Just as we seek assistance from reputable sources like Ukwritings dissertation service for comprehensive dissertation support, we can apply a similar approach to crafting essays that delve into the social and cultural impact of movies. By examining the intricate threads of storytelling, representation, and audience reception, we can uncover the layers of meaning and significance that movies bring to our collective consciousness.

The purpose of this article is to offer practical guidance on how to write essays that delve into the social and cultural impact of movies. We will explore various key aspects, such as analyzing themes and messages, examining representation and diversity, and assessing audience reception and influence. By honing our critical thinking skills and sharpening our analytical lenses, we can delve into the rich tapestry of social and cultural issues that movies explore. Together, let us embark on a journey of discovery, unlocking the profound insights that movies offer and capturing their enduring impact on our world.

Analyzing Themes and Messages

Movies have a remarkable ability to convey powerful themes and messages that resonate with audiences on a deep level. When writing essays that uncover the social and cultural impact of movies, it is crucial to delve into the underlying themes and messages they convey. By critically analyzing these elements, we can gain profound insights into the intricate relationship between movies and society. Identifying the themes and messages allows us to explore how movies address social issues, challenge cultural norms, and even provide a lens into historical events. For example, movies for students like “Dead Poets Society” not only explore the power of literature and the pursuit of individuality but also shed light on the rigid educational systems and societal expectations that shape young minds.

As we analyze the themes and messages of movies, it is important to examine the social issues and cultural aspects they tackle. Movies have the power to create awareness and initiate conversations about pressing societal concerns. They serve as a mirror that reflects the triumphs, struggles, and complexities of our world. For instance, movies like “ Black Panther ” have sparked discussions about representation, identity, and social justice. By exploring the themes and messages within such movies, we can gain a deeper understanding of the social dynamics at play and the impact they have on our collective consciousness. It is through these thought-provoking analyses that we can uncover the layers of meaning and appreciate the significant social and cultural influence that movies hold.

Examining Representation and Diversity

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on representation and diversity in movies. The portrayal of diverse characters and experiences plays a crucial role in shaping our understanding of the world around us. When writing essays that uncover the social and cultural impact of movies, it is essential to examine how movies tackle representation and diversity. Movies have the power to challenge stereotypes, break down barriers, and promote inclusivity. By exploring the diverse range of characters and narratives depicted on screen, we can gain insights into the lived experiences of marginalized communities and appreciate the importance of authentic representation. For example, movies like “Moonlight” and “Crazy Rich Asians” have been hailed for their groundbreaking portrayal of underrepresented communities, shedding light on their stories, struggles, and triumphs.

Examining representation in movies goes beyond mere on-screen visibility. It involves critically analyzing the depth, complexity, and authenticity of the portrayals. Movies have the potential to shape public opinion, challenge biases, and contribute to social change. When movies present diverse perspectives and challenge prevailing narratives, they open up opportunities for dialogue and understanding. By exploring how movies navigate representation and diversity, we can gain a deeper understanding of the social dynamics at play and their impact on viewers’ perceptions. It is through these critical examinations that we can appreciate the transformative power of movies in shaping social and cultural landscapes.

Assessing Audience Reception and Influence

When it comes to writing essays that uncover the social and cultural impact of movies, it is crucial to assess the audience reception and influence of these films. Movies have a significant impact on audience perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors. They can evoke emotional responses, spark conversations, and shape cultural trends. By examining how movies resonate with audiences, we can gain insights into their societal and cultural influence. For example, movies like “Black Panther” not only captivated audiences worldwide but also had a profound impact on discussions surrounding representation and diversity in the film industry, inspiring and empowering marginalized communities.

Understanding audience reception goes beyond box office numbers or critical reviews. It involves considering the social and cultural context in which movies are viewed and how they resonate with different communities. Movies have the power to reflect and reinforce existing cultural values, as well as challenge and subvert them. By analyzing audience reactions and engaging with diverse perspectives, we can uncover the nuanced ways in which movies influence our collective consciousness. By assessing the audience reception and influence of movies, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of their social and cultural impact, allowing us to write insightful essays that explore the profound effects they have on society.

In conclusion, writing essays that uncover the social and cultural impact of movies is a valuable endeavor that allows us to delve deeper into the profound influence of this powerful medium. By analyzing themes, examining representation and diversity, and assessing audience reception and influence, we can unlock a wealth of insights and understanding about the movies that shape and reflect our society.

It is important to approach this task with critical thinking and a keen eye for detail. By exploring the underlying messages and themes portrayed in movies, we can uncover their significance in addressing social issues and cultural norms. Additionally, examining the representation and diversity depicted on screen helps us understand the impact of movies in challenging stereotypes and promoting inclusivity.

Share this post:

Leave a Comment

• Art and Museums
• Concerts / Events
• Theater-Boston
• Theater-Chicago
• Theater-D.C.
• Theater-International
• Theater-Las Vegas
• Theater-Los Angeles
• Theater-New York
• Theater-Palm Springs (Coachella Valley)
• Theater-Regional
• Theater-San Diego
• Theater-San Francisco / Bay Area
• Privacy Statement

Search reviews by title or key words.

Please help keep stage and cinema going, while we assert that it’s time to rethink the existence of facebook, here’s our page, casino reviews betsquare.

• Subject List
• Take a Tour
• For Authors
• Subscriber Services
• Publications
• African American Studies
• African Studies
• American Literature
• Anthropology
• Architecture Planning and Preservation
• Art History
• Atlantic History
• Biblical Studies
• British and Irish Literature
• Childhood Studies
• Chinese Studies

Cinema and Media Studies

• Communication
• Criminology
• Environmental Science
• Evolutionary Biology
• International Law
• International Relations
• Islamic Studies
• Jewish Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Latino Studies
• Linguistics
• Literary and Critical Theory
• Medieval Studies
• Military History
• Political Science
• Public Health
• Renaissance and Reformation
• Social Work
• Urban Studies
• Victorian Literature
• Browse All Subjects

How to Subscribe

• Free Trials

In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Essay Film

Introduction, anthologies.

• Bibliographies
• Spectator Engagement
• Personal Documentary
• 1940s Watershed Years
• Chris Marker
• Alain Resnais
• Jean-Luc Godard
• Harun Farocki
• Latin American Cinema
• Installation and Exhibition

Related Articles Expand or collapse the "related articles" section about

About related articles close popup.

Lorem Ipsum Sit Dolor Amet

Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Aliquam ligula odio, euismod ut aliquam et, vestibulum nec risus. Nulla viverra, arcu et iaculis consequat, justo diam ornare tellus, semper ultrices tellus nunc eu tellus.

• Documentary Film
• Dziga Vertov
• Trinh T. Minh-ha

Other Subject Areas

Forthcoming articles expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section.

• Dr. Strangelove
• Edward Yang
• Find more forthcoming articles...
• Export Citations
• Share This Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

Essay Film by Yelizaveta Moss LAST REVIEWED: 12 April 2023 LAST MODIFIED: 24 March 2021 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0216

The term “essay film” has become increasingly used in film criticism to describe a self-reflective and self-referential documentary cinema that blurs the lines between fiction and nonfiction. Scholars unanimously agree that the first published use of the term was by Richter in 1940. Also uncontested is that Andre Bazin, in 1958, was the first to analyze a film, which was Marker’s Letter from Siberia (1958), according to the essay form. The French New Wave created a popularization of short essay films, and German New Cinema saw a resurgence in essay films due to a broad interest in examining German history. But beyond these origins of the term, scholars deviate on what exactly constitutes an essay film and how to categorize essay films. Generally, scholars fall into two camps: those who find a literary genealogy to the essay film and those who find a documentary genealogy to the essay film. The most commonly cited essay filmmakers are French and German: Marker, Resnais, Godard, and Farocki. These filmmakers are singled out for their breadth of essay film projects, as opposed to filmmakers who have made an essay film but who specialize in other genres. Though essay films have been and are being produced outside of the West, scholarship specifically addressing essay films focuses largely on France and Germany, although Solanas and Getino’s theory of “Third Cinema” and approval of certain French essay films has produced some essay film scholarship on Latin America. But the gap in scholarship on global essay film remains, with hope of being bridged by some forthcoming work. Since the term “essay film” is used so sparingly for specific films and filmmakers, the scholarship on essay film tends to take the form of single articles or chapters in either film theory or documentary anthologies and journals. Some recent scholarship has pointed out the evolutionary quality of essay films, emphasizing their ability to change form and style as a response to conventional filmmaking practices. The most recent scholarship and conference papers on essay film have shifted from an emphasis on literary essay to an emphasis on technology, arguing that essay film has the potential in the 21st century to present technology as self-conscious and self-reflexive of its role in art.

Both anthologies dedicated entirely to essay film have been published in order to fill gaps in essay film scholarship. Biemann 2003 brings the discussion of essay film into the digital age by explicitly resisting traditional German and French film and literary theory. Papazian and Eades 2016 also resists European theory by explicitly showcasing work on postcolonial and transnational essay film.

Biemann, Ursula, ed. Stuff It: The Video Essay in the Digital Age . New York: Springer, 2003.

This anthology positions Marker’s Sans Soleil (1983) as the originator of the post-structuralist essay film. In opposition to German and French film and literary theory, Biemann discusses video essays with respect to non-linear and non-logical movement of thought and a range of new media in Internet, digital imaging, and art installation. In its resistance to the French/German theory influence on essay film, this anthology makes a concerted effort to include other theoretical influences, such as transnationalism, postcolonialism, and globalization.

Papazian, Elizabeth, and Caroline Eades, eds. The Essay Film: Dialogue, Politics, Utopia . London: Wallflower, 2016.

This forthcoming anthology bridges several gaps in 21st-century essay film scholarship: non-Western cinemas, popular cinema, and digital media.

back to top

Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login .

Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here .

• About Cinema and Media Studies »
• Meet the Editorial Board »
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Accounting, Motion Picture
• Action Cinema
• Advertising and Promotion
• African American Cinema
• African American Stars
• African Cinema
• AIDS in Film and Television
• Akerman, Chantal
• Allen, Woody
• Almodóvar, Pedro
• Altman, Robert
• American Cinema, 1895-1915
• American Cinema, 1939-1975
• American Cinema, 1976 to Present
• American Independent Cinema
• American Independent Cinema, Producers
• American Public Broadcasting
• Anderson, Wes
• Animals in Film and Media
• Animation and the Animated Film
• Arbuckle, Roscoe
• Architecture and Cinema
• Argentine Cinema
• Aronofsky, Darren
• Arzner, Dorothy
• Asian American Cinema
• Asian Television
• Astaire, Fred and Rogers, Ginger
• Audiences and Moviegoing Cultures
• Australian Cinema
• Authorship, Television
• Avant-Garde and Experimental Film
• Bachchan, Amitabh
• Battle of Algiers, The
• Battleship Potemkin, The
• Bazin, André
• Bergman, Ingmar
• Bernstein, Elmer
• Bertolucci, Bernardo
• Bigelow, Kathryn
• Birth of a Nation, The
• Blade Runner
• Blockbusters
• Bong, Joon Ho
• Brakhage, Stan
• Brando, Marlon
• Brazilian Cinema
• Breaking Bad
• Bresson, Robert
• British Cinema
• Broadcasting, Australian
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Burnett, Charles
• Buñuel, Luis
• Cameron, James
• Campion, Jane
• Canadian Cinema
• Capra, Frank
• Carpenter, John
• Cassavetes, John
• Cavell, Stanley
• Chahine, Youssef
• Chan, Jackie
• Chaplin, Charles
• Children in Film
• Chinese Cinema
• Cinecittà Studios
• Cinema and Media Industries, Creative Labor in
• Cinema and the Visual Arts
• Cinematography and Cinematographers
• Citizen Kane
• City in Film, The
• Cocteau, Jean
• Coen Brothers, The
• Colonial Educational Film
• Comedy, Film
• Comedy, Television
• Comics, Film, and Media
• Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI)
• Copland, Aaron
• Coppola, Francis Ford
• Copyright and Piracy
• Corman, Roger
• Costume and Fashion
• Cronenberg, David
• Cuban Cinema
• Cult Cinema
• Dance and Film
• de Oliveira, Manoel
• Dean, James
• Deleuze, Gilles
• Denis, Claire
• Deren, Maya
• Design, Art, Set, and Production
• Detective Films
• Dietrich, Marlene
• Digital Media and Convergence Culture
• Disney, Walt
• Downton Abbey
• Dreyer, Carl Theodor
• Eastern European Television
• Eastwood, Clint
• Eisenstein, Sergei
• Elfman, Danny
• Ethnographic Film
• European Television
• Exhibition and Distribution
• Exploitation Film
• Fairbanks, Douglas
• Fan Studies
• Fellini, Federico
• Film Aesthetics
• Film and Literature
• Film Guilds and Unions
• Film, Historical
• Film Preservation and Restoration
• Film Theory and Criticism, Science Fiction
• Film Theory Before 1945
• Film Theory, Psychoanalytic
• Finance Film, The
• French Cinema
• Game of Thrones
• Gance, Abel
• Gangster Films
• Garbo, Greta
• Garland, Judy
• German Cinema
• Gilliam, Terry
• Global Television Industry
• Godard, Jean-Luc
• Godfather Trilogy, The
• Greek Cinema
• Griffith, D.W.
• Hammett, Dashiell
• Haneke, Michael
• Hawks, Howard
• Haynes, Todd
• Hepburn, Katharine
• Herrmann, Bernard
• Herzog, Werner
• Hindi Cinema, Popular
• Hitchcock, Alfred
• Hollywood Studios
• Holocaust Cinema
• Hong Kong Cinema
• Horror-Comedy
• Hsiao-Hsien, Hou
• Hungarian Cinema
• Icelandic Cinema
• Immigration and Cinema
• Indigenous Media
• Industrial, Educational, and Instructional Television and ...
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers
• Iranian Cinema
• Irish Cinema
• Israeli Cinema
• It Happened One Night
• Italian Americans in Cinema and Media
• Italian Cinema
• Japanese Cinema
• Jazz Singer, The
• Jews in American Cinema and Media
• Keaton, Buster
• Kitano, Takeshi
• Korean Cinema
• Kracauer, Siegfried
• Kubrick, Stanley
• Lang, Fritz
• Latina/o Americans in Film and Television
• Lee, Chang-dong
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Cin...
• Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The
• Los Angeles and Cinema
• Lubitsch, Ernst
• Lumet, Sidney
• Lupino, Ida
• Lynch, David
• Marker, Chris
• Martel, Lucrecia
• Masculinity in Film
• Media, Community
• Media Ecology
• Memory and the Flashback in Cinema
• Metz, Christian
• Mexican Film
• Micheaux, Oscar
• Ming-liang, Tsai
• Minnelli, Vincente
• Miyazaki, Hayao
• Méliès, Georges
• Modernism and Film
• Monroe, Marilyn
• Mészáros, Márta
• Music and Cinema, Classical Hollywood
• Music and Cinema, Global Practices
• Music, Television
• Music Video
• Musicals on Television
• Native Americans
• New Media Art
• New Media Policy
• New Media Theory
• New York City and Cinema
• New Zealand Cinema
• Opera and Film
• Ophuls, Max
• Orphan Films
• Oshima, Nagisa
• Ozu, Yasujiro
• Panh, Rithy
• Pasolini, Pier Paolo
• Passion of Joan of Arc, The
• Peckinpah, Sam
• Philosophy and Film
• Photography and Cinema
• Pickford, Mary
• Planet of the Apes
• Poems, Novels, and Plays About Film
• Poitier, Sidney
• Polanski, Roman
• Polish Cinema
• Politics, Hollywood and
• Pop, Blues, and Jazz in Film
• Pornography
• Postcolonial Theory in Film
• Potter, Sally
• Prime Time Drama
• Queer Television
• Queer Theory
• Race and Cinema
• Radio and Sound Studies
• Ray, Nicholas
• Ray, Satyajit
• Reality Television
• Reenactment in Cinema and Media
• Regulation, Television
• Religion and Film
• Remakes, Sequels and Prequels
• Renoir, Jean
• Resnais, Alain
• Romanian Cinema
• Romantic Comedy, American
• Rossellini, Roberto
• Russian Cinema
• Saturday Night Live
• Scandinavian Cinema
• Scorsese, Martin
• Scott, Ridley
• Searchers, The
• Sennett, Mack
• Sesame Street
• Shakespeare on Film
• Silent Film
• Simpsons, The
• Singin' in the Rain
• Sirk, Douglas
• Soap Operas
• Social Class
• Social Media
• Social Problem Films
• Soderbergh, Steven
• Sound Design, Film
• Sound, Film
• Spanish Cinema
• Spanish-Language Television
• Spielberg, Steven
• Sports and Media
• Sports in Film
• Stand-Up Comedians
• Stop-Motion Animation
• Streaming Television
• Sturges, Preston
• Surrealism and Film
• Taiwanese Cinema
• Tarantino, Quentin
• Tarkovsky, Andrei
• Television Audiences
• Television Celebrity
• Television, History of
• Television Industry, American
• Theater and Film
• Theory, Cognitive Film
• Theory, Critical Media
• Theory, Feminist Film
• Theory, Film
• Theory, Trauma
• Touch of Evil
• Transnational and Diasporic Cinema
• Trinh, T. Minh-ha
• Truffaut, François
• Turkish Cinema
• Twilight Zone, The
• Varda, Agnès
• Vertov, Dziga
• Video and Computer Games
• Video Installation
• Violence and Cinema
• Virtual Reality
• Visconti, Luchino
• Von Sternberg, Josef
• Von Stroheim, Erich
• von Trier, Lars
• Warhol, The Films of Andy
• Waters, John
• Wayne, John
• Weerasethakul, Apichatpong
• Weir, Peter
• Welles, Orson
• Whedon, Joss
• Wilder, Billy
• Williams, John
• Wiseman, Frederick
• Wizard of Oz, The
• Women and Film
• Women and the Silent Screen
• Wong, Anna May
• Wong, Kar-wai
• Wood, Natalie
• Yimou, Zhang
• Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Cinema
• Zinnemann, Fred
• Zombies in Cinema and Media
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Legal Notice
• Accessibility

Powered by:

• [66.249.64.20|185.39.149.46]
• 185.39.149.46

Historical Drama Essay Examples and Topics

“kingdom of heaven” film: history vs. hollywood.

• Words: 2192

Race and Gender in “Hidden Figures” (2016)

• Words: 1109

“Kingdom of Heaven” Film Analysis

• Words: 2127

Sometime in April: Summary and Analysis of the Movie

• Words: 1521

Character Analysis of the Four Wives and the Maid Yan’er in the Film Raise the Red Lantern

• Words: 1478

The King’s Speech: Prevailing Through Weakness

Themes in “the battle for algiers” (1966), othello: a tragic hero through the prism of aristotle’s definition, the story of pu yi in “the last emperor”.

• Words: 1091

Battleship Potemkin: An Important Contribution to World Cinema

• Words: 2237

Beloved: Demme’s Film vs Morrison’s Novel

• Words: 1368

Paisà (1946) by Roberto Rossellini: Style, Theme, and Cultural Value

• Words: 1649

Analysis: “City of Sadness” by Dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien

• Words: 2219

The Last of the Mohicans Movie and Seven Years War

The historical drama “thirteen days”, alexander the great (1956) by robert rossen.

• Words: 1346

Race Identity Evaluation in the Film “Malcolm X”

• Words: 1927

Glory (1989)

Human rights in the movie escape from sobibor, analysis of inherit the wind film.

• Words: 1344

The King’s Speech

The “harriet” movie by kasi lemmons.

• Words: 1123

Critical Analysis of Elizabeth I

• Words: 3873

The Film “Thirteen days” by Roger Donaldson

• Words: 1684

Humanist Sounding: “City of Life and Death” (2009)

• Words: 1120

Film Study: “Raise the Red Lantern” by Yimou Zhang

There will be blood.

• Words: 1177

Film Analysis-Danton

The battle of algiers.

• Words: 1153

History & Fiction in the ”Free State of Jones” Film

• Words: 2062

Vietnam War in the “Platoon” Movie by Oliver Stone

“the king’s speech” drama by tom hooper, the lion in winter (1968) by anthony harvey.

• Words: 1349

Marie Antoinette (1938) by Norma Shearer

• Words: 1632

Chinese Interpretation of Various Aspects of Life Through the Film Titled Red Cliff

• Words: 1422

The “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “American Sniper” Films

• Words: 1287

“The Color Purple” Drama by Steven Spielberg

• Words: 1119

The “Land of Pharaohs” Film by Howard Hawks

• Words: 1103

The “Alexander Hamilton” Musical by Lin Manuel Miranda

“the king’s speech” historical drama film, middle eastern through film “ajami” by copti.

• Words: 1651

“Amistad” Film Directed by Steven Spielberg

A samurai’s life in “the twilight samurai” film, chris mac and sam patch in “into the wild” movie.

• Words: 1051

Real America in the “Coming Home” Movie

Chinese politics. “to live” movie by zhang yimou, “patton” (1970): the world at war, joan of arc: film versus history, “gangs of new york” historical drama film.

• Words: 2238

“Ivan the Terrible” Film by Sergei Eisenstein

“the big short” comedy drama film by adam mckay, longford: british biographical crime drama film, “wondrous oblivion” film by paul morrison, “american sniper” war drama film by clint eastwood, rivera’s “marisol” drama on the stage, “kundun” biographical drama by martin scorsese, “there will be blood” drama by p. anderson, history in ”mongol” by sergei bodrov: the story of temujin the founder of the ancient mongol empire.

• Words: 1235

Dalai Lama and Tulku in the “Kundun” Movie

American civil war in “glory” and “lincoln” films, battle of thermopylae in the “300” film by snyder, native americans history in “thunder heart” movie.

• Words: 1095

“Persepolis” Film: Events in Iran

“the battle of algiers” historical war film, egypt great cry in “the ten commandments” film, exploration: “camelot” by morgan o’sullivan, graham king, and michael hirst.

• Words: 1667

Angels and Insects by A.S. Byatt

• Words: 1382

Grey Zone by Tim Blake Nelson

Europa europa: film studies, the right way to negotiate: “the battle of algiers”, chinese culture in movie “raise the red lantern” by zhang yimou.

• Words: 1661

Taiwanese Identity in the Film “City of Sadness”

• Words: 2186

The Movie “Thirteen Days” and Example of an Effective Leader

• Words: 2805

Munich: The Ethical Aspects of Revenge

Historical evaluation: schindler’s list (1993), no one is perfect, up from slavery, down to the ground: sailing amistad. a, flags of our fathers.

• Words: 1644

Mencius’ and Hsun Tzu’s view of Human Nature

What qualities does henry embody that would serve a modern-day president.

• Words: 1212

Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Film Study — Comparison Of Legal Drama Films To Study Film History

Comparison of Legal Drama Films to Study Film History

• Categories: Film Study

About this sample

Words: 1265 |

Published: Nov 22, 2021

Words: 1265 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, works cited.

• Aufderheide, Patricia. 'Why Study Film History? I Came to Learn the Craft!' International Documentary Association, 25 Sept. 2016, www.documentary.org/column/why-study-film-history-i-came-learn-craft. Accessed 14 Nov. 2019.
• Flemming M. 'Blog Post 2: The Importance of History Through Film.' NewsActivist | Read, Write, React, 27 Feb. 2015, www.newsactivist.com/en/articles/histfilm-2907-film-and-modern-history/blog-post-2-importance-history-through-film.
• 'How to Get Away with Murder (TV Series 2014? ).' IMDb, 25 Sept. 2014, www.imdb.com/title/tt3205802/.
• Ledoux, Jacques. 'Davidbordwell.net : Essays.' Davidbordwell.net : Home, Sept. 2008, www.davidbordwell.net/essays/doing.php. Accessed 14 Nov. 2019.
• 'Perry Mason (TV Series 1957?1966).' IMDb, 21 Sept. 1957, www.imdb.com/title/tt0050051/.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof Ernest (PhD)

Verified writer

• Expert in: Entertainment

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

4 pages / 1710 words

5.5 pages / 2615 words

4.5 pages / 2006 words

6.5 pages / 2866 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Film Study

Germeys, F., & d’Ydewalle, G. (2007). Eye Guidance in Reading and Scene Perception. Psychology Press.Carrol, N. (1996). Theorizing the Moving Image. Cambridge University Press.Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. (1993). Film Art: An [...]

When it comes to the world of filmmaking, few directors have left as indelible a mark as Baz Luhrmann. Known for his visually striking and audaciously creative approach, Luhrmann's directing style is instantly recognizable and [...]

Teaching is universal around the world. Beginning teachers can learn not just from teachers in their own society but also from those in other countries, such as in the foreign film Les Choristes (2004). This French film revolves [...]

Francois Truffaut, director of the film The 400 Blows (1959), concerns himself with the delinquent child abandoned by the education system and even the family. As a French New Wave director, Truffaut’s motive is to represent [...]

“Every myth is psychologically symbolic. ” Joseph Campbell (1985) argues that myths are an allegory for everyday life and should not only be taken at face value. That there are hidden ways that characters written from hundreds [...]

Stephen David Daldry was born on the 2nd of May, 1960. He is an authority in filmmaking and theater arts. Daldry has cut a niche for himself in the movie industry. He has won numerous awards; his work in the West end earned him [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• Free Samples
• Premium Essays
• Editing Services Editing Proofreading Rewriting
• Extra Tools Essay Topic Generator Thesis Generator Citation Generator GPA Calculator Study Guides Donate Paper
• Essay Writing Help
• About Us About Us Testimonials FAQ
• Studentshare
• Visual Arts & Film Studies
• Analysis of a drama film-The Truman Show

Analysis of a drama film-The Truman Show - Essay Example

• Subject: Visual Arts & Film Studies
• Type: Essay
• Level: Undergraduate
• Pages: 11 (2750 words)
• Downloads: 2
• Author: romagueraemerso

Extract of sample "Analysis of a drama film-The Truman Show"

• Cited: 0 times
• Copy Citation Citation is copied Copy Citation Citation is copied Copy Citation Citation is copied

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Analysis of a drama film-The Truman Show

Drama as a form of prose compositions, what are characteristics of post-modern aesthetics, the truman show, how the media manipulates and control, oliver stone films representing the war, the truman show, media genre in commonwealth games coverage, mixed genre movies heralding the era of globalization, security design for the smith-brooks corporation.

• TERMS & CONDITIONS
• PRIVACY POLICY
• COOKIES POLICY

Advertisement

Supported by

Alex Garland Answers the Question: Why Make a Film About Civil War Today?

Even before his drama was released, the writer-director faced controversy over his vision of a divided America with Texas and California as allies.

• Share full article

By Christopher Kuo

One of the most haunting moments in Alex Garland’s new drama “Civil War” comes in the form of a question.

A soldier, fingering the trigger of his assault rifle, confronts a group of terrified journalists: “What kind of American are you?” he asks.

That question, and its underlying impulse to divide and demonize, is at the heart of why Garland made a much-anticipated and already much-debated film about the implosion of the United States. “Civil War,” opening Friday, warns against the dangers of extreme partisanship, Garland said in a recent interview — the horrors that can happen when American citizens, or any other group of people, turn on themselves.

“I think civil war is just an extension of a situation,” said Garland, the 53-year-old British director behind “Ex Machina” and “Men.” “That situation is polarization and the lack of limiting forces on polarization.”

In the film, America’s divisions have erupted into chaos. Fleets of helicopters patrol the skies and explosions rock major cities as the secessionist Western Forces, including those from Texas and California, advance on the president, a three-term authoritarian who has disbanded the F.B.I. and launched airstrikes on fellow Americans.

If polarization is one of the poisons causing this outbreak, Garland sees the work of a free, independent press as one of the antidotes. His film envisions the Fourth Estate as a check on extremism and authoritarianism.

“Something terrible, it seems to me, has been happening to the press,” said Garland, whose father was a political cartoonist and who grew up chatting with journalists at the dinner table. “I wanted to put the press as the heroes,” he added.

The heroes, in this case, include the grizzled war photographer Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst); an aspiring photojournalist, Jessie Cullen (Cailee Spaeny); as well as journalists played by Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson. As they travel to Washington, D.C., to interview the president, the film shows war-torn America through their camera lenses.

At first, Jessie recoils at the atrocities she sees, but under Lee’s tutelage, she evolves into the kind of journalist Garland admires: someone who can record death and destruction without interfering or casting judgment. But is her transformation courageous or dehumanizing? How many monstrosities can one passively observe without also becoming a monster?

‘Civil War’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The writer and director alex garland narrates a sequence from his film..

“My name is Alex Garland and I’m the writer director of ‘Civil War’. So this particular clip is roughly around the halfway point of the movie and it’s these four journalists and they’re trying to get, in a very circuitous route, from New York to DC, and encountering various obstacles on the way. And this is one of those obstacles. What they find themselves stuck in is a battle between two snipers. And they are close to one of the snipers and the other sniper is somewhere unseen, but presumably in a large house that sits over a field and a hill. It’s a surrealist exchange and it’s surrounded by some very surrealist imagery, which is they’re, in broad daylight in broad sunshine, there’s no indication that we’re anywhere near winter in the filming. In fact, you can kind of tell it’s summer. But they’re surrounded by Christmas decorations. And in some ways, the Christmas decorations speak of a country, which is in disrepair, however silly it sounds. If you haven’t put away your Christmas decorations, clearly something isn’t going right.” “What’s going on?” “Someone in that house, they’re stuck. We’re stuck.” “And there’s a bit of imagery. It felt like it hit the right note. But the interesting thing about that imagery was that it was not production designed. We didn’t create it. We actually literally found it. We were driving along and we saw all of these Christmas decorations, basically exactly as they are in the film. They were about 100 yards away, just piled up by the side of the road. And it turned out, it was a guy who’d put on a winter wonderland festival. People had not dug his winter wonderland festival, and he’d gone bankrupt. And he had decided just to leave everything just strewn around on a farmer’s field, who was then absolutely furious. So in a way, there’s a loose parallel, which is the same implication that exists within the film exists within real life.” “You don’t understand a word I say. Yo. What’s over there in that house?” “Someone shooting.” “It’s to do with the fact that when things get extreme, the reasons why things got extreme no longer become relevant and the knife edge of the problem is all that really remains relevant. So it doesn’t actually matter, as it were, in this context, what side they’re fighting for or what the other person’s fighting for. It’s just reduced to a survival.”

Cerebral and philosophical, hyper-attuned to nuance, Garland seems to relish these complexities. An interview with him, in a room in A24’s New York office, at times felt like a crash course in political science, covering his fears about the rise of fascism to explanations for the decline of liberal democracy — and his reasons for having Texas and California join forces in the film. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Take me back to the time you were writing this film in 2020. What inspired this film?

If you think back to 2020, the discourse was almost identical to today. The strange thing is that so little has changed. Where there is change, some of the change is for the worse. Overall I’d say this film is about checks and balances: polarization, division, the way populist politics leads toward extremism, where extremism itself will end up and where the press is in all of that. One of the things that really preoccupied me four years ago was it was perfectly obvious there were really good journalists doing good work. But the thing that interested me, and this has been happening for a while, is how little traction they had. If it’s a film about checks and balances, one of the biggest checks and balances you have on government is the press. But the press needs to be trusted for that to work. They’ve been undermined and demonized partly by external forces and internal forces.

You’re saying the press is meant to be a check on polarization?

It’s not meant to be, it is. That is its function. When I say external forces and internal forces undermining journalism, an external force might be the context of social media, all these other voices and the power these voices have. You could also have an external force in the form of an influential politician undermining media. But an internal force could be if large and important news organizations deliberately lean toward bias. And you start preaching to a choir, because that’s what the choir wants to hear. Then all of the surrounding choirs cease to trust.

So this film could be seen as a defense of objectivity in journalism?

The film is presenting old-fashioned reporters, as opposed to extremely biased journalists who are essentially producing propaganda. They’re old-fashioned reporters, and the film tries itself to function like those reporters. One of the journalists is very young, but they’re using a 35-millimeter camera, which is the means of photojournalism from an era where the societal function of media was more fully understood and embraced.

I said to someone who works in the film industry, “I want to make a film about journalists where journalists are the heroes.” They said, “Don’t do that, everyone hates journalists.” That has a really deep problem contained within it. Saying you hate journalists is like saying you hate doctors. You need doctors. It’s not really a question of you like or don’t like journalists, you need them, because they are the check and balance on government.

The film also portrays some of the adverse effects of war reporting on the journalists themselves.

One of the strange transactions that existed for journalists, but particularly for war photographers and war correspondents is that as individuals they have to pay a price. Because there is a price to be paid for doing that thing. What is the function of a photographer in news? It’s to get an image that encapsulates a moment. I would say that journalist in the film has arrived at doing their job beautifully, at personal cost.

Why did you put Texas and California together in an alliance?

Two reasons. One is just to avoid a quick lazy read. Just take that off the table, you can’t have it. But there’s a bigger reason. I’m provoking the question, why are they together? Is it because I’m British and I’m so stupid I don’t realize they’re in two politically different spaces? I do realize their differences. But what would be so important as a threat that the polarized politics between Texas and California was suddenly seen as less important than the threat?

As soon as the trailer released, people said there are no terms under which these two states could join. Which in itself is a very clear representation of the insanity of polarized politics. There are many things Texas and California do agree on. I could draw lines between all these dots, but I don’t do that. The film is attempting to act like old-fashioned reporters, to not be biased. If you report on an assassination, are you refusing to make judgment on the assassination? No, you’re just reporting.

Why did you deliberately leave out so many details about the civil war in the film, about the politics of the two sides, and why is this not explicitly a conflict between liberal and conservatives?

Then it would be an issue that only related to this country, but it’s not. You can see it right now playing out in Israel. You can see it happening in Asia, in South America, Europe; you can see it in my own country. Now, if one is talking about polarization, extremism, the Fourth Estate, all of those things, would it be wise to make a Republican-Democrat conversation that immediately shuts down the other half? Would it even be true? It can’t be entirely true, because otherwise it wouldn’t apply to all these other countries. Now, I understand why people want it to be like that for exactly the reason that some of these news organizations have been so successful, which is that if you preach to the choir, the choir digs it.

I’ve heard reports that you are planning to pause directing. Are they true?

I’m not retiring. I’m working as a screenwriter, and screenwriters are still involved in film production. They’re different roles and directing comes with certain duties and obligations. I was just interested in a particular form of collaboration that comes as a result of working with another director rather than being the director itself.

Christopher Kuo covers arts and culture as a member of the 2023-24 Times Fellowship class. More about Christopher Kuo

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Even before his new film “Civil War” was released, the writer-director Alex Garland faced controversy over his vision of a divided America  with Texas and California as allies.

Theda Hammel’s directorial debut, “Stress Positions,” a comedy about millennials weathering the early days of the pandemic , will ask audiences to return to a time that many people would rather forget.

“Fallout,” TV’s latest big-ticket video game adaptation, takes a satirical, self-aware approach to the End Times .

“Sasquatch Sunset” follows the creatures as they go about their lives. We had so many questions. The film’s cast and crew had answers .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

We use cookies to enhance our website for you. Proceed if you agree to this policy or learn more about it.

• Essay Database >
• Essay Examples >
• Essays Topics >
• Essay on Social Issues

Actions Drama Movies Essay

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Social Issues , Cinema , Society , Crime , Violence , Criminal Justice , Movies , Film

Published: 02/23/2020

ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS

Introduction

Action drama movies are usually characterized by actions which more often than not drive emotion on the viewer. Depending on the emotion that a movie arouses through actions, words and setting, it can affect people either positively or negatively. Scarface, The Patriot and Blood Diamond are three powerful movies which can affect people in both good and bad ways, as this essay explains.

The Patriot

The Patriot is an American historical movie released in 2000, which is set during the American revolutionary war. As the main actor (Farmer Benjamin Martin) fights with others in the French-Indian war, the viewer can be led to develop positive feelings about nationhood, especially due to the movie’s depiction of the fight for freedom. On the same note, however, the movie has the potential to affect the people negatively through its depiction of violent scenes where characters kill other mercilessly. This could possibly lead some people to develop violent tendencies as the film appears to praise such behavior by linking it to heroism and power. What is more, Benjamin’s renunciation of violence and decision to concentrate in farming, a transition which possibly stirs powerful emotions, can have a positive impact on a person and probably cause positive behavior change. The powerful scenes and war-based story can affect individual in either way.

Scarface is an essentially crime-based movie in which criminality (violence, murder, and drug dealing) is the underlying theme. The main character (Tony Montana) kills, deals drugs for a powerful drug lord and breaks the law at will. The film’s powerful storyline, scenes and characters can have both good and bad effects on the people. On the one hand, some people may get a feeling that crime is a good way of life as the criminal actors live powerfully and above the law as depicted in the film. This could likely lead to bad people in the society who engage in crime with a false notion that it is glorious, without considering its consequences on the society and themselves. On the other hand, certain people could hate the actions undertaken by the characters in the film, such as violence, murder and drugs, and shun such criminal lifestyles. The movie could also lead to enlightenment about such criminal elements in society. In some cases, the criminal scenes in this film can cause some people to be more vigilant and report suspicious characters in the society, leading to increased society peace and reduction in crimes.

Blood Diamond

Blood diamond is basically about smuggling of valuable metals (diamond) and the associated consequences, whereby a South African mercenary and a Mende fisherman strive to get a valuable pink diamond. The film is characterized by killings, smuggling and military attacks in the middle of a civil war. The violent actions in the film can have negative effects on people, including encouragement of violence and other crimes such as smuggling and murder. Conversely, seeing that the smuggler’s fate is sad, some people can be influenced to shun the crimes explored in the film, such as smuggling and violence. This way, the movie could have an impact towards positive behavior change and a negative attitude towards crimes.

All in all, the three movies are powerful in various ways and, depending on individuals they can affect people in both good and bad ways as described in this write-up.

Works Cited

Blood Diamond. Dir. Zwicks Edward. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. Warner Bros, 2006. Film. Scarface. Dir. Brian de Palma. Perf. Al Pacino, Mitchell Pfeiffer, and Steven Bauer. Universal Films, 2003. Film. The Patriot. Roland Emmerich. Perf. Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, and Jason Isaacs. Columbia Pictures, 2000. Film.

Cite this page

Share with friends using:

Removal Request

Finished papers: 1666

This paper is created by writer with

ID 255911594

If you want your paper to be:

Well-researched, fact-checked, and accurate

Original, fresh, based on current data

Eloquently written and immaculately formatted

275 words = 1 page double-spaced

Get your papers done by pros!

Other Pages

Term paper writing service, eric essays, ethical essays, female essays, abortion controversy essays, mass communication essays, assessment data essays, american jobs essays, control of ability to gamble essay, good can organic farming feed the world argumentative essay example, good example of essay on image ii irises vincent van gogh 1889, good case study about ikea, taiwan essay example, example of research paper on leadership style of larry page, medical technology essays examples, good example of obedience essay, example of my literacy journey of reading and writing essay, case study on summarizing concepts, free multiculturalism essay sample, taking sides the inclusive classroom essays examples, electric cars do not solve the automobiles environmental problems essays examples, rastafari and reggae music research papers examples, example of essay on racial discrimination, sample essay on snapshot profile, good example of essay on airport operations london city, example of essay on leader interview paper, example of the economy of bahamas tourism and offshore sectors research paper, essay on quot imagine yourself in a situation of being encouraged to inflate your expense, present argumentative essays, poor argumentative essays, comparison argumentative essays, quality argumentative essays, implication argumentative essays, absence argumentative essays, tackle argumentative essays, motion argumentative essays, feeding argumentative essays, majority argumentative essays, absenteeism argumentative essays, balance argumentative essays, structure argumentative essays, procedure argumentative essays.

Password recovery email has been sent to [email protected]

Use your new password to log in

You are not register!

By clicking Register, you agree to our Terms of Service and that you have read our Privacy Policy .

Now you can download documents directly to your device!

Check your email! An email with your password has already been sent to you! Now you can download documents directly to your device.

or Use the QR code to Save this Paper to Your Phone

The sample is NOT original!

Short on a deadline?

Don't waste time. Get help with 11% off using code - GETWOWED

No, thanks! I'm fine with missing my deadline

Ajay Devgn on Bollywood Period Soccer Drama ‘Maidaan’: ‘One of the Best Films I Have Done’ (EXCLUSIVE)

By Naman Ramachandran

Naman Ramachandran

• Amy Winehouse Biopic ‘Back to Black’ Tops U.K., Ireland Box Office 2 days ago
• Directors’ Fortnight Title ‘Mongrel’ Picked Up for Sales by Alpha Violet (EXCLUSIVE) 2 days ago
• Greece’s Heretic Sets Cannes ACID Titles ‘Kyuka,’ ‘Sundays’ (EXCLUSIVE) 2 days ago

Bollywood A-lister Ajay Devgn ‘s latest release is “ Maidaan ,” where he plays an inspirational soccer coach.

Directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma (“Badhaai Ho”), the film is produced by Zee Studios , Boney Kapoor’s Bayview Projects and Fresh Lime Films. Devgn stars as Syed Abdul Rahim, whose revolutionary coaching and strategy methods led the Indian national soccer team to gold medals in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games and a semi-final berth at the 1956 Olympics. The cast also includes Priyamani (“The Family Man”) and Gajraj Rao (“Badhaai Ho”).

Popular on Variety

“When the camera rolls, I start thinking about the character, I start feeling what he is going through and when the camera says ‘cut’ I become normal. But there were a lot of scenes that were very physically and mentally taxing,” Devgn added.

On his single biggest takeaway from the film, Devgn said, “Apart from a fantastic film, you take home, ‘You want, you can achieve anything you want whatever the difficulties are’ and that’s what the film says.”

The Indian box office roared back post-pandemic in 2023, but mainly with a focus on spectacle films, rather than those with strong storylines. 2024 is proving to be different with eight of the top 10 being “content films,” as films with strong storylines are referred to in India. Devgn’s supernatural thriller “Shaitaan” is in fourth place.

“Definitely more audiences are coming to the theaters now. I think if you have a content-backed project and have a trailer which is true to the film, it will engage with more audiences,” Devgn said.

“Maidaan” is currently on release.

More From Our Brands

Quentin tarantino scraps film ‘the movie critic,’ which would’ve been his last, this 1933 hispano-suiza j12 cabriolet could fetch $3.5 million at auction, ncaa council approves looser nil, transfer rules for d-i, be tough on dirt but gentle on your body with the best soaps for sensitive skin, survivor recap: tribal council explodes into sheer madness, verify it's you, please log in.

site categories

‘one hundred years of solitude’: netflix unveils teaser for series adaptation of gabriel garcía marquez’s magical realist masterpiece, breaking news.

Dutch Royal Drama ‘Maxima’ Renewed For Season 2

By Max Goldbart

Max Goldbart

International TV Co-Editor

More Stories By Max

• ‘The Walking Dead’ Maker Skybound Launches Unscripted Division
• ‘Boy Swallows Universe’ Breakout Felix Cameron Signs With AIG
• Channel 4 Axes UK Version Of U.S. Survival Format ‘Alone’ After One Season

EXCLUSIVE: Maxima , the Crown- esque royal drama from Beta Film , has been renewed for a second season in the days leading up to its premiere.

The show, which led Beta’s catalog at the recent London TV Screenings and Series Mania, will film later this year, and the German major has struck a slew more sales.

Related Stories

'For All Mankind' Renewed For Season 5; Apple Expands Universe With Spinoff Series 'Star City'

'The Rookie' Renewed For Season 7 By ABC

The news comes on the eve of the premiere of the first season on RTL Netherlands ‘ streamer Videoland , with Maxima set to launch in a few days’ time. The six-hour first season is produced by Millstreet Films.

Beta has also sold Maxima to Italy’s public broadcaster Rai as well as Israel’s HOT , Latvia’s LTV, Honk Kong’s Now TV. It was previously bought by Germany’s RTL, WBD in Latin America and Austria’s ORF.

Beta is also behind big-budget European epic  Rise of the Raven , which tells the story of the commander who defeated the Ottoman army in the Battle of Belgrade in 1456.

Must Read Stories

Sundance opens bids for new location; park city vows fight to keep it.

Latest On Bubble Shows ‘The Equalizer’, ‘NCIS: Hawai’i’, ‘CSI: Vegas’ & ‘So Help Me Todd’

Lily rabe, jodie turner-smith & phoebe waller-bridge join ‘big bold beautiful journey’, tom hiddleston on ‘loki’, ‘night manager’ & working with a-list directors.

Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.

Read More About:

No comments.

Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Under the Bridge review – Lily Gladstone leads respectful yet bland true crime drama

The recent Oscar nominee plays a cop investigating the brutal death of a teen in this noble but clunky retelling of a horrifying crime on Hulu

A s a true crime drama in the year 2024, Hulu’s Under the Bridge at least knows the giant potholes of the genre to avoid. The eight-episode limited series starring Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough , an adaptation of Rebecca Godfrey’s 2005 book on a sensational murder in Canada, knows not to glorify law enforcement as hyper-competent, or to privilege perpetrators’ emotional lives over a faceless victim’s, or to depict gratuitous violence. “I think people should be remembered for who they were, not what happened to them,” Keough, as Godfrey, tells the parents of Reena Virk, a 14-year-old girl horrifically beaten to death and drowned by both strangers and her so-called friends. As an exercise in how to make entertainment out of a real crime with real perpetrators and victims – particularly Virk, ably embodied by Vritika Gupta – Under the Bridge is self-aware and empathetic, clearly thinking through implications, its heart in the right place.

Unfortunately, as a television show, it often has the feeling of flat cola – tepid, stale and reminiscent of something buzzier and brighter. Though it assiduously dodges some of the worst of the so-called “dead girl” tropes, it falls prey to the most irksome ones of prestige streaming TV: bloated episode counts, multiple timelines, blurry formal shifts, portentous voiceovers, mistaking correct politics (on racism, incompetent law enforcement, trauma and more) for nuanced, compelling craft.

Though the crime itself is almost too awful to believe, there’s little to distinguish Under the Bridge, developed by the late Godfrey and Quinn Shephard, from other recent, better true-crime dramas such as Under the Banner of Heaven , The Staircase , The Act or The Girl from Plainville , nor from shows unraveling stomach-churning dead-girl crimes such as True Detective or Mare of Easttown. The series most overtly recalls the superlative Sharp Objects, HBO’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel, in that it also revolves around an unscrupulous, capital-T Troubled journalist returning to investigate the shocking murder of a teenage girl in her small home town, after escaping the tragic death of a sibling. But whereas Amy Adams’ cliched-to-hell unethical journalist was at least compelling, and the late Jean-Marc Vallée’s vision of midwestern Gothic hypnotic, Under the Bridge runs cold, even as it tries to capture the inexplicably white-hot rage of teenage girls (and one ill-placed, murderously angry teenage boy, played by Euphoria’s Javon Walton) on a small island in British Columbia in 1997.

The leaders of those girls are indeed terrifying – Josephine Brooks (Chloe Guidry) the alpha dog prone to bite swift and hard, Kelly Ellard (Izzy G) the chilling, lethal beta predator. The girls were self-styled “gangstas” who idolized John Gotti and fetishized mob violence; they practiced their cruelty on Dusty (Aiyana Goodfellow), a Black fellow resident at Josephine’s group home, and particularly on Reena, a shy and yearning outcast desperate for friends, nursing a nascent obsession with the Notorious BIG. (The series gestures just enough at the late-90s moral panic over pop culture’s influence on teenagers.)

The first half of the series unspools both the “gang” allure to a young outcast like Reena and the months, days, hours and minutes before her death. Reena was isolated – the eldest daughter in a south Asian family, her mother Suman (Archie Panjabi) a devout Jehovah’s Witness, her father Manjit (Ezra Faroque Khan) a Sikh immigrant from India, she was a minority within a minority on a very white island. Even in death, her life was dismissed – as a non-priority and “bic girl runaway” by the Saanich police (the moniker was “because we’re disposable”, says Dusty, in one of many heavy-handed lines). Only Godfrey, home from New York to write a book on Victoria’s disaffected youth, and officer Cam Bentland (Gladstone), a fellow outsider as an Indigenous woman adopted by the police chief (Matt Craven), take Reena’s disappearance seriously.

Gladstone, though occasionally prone to overacting, has always imbued her characters with a deep well of dignity, and does so again despite working with little characterization beyond “lonely and sad” as a Native woman adopted into a casually racist white family – a trait that highlights shameful Canadian national crimes, though is not enough for a whole person. Still, Gladstone is a reassuring on-screen presence, even if she’s forced to visibly wince at every mention of the word “race” or her boss/dad’s invocation of “sweetheart”. Keough, who rose above the middling Daisy Jones and the Six, is likewise underserved by the material; her portrayal of Rebecca as a hall-of-fame boundary-less, self-absorbed journalist – one who sleeps with a law enforcement source and does drugs with a teenage one – is at least watchable, if hardly palatable.

The thread of her “investigation”, if one could call it that, is hard to take, but at least there are others – most interestingly, if not smoothly, Reena’s dramatic rebellion against her parents in the months before her death. The fourth episode, written by Stuti Malhotra and directed by Nimisha Mujkerji, epitomizes the promise and pitfalls of this sprawl, juxtaposing the Virks’ family history as immigrants in British Columbia with a humiliating, hard-to-watch dinner they host for Reena’s soon-to-be attackers. The lines are on-the-nose and clunky, the episode too long, but the point stands: there was more to this story then, a different, better way to tell it now. If only its practice kept up with its principles.

Under the Bridge is available on Hulu in the US with a UK date to be announced

• Riley Keough
• US television

Most viewed