Brock

Literature & Film:Research Paper

Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, Speilberg Spike Lee

Pedro Almodovdar Woody Allen Quentin Tarantino

Penny Marshall

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Project RequirementsWrite a research paper on either a particular director, topic OR theme. Select your director, theme, or topic from this packet. If you choose to study a director, etc not included in the packet, you MUST have my approval. I will look favorably on those essays that demonstrate someone has stepped outside their comfort zone and chosen a thoughtful topic.

Research Requirements You must view at least TWO films for your analysis.

(NOTE: TWO IS THE MINIMUM!) Each film will be cited as a source on your MLA page You must have at least TWO PRINT (non-internet) sources

(These may be journals, magazine articles, books, etc) At least TWO ONLINE articles Wikipedia and IMDB must be cited if used, but DO NOT count as

internet articles. They are online encyclopedias, so they are secondary sources; they are a starting place and nothing more.

Submission Requirements 5-6 pages MINIMUM, double spaced Times New Roman, size 12 font ONLY MLA format Works Cited page (this is not one of your 5-6 pgs) MLA citation [internal and works cited- ie, (Brown 56) ] No title page, only name, date, class period on front page double

spaced ALL essays must be turned in via TurnItIn.com IN ADDITION TO

hard copy- NO DIGITAL AND HARD COPY NO GRADE!

Proposal due: ________________

THESIS STATEMENT DUE: ________________

ROUGH DRAFT DUE: ________________

FINAL PAPER DUE: ________________

Late papers are marked one LETTER GRADE lower PER DAY.NO late papers will be accepted after four days!

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DIRECTOR LIST

The Classics- most have multiple Academy Award nominated films:Orson Welles Alfred Hitchcock Francis-Ford CoppolaSteven SpielbergGeorge LucasMartin Scorsese

Woody Allen Stanley KubrickClint EastwoodSydney Pollack Robert AltmanSidney Lumet

Oliver Stone

The New Guard:Robert Zemeckis Sophia CoppolaJohn SingletonPedro AlmodovarMira NairAng LeeCameron CroweJohn WatersMichael MooreAmy HeckerlingJames Cameron

Peter Jackson Alfonso CuarónBaz LuhrmannJoel and Ethan CoenQuentin TarantinoRobert RodriguezSpike Lee Alejandro González IñárrituPhilip NoyceJohn Hughes

Don’t just pick a director you love, think creatively for themes, connections, etc. Selecting an Oscar nominee or winner almost guarantees articles, information,

AND a fantastic film!

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Research Tips from Mrs. Zonis, Researcher Extraordinaire:

Peruse biographies about the director (the actual BOOK itself, not just snippets from websites; I have found internet sources to be very inaccurate. Use the index to look up the specific titles. Read the introduction by the editor and you will find TONS of ideas about the same uniting theme in your director’s body of work.

(The same applies to memoirs, etc of the major actors appearing in the films.)

Who are the major influences of your director? Tarantino’s films are strongly modeled on Japanese samurai films and spaghetti westerns… get thee to a video store!

Archived film reviews are a good STARTING place (allmovie.com, imdb.com)

Search your sources on GENRES, not just the exact titles or directors you are covering. For example, search “war movies” first, not just “Platoon,” or narrow to “Vietnam War films.”

This is a big part of the assessment, so it will not just fall into your lap- You have to LOOK for some of it!

About.com is a wonderful search engine since it allows you to be specific and make connections. It even offers options to narrow your search topic!

College libraries have AWESOME film sections. Bring spare change and an open mind. A good writer uses ALL of their resources!

Barnes & Noble, etc have a decent film section on a wide variety of topics…particularly mainstream directors like Spielberg, etc.

Grab a few books, have some coffee, take some notes and put them back on the shelf when you’re finished, but don’t forget to take down citation information!

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